Sunius macrops, Assing, 2010

Assing, V., 2010, A revision of Palaearctic Sunius. XII. New species, new synonymies, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 42 (2), pp. 1045-1061 : 1057-1058

Sunius macrops nov.sp. ( Figs 24-30 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " China (Yunnan), Pu´er Pref., Ailao Shan , 37 km NW Jingdong, 24°45'12''N, 100°41'24.5''N [sic; recte: E], 2300 m, devastated forest remnant, litter/moss/grass roots sifted), 13.IX.2009, D.W.Wrase [48]" , / Holotypus Sunius macrops sp. n. det. V. Assing 2010 " (cAss). Paratype: same data as holotype (cSch) .

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 3.5-3.8 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 24 . Coloration: body blackish; legs with the femora blackish-brown, the tibia pale-brown, and the tarsi yellowish to yellowish-brown; antennae reddish.

Head across eyes approximately 1.05 times as wide as long, tapering in posterior half; postocular region slightly more than half the length of eyes; punctation coarse and moderately dense in anterior half, sparser in posterior half of dorsal surface; interstices without microsculpture and glossy ( Fig. 25 ). Antenna approximately 1.0- 1.1 mm long. Anterior margin of labrum with very short tooth-like process on either side of median notch.

Pronotum approximately 1.05 times as long as wide and approximately 0.95 times as wide as head; punctation similar to that of head; impunctate midline rather broad and well-defined; interstices without microsculpture and glossy ( Fig. 25 ).

Elytra moderately short, approximately 0.9 times as long and at posterior margin approximately 1.1 times as wide as pronotum, not distinctly widened posteriad ( Fig. 25 ); humeral angles marked; punctation dense, shallow, fine, and rather ill-defined. Hind wings not examined, but probably of reduced length.

Abdomen approximately as wide as elytra; punctation fine and dense; interstices with transverse microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

: sternite VII with posterior margin truncate, on either side of middle with approximately 8 long submarginal setae ( Fig. 26 ); sternite VIII with rather sparse pubescence and with small posterior excision, its depth approximately 1/10 the length of sternite, otherwise unmodified ( Fig. 27 ); aedeagus with almost straight, subapically dentate, and apically acute ventral process ( Figs 28-29 , internal sac only with weakly sclerotized internal structures ( Fig. 30 ).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (noun in apposition) alludes to the conspicuously large eyes.

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C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Sunius macrops is readily distinguished from other Chinese representatives of the genus by its large eyes, the shorter elytra, and the different male primary and secondary sexual characters. For illustrations of Sunius species previously described from China see ASSING (2002, 2004).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: The species is known only from one locality in Yunnan, China, where the type material was sifted from leaf litter, moss, and grass roots in a degraded forest at an altitude of 2300 m.

Figures

Figs 24-30: Sunius macrops nov.sp.: (24) habitus; (25) forebody; (26) male sternite VII; (27) male sternite VIII; (28) aedeagus in lateral view; (29) ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view; (30) internal structures of aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 24: 1.0 mm; 25: 0.5 mm; 26-29: 0.2 mm; 30: 0.1 mm.