Ashea megacephala Kim & Ahn

Kim, Yoon-Ho & Ahn, Kee-Jeong, 2015, Asheamegacephala Kim & Ahn (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), a new gyrophaenine genus and species from Peru, ZooKeys 530, pp. 91-99 : 96-98

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Staphylinidae

Ashea megacephala Kim & Ahn sp. n.

Type material.

Holotype, male, labeled as follows: Peru: Tambopata Prov., 15 km NE Pto. Maldonado, 6 July 1989, 200 m, J. Ashe, R. Leschen, #427, ex: Daedaleopsis; Holotype, Ashea megacephala Kim and Ahn, Desig. Y.-H. Kim and K.-J. Ahn 2015. Paratypes, 5♂♂4♀♀ (2♂♂1♀ on slides), same data as holotype; 1♀, Tambopata Prov., 15 km NE Pto. Maldonaldo, 13 July 1989, 200 m, J. Ashe, R. Leschen, #507, ex: rotten tree; 1♀, Tambopata Prov., 15 km NE Pto. Maldonado, 13 July 1989, 200 m, J. Ashe, R. Leschen, #508, ex: polypore; 1♀, Tambopata Prov., 15 km NE Pto. Maldonado, 13 July 1989, 200 m, J. Ashe, R. Leschen, #515, ex: Irpex-like; 1♀, Tambopata Prov., 15 km NE Pto. Maldonado, 9 July 1989, 200 m, J. Ashe, R. Leschen, #454, ex: Schizopora; 2♀♀, Tambopata Prov., 15 km NE Pto. Maldonado, 17 July 1989, 200 m, J. Ashe, R. Leschen, #537, ex: Thelephoraceae ; 1♀, Tambopata Prov., 15 km NE Pto. Maldonado, 16 July 1989, 200 m, J. Ashe, R. Leschen, #86, ex: Auricularia auricula .

Description.

Body length 1.0-1.4 mm. Head. Very large, slightly transverse and flattened, as wide as and distinctly longer than pronotum; eye large, longer than temple, length ratio of eye to temple 1.56; antennomere 1 longest, about 2.8 times as long as wide, 2 about 1.5 times as long as wide and 1.5 times as long as 3, 3 about 1.4 times as long as wide, 4 about 1.4 times as wide as long, 5 about 1.1 times as wide as long, 6-7 about 1.2 times as wide as long, 8-9 about 1.3 times as wide as long, 10 about 1.36 times as wide as long, 11 about 1.4 times as long as wide (Fig. 3). Mouthparts. Labrum (Fig. 4) markedly transverse, about 2.3 times as wide as long; mandible (Figs 5-6) about 1.5 times as long as basal width, ventral condylar molar patch moderate in size, about 0.3 times of basal width; maxillary palpomere 2 (Fig. 7) about 2.3 times as long as wide, 3 about 2.25 times as long as wide and about 1.4 times as long as 2; prementum (Fig. 14) with medial seta distinctly longer than ligula. Thorax. Pronotum (Fig. 8) markedly transverse, more than 2.0 times as wide as long, widest at middle; mesoventral process (Fig. 15) extended to about half of mesocoxal cavities. Genitalia. Spermatheca (Fig. 16) simple and round at base; median lobe (Fig. 10) bulbous at base, apical process long, slender and recurved subapically, flagellum long, slender and more or less whip-like; paramere (Fig. 11) with apical lobe of paramerite short and subcylindrical with four setae, basal two distinctly longer than others, paramerite enlarged, slightly longer than apex of condylite. Secondary sexual characteristics. Male: elytron (Fig. 12) with tubercle at near suture about 0.2 length of elytron from posterior margin; subapical margin of tergite VII (Fig. 13) with two tooth-like tubercles; posterior-medial margin of tergite VIII (Fig. 17) with triangular projection.

Distribution.

Tambopata, Peru.

Etymology.

Named from the Greek mega meaning “large” and cephalus meaning “head”, which refers to large head.

Remarks.

Specimens were collected on mushrooms and/or mushroom associated trees in Peru.