Cephennodes (Cephennodes) lalitpuranus, Jałoszyński, 2017

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2017, Ant-like stone beetles on the roof of the world. Cephenniini of Nepal and Bhutan (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4349 (1), pp. 1-120 : 65-66

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) lalitpuranus sp. n.

( Figs 155 , 191–194 , 226 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL (Lalitpur District): ♂, one label: " NEPAL Lalitpur / Distr. Phulcoki / 2700m 16.X.83 / Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] ( MHNG).

Diagnosis. BL 1.51 mm; abdominal sternite II with a pair of short and rounded posterior carinae separated at middle; sternite III in ventral view with short median transverse carina running along its posterior margin; apex of median lobe of aedeagus subtriangular, blunt; apical projection of aedeagus not hidden behind apex of median lobe, with distal margin curved and nearly transverse in relation to the long axis of aedeagus, apical portion of apical projection subtriangular, directed toward apex of median lobe and located close to the latter.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 155 ) light brown, stout, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, strongly convex, covered with yellowish setae; BL 1.51 mm.

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.23 mm, HW 0.38 mm; vertex and frons confluent and weakly, evenly convex, vertex with a pair of tiny but distinct tubercles; supraantennal tubercles small, weakly elevated; eyes moderately large, strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on vertex and frons small and shallow but distinct, relatively sharply marked, nearly evenly and densely distributed, separated by spaces slightly shorter than diameters of punctures; setae sparse, short, suberect. Antennae moderately long and slender, moderately thickened, AnL 0.80 mm, pentamerous club indistinctly delimited; antennomere I about 1.5 × as long as broad; II narrower and about equally long as I, 1.6 × as long as broad; III–VI similar in shape, each slightly narrower and much shorter than II, each slightly elongate; VII slightly broader and much longer than VI, about 1.8 × as long as broad; VIII distinctly broader and indistinctly shorter than VII, about as long as broad; IX and X each distinctly larger than preceding ones, each about as long as broad; XI slightly broader than X, about as long as IX–X together, about 1.7 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view subtrapezoidal, broadest near anterior third, PL 0.46 mm, PW 0.74 mm; anterior margin in strictly dorsal view arcuate; lateral margins indistinctly microserrate, strongly rounded in anterior third, weakly so in posterior half, weakly but distinctly narrowing toward slightly obtuse-angled hind corners; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae distinct but narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small and shallow, each slightly closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc very small but sharply marked and densely distributed, those in median area separated by spaces subequal to diameters of punctures and slightly shorter; setae moderately long, dense, suberect.

Elytra elongate, oval, broadest between middle and anterior third, EL 0.83 mm, EW 0.80 mm, EI 1.03. Humeral calli weakly elevated; subhumeral lines distinct, divergent posteriorly, equal to about 0.4 EL, each developed as a sharp, carinate stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron located in large and shallow, round basal impression; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures slightly smaller than those on pronotum and similarly dense and distinct; setae similar to those on pronotum.

Hind wings present, long.

Metaventrite with moderately large, sharply delimited postmesocoxal impressions, with median area covered with fine, dense punctures.

Abdomen ( Figs 191–192 ) with sternites II and III modified; in ventral view sternite II with a pair of short and rounded posterior carinae separated at middle; sternite III in ventral view with short and nearly straight median transverse carina running along its posterior margin.

Legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 193–194 ) moderately slender, AeL 0.16 mm, apex of median lobe subtriangular and blunt; apical projection distant from median lobe, its distal margin curved, slightly emarginate only close to apex, nearly transverse in relation to the long axis of aedeagus; apex of apical projection subtriangular, located very close to apex of median lobe and directed toward it; parameres very slender, nearly equal in length, reaching apex of median lobe, each with one apical seta.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution ( Fig. 226 ). Central Nepal.

Etymology. Locotypical, after Lalitpur District.

Remarks. Among species of the C. simplicipes group, C. lalitpuranus and C. paralalitpuranus described below are distinguishable from all remaining species of this group already on the basis of the body length, 1.49– 1.60 mm (vs. 1.06–1.42 mm in the remaining species) and a very stout body. They also differ from all other species of this group in the endophallic tubular structure located in front of the apical projection (in ventral view), which has a strongly concave distal margin. Cephennodes lalitpuranus differs from C. paralalitpuranus in the abdominal modifications: two short and clearly separated at middle transverse carinae on sternite II in C. lalitpuranus vs. one very long rounded and at middle emarginate carina in C. paralalitpuranus ; very short transverse carina near base of sternite III and unmodified posterior margin of sternite III in C. lalitpuranus vs. sternite III lacking sub-basal carina but with its posterior margin broadly expanded posteriorly and rounded in C. paralalitpuranus . Also aedeagi of these species differ clearly in the shape of the apical projection: with rounded distal margin and apex directed toward apex of median lobe and located close to the latter in C. lalitpuranus vs. distal margin strongly sinuate, deeply and broadly concave near apical portion, with apex parallel to apex of median lobe and distant from the latter.

Figures

FIGURES 148 – 155. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) letheanus sp. n. (148), C. (s. str.) myagdiensis sp. n. (149), C. (s. str.) malla sp. n. (150), C. (s. str.) gorkha sp. n. (151), C. (s. str.) tharepatianus sp. n. (152), C. (s. str.) minisulcatus sp. n. (153), C. (s. str.) mustangensis sp. n. (154), and C. (s. str.) lalitpuranus sp. n. (155).

FIGURES 179 – 194. Abdomen of male in right lateral (179, 183, 187, 191) and ventral (180, 184, 188, 192) views and aedeagus in ventral (181, 185, 189, 193) and lateral (182, 186, 190, 194) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) tharepatianus sp. n. (179 – 182), C. (s. str.) minisulcatus sp. n. (183 – 186), C. (s. str.) mustangensis sp. n. (187 – 190), and C. (s. str.) lalitpuranus sp. n. (191 – 194).

FIGURES 225 – 226. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) tharepatianus sp. n. (225, circle), C. (s. str.) minisulcatus sp. n. (225, triangle), C. (s. str.) mustangensis sp. n. (226, circle), C. (s. str.) lalitpuranus sp. n. (226, triangle).