Cypha hebes, Assing, 2010

Assing, V., 2010, On the Cypha fauna of China, with remarks on some species described from other regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Hypocyphtini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 42 (2), pp. 1169-1176 : 1171-1172

Cypha hebes nov.sp. ( Figs 1-6 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " China: Yunnan, Dali Bai Aut. Pref., mount. range E Weishan , 12 km NE Weishan, 25°17'02-15''N, 100°22'23-30''E, 2630-2660 m, scrub with pines and bamboo, litter sifted, 15.IX.2009, leg. M. Schülke [CH09-54] / Holotypus Cypha hebes sp. n. det. V. Assing 2010" (cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: The name (Latin, adjective: blunt) refers to the apically truncate ventral process of the aedeagus, one of the characters distinguishing this species from the similar C. laeviuscula (MANNERHEIM 1830) .

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 1.8 mm; length from head to posterior margin of elytra: 0.85 mm; width of pronotum: 0.66 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: body blackish, with the lateral margins of the pronotum diffusely yellowish; legs and antennae dark-brown, with antennomeres II-IV yellowish-brown.

Head strongly transverse; punctation fine, moderately dense; interstices without distinct microsculpture. Eyes moderately large, almost reaching posterior angles of head. Antennae slender ( Fig. 2 ), with antennomeres VIII-X oblong and distinctly longer than the preceding antennomeres; X elongated, almost four times as long as wide and nearly as long as the combined length of VII-IX.

Pronotum approximately 1.9 times as wide as long and almost 1.5 times as wide as head; punctation as fine as that of head; interstices without evident microsculpture.

Elytra slightly wider than, and at suture approximately 1.1 times as long as pronotum; punctation denser and somewhat less fine than that of pronotum; interstices without evident microsculpture. Hind wings (fully?) developed. Protarsomere I elongated and enlarged (sexual dimorphism?), much broader and longer than the combined length of the two following tarsomeres. Metatarsomere I long, almost as long as the combined length of metatarsomeres II-IV.

Abdomen with punctation on anterior portions of tergites denser than on posterior portions, very fine on tergites III-VI and somewhat less fine on tergites VII-VIII; microsculpture very shallow or obsolete; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

: posterior margin of tergite VIII broadly convex, in the middle almost truncate; posterior margin of sternite VIII more strongly convex; median lobe of aedeagus 0.39 mm long; ventral process slender, moderatel arched in lateral view, and apically narrowly truncate in ventral view ( Figs 3-6 ).

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: The new species is distinguished from C. sinorum , the only Cypha species previously recorded from China, by much more slender body, darker coloration, and the different shape of the median lobe of the aedeagus. For illustrations of the habitus and the aedeagus of C. sinorum see PACE (2010).

In external morphology, coloration, and the shape of the median lobe of the aedeagus, C. hebes somewhat resembles C. laeviuscula . It is distinguished from the latter by the less strongly curved, the less slender, and apically truncate ( C. laeviuscula : apex acute in ventral view) ventral process of the aedeagus. For illustrations of the aedeagus of C. laeviuscula see Figs 7-8.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: The species is known only from the type locality in Yunnan province, China. The holotype was sifted from leaf litter in a shrub habitat with bamboo and pine at an altitude of 2630-2660 m.

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Figures

Figs 1-9: Cypha hebes nov.sp. (1-6), C. laeviuscula (MANNERHEIM) (7-8), and C. ampliata nov.sp. (9): (1) habitus; (2, 9) antenna; (3, 7) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (4, 8) apical portion of median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view (4: external sac, including basal internal structure, extruded); (5-6) apical portion of ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2-9: 0.1 mm.