Hlavaciellus peninsularis, Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2011

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2011, Hlavaciellus Jałoszyński, 2006: eleven new species, detailed morphology and systematic position within Cephenniini (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 2763, pp. 1-33 : 4-5

Hlavaciellus peninsularis sp. n.

( Figs. 1 , 4 , 13, 14 )

Type material. Holotype: MALAYSIA: ɗ, "W. Malaysia: Pahang \ Cameron Highl, 1720 m \ Gunung Jasar # 19b \ Löbl & Calame, 25.3.93 " [white, printed], " HLAVACIELLUS \ peninsularis m. \ det. P. JAŁOSZYŃSKI, '09 \ HOLOTYPUS " [red, printed] ( MHNG).

Diagnosis. Head in males with distinct, broadly U-shaped carina separating vertex from frontoclypeal region; antero-median part of vertex adjacent to carina concave and covered with extremely fine and dense punctures.

Description. BL 1.88. Body of male ( Fig. 1 ) strongly convex, pigmentation dark reddish-brown, vestiture yellowish.

Head ( Fig. 4 ) large, HL 0.28, HW 0.49; vertex long and regularly convex, anteriorly delimited by low but distinct broadly U-shaped carina; frons subtrapezoidal, nearly flat, clypeal region nearly rectangular, strongly convex; supraantennal tubercles prominent, distinctly separated from frons; eyes large, strongly convex and coarsely faceted. Punctures and setae as in Fig. 4 . Antennae nearly as long as 0.7 BL, slender, gradually thickened up to antennomere X, uniformly covered with thin, long, dense and suberect setae, AnL 1.25, antennomere I 1.5x as long as broad; II distinctly narrower and shorter than I, 1.1x as long as broad; III–V subequal in length and width, each as broad as II but slightly longer, 1.2x as long as broad; VI slightly larger than V, 1.2x as long as broad; VII slightly larger than VI, 1.1x as long as broad; VIII slightly broader but not longer than VII, nearly as broad as long; IX barely noticeably larger than VIII, as long as broad; X distinctly larger than IX, with slant apical margin (external lateral margin longer than internal one), as long as broad; XI slightly narrower than X, distinctly shorter than IX–X together.

Pronotum in dorsal view subrectangular with moderately convex anterior margin, equally broad from base up to anterior third, PL 0.58, PW 0.88; sides strongly rounded in anterior third, then nearly straight and parallel up to right and blunt hind angles; posterior margin shallowly bi-emarginate; ante-basal pits very shallow and diffused, each located slightly closer to posterior than to lateral margin of pronotum; lateral edges in posterior third slightly swollen to form indistinct lateral carinae. Pronotal disc glossy, in middle covered with very fine and shallow punctures separated by spaces 1– 2 x as wide as puncture diameters, punctures close to margins of pronotum are larger and denser, but not coarse. Setae long, moderately dense, suberect to erect.

Elytra oval, relatively short, very convex in anterior half and steeply lowering towards apices in posterior half, broadest near anterior fifth, EL 1.03, EW 0.93, EI 1.11; basal pit on each elytron small but distinct, located very close to scutellum; subhumeral lines sharply marked, as long as 0.34x EL, only slightly divergent, each developed as border between higher humeral region and lower adsutural area; apices of elytra rounded together. Punctures on basal third of each elytron small but more distinct than those on pronotum, gradually reducing in diameter and depth toward lateral margins and apices; setae similar to those on pronotum but slightly thicker. Hind wings not studied.

Legs slender and long; protibiae barely noticeably bent outwards in middle; meso- and metatibiae straight.

Metaventrite with deep postmesocoxal impressions, occupying nearly its entire length.

Aedeagus ( Figs. 13, 14 ) very slender, AeL 0.49; median lobe with short, indistinctly separated apical part; internal armature slightly asymmetrical; parameres in lateral view very broad, with indistinctly expanded subapical region and strongly curved apices.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. West Malaysia: Cameron Highlands in Pahang.

Etymology. The name reflects the fact that this is the only Hlavaciellus known so far from the peninsular part of Malaysia.

Remarks. Despite the unremarkable aedeagus highly similar to copulatory organs of several other species, the external morphology provides unique and unambiguous diagnostic characters. Within the Cephenniini , the frontal U-shaped carina found in H. peninsularis can be seen only in several species of Cephennodes in the impressifrons group ( Jałoszyński 2007a).

The Cameron Highlands is a popular place for collecting beetles in West Malaysia, and specimens of Staphylinoidea taken on Mount Jasar (Gunung Jasar in Malay language) by sifting-based methods and flight intercept traps are relatively common and abundant in various museums (e.g., National Museum of Science, Tokyo and MHNG), and in private collection of the author, who visited this area in December 2003. However, the male holotype of H. peninsularis is the only specimen of Hlavaciellus found among large materials of Scydmaeninae in these collections. This may suggest either a true rareness of this species, or, more likely, a biology or microhabitat preferences different from those of most Cephenniini , which are normally common in moist leaf litter in subtropical forests.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. Dorsal view of holotypes of Hlavaciellus, males. 1, H. peninsularis sp. n. 2, H. cirrus sp. n. 3, H. angustifrons sp. n. Scale bars: 1 mm.

FIGURES 4 – 9. Modifications of head in frontal view. 4, Hlavaciellus peninsularis sp. n. 5, H. cirrus sp. n. 6, H. angustifrons sp. n. 7, H. decoratus sp. n. 8, H. smetanai sp. n. 9, H. bifoveatus sp. n. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 13 – 23. Aedeagus in ventral (13, 15, 18, 20, 22) and lateral (14, 16, 19, 21, 23) views, and head of male in lateral view (17). 13, 14, Hlavaciellus peninsularis sp. n. 15 – 17, H. cirrus sp. n. 18, 19, H. angustifrons sp. n. 20, 21, H. decoratus sp. n. 22, 23, H. smetanai sp. n. Scale bars: 0.2 mm (13 – 16, 18 – 23), 0.1 mm (17).