Ochthephilus loebli, Makranczy, 2014

Makranczy, György, 2014, Revision of the genus Ochthephilus Mulsant & Rey, 1856 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Oxytelinae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 121 (4), pp. 457-694 : 601-603

Ochthephilus loebli sp. nov. Figs 406-407, 419-422, 426, 552

TYPE MATERIAL: HOLOTYPE (3): “ JAPAN: Gunma, Nikko Nat.[ional] Park, ss/[=under] Konsei Pass, 1500m [*+36.81/+139.34*], [leg. I.] Löbl , 15.VII.1980 [wooden ravine, steep place with stream, sifting from damp/very wet leaf litter]” ( MHNG) . – PARATYPES (8): same data as holotype ( MHNG, 3♀, 1, KUEC, 1, NHMW, 1, HNHM, 1♀). – “ Honshu, Gumma Pref., Nikko distr., Konsei Pass , 1800-1900m, 13.VII.1980, leg. P.M. Hammond ” ( BMNH, 13) .

DESCRIPTION: Forebody as in Figs 406, 552. Measurements (n=9): HW = 0.56 (0.53-0.58); TW = 0.54 (0.51-0.565); PW = 0.68 (0.64-0.70); SW = 0.77 (0.70-0.80); AW = 0.95 (0.87-1.03); HL = 0.47 (0.44-0.50); EL = 0.17 (0.16-0.18); TL = 0.11 (0.10- 0.13); PL = 0.55 (0.52-0.58); SL = 0.87 (0.77-0.91); SC = 0.78 (0.68-0.82); FB = 1.95 (1.79-2.02); BL = 4.00 (3.69-4.20) mm. Head, pronotum and abdomen very dark brown with a distinct reddish tint. Elytra reddish dark brown occasionally more reddish but scutellar area to shoulders and along suture remaining darker, blackish. Mouthparts, antennae and legs reddish dark brown, tarsi and both ends of tibiae often lighter, reddish medium brown. Very rarely antennae (towards apex) lighter, more reddish medium brown. Body with greasy lustre due to not so deep punctation on head and pronotum, but distinct coriaceous microsculpture covering interspaces; strongly punctate and uneven elytral surface. Pubescence on elytra short but strong and rather dense (regularly spaced), in contrast with much less conspicuous setation of head and pronotum: with rather fine and moderately dense setae. Abdominal tergites with setae just as thick as elytral ones but much longer, especially at apices of tergites and adjacent to laterosternites. Head anteriad eyes and near inner posterior margin of eye with stronger and much longer bristles, as well as pronotal margin; at middle of tibiae with darker bristles. Elytral apex without conspicuously longer seta. Last tarsomere with a few setae only.

Forebody. Antenna as in Fig. 426. Clypeus almost impunctate (colliculate microsculptured), trapezoid, corners rounded, anterior edge gently arched; separated by impressed transversal line (frontoclypeal suture) across a shinier area. Supraantennal prominences well developed, feebly separated from clypeus/vertex by impressions. Vertex with oblique impressions in middle almost joining in V-shape. Temples (Fig. 407) slightly bulging, evenly curved, little longer than half of eye length. Neck separated by an impressed transversal groove, microsculpture much stronger than on head, with transverse cells, no setation. Pronotum with a narrow marginal bead, visible to anterior pronotal corners. Posterior pronotal angles well-formed, just slightly obtuse-angled, sides in posterior 2/3 bisinuate, before corner concave. 'Anchor' fully formed, longitudinal midline as a slightly elevated, impunctate, weakly microsculptured line, parallel to this line two gentle, semi-longitudinal elongate elevations in anterior half of disc. In corners of anchor feeble, oblique impressions directed outwards, in middle at sides of midline two smaller impressions. Elytra slightly broadening posteriorly, sutural corners narrowly rounded; apical sides slightly oblique and in inner halves more or less straight. Elytral surface rather even with two shallow, very elongate impressions behind scutellum. Head with fine coriaceous/colliculate microsculpture, fading on elevated parts, stronger in impressions, on pronotum microsculpture slightly stronger and more even. Punctation on head moderately dense, more so on posterior part and sides, on pronotum more evenly spaced, average interspaces much larger than puncture diameters; elytral punctation more even and regularly spaced, average interspaces (with indistinct coriaceous microsculpture) about as puncture diameters, punctures discrete. Elytral apex without conspicuous setae.

Abdomen. Compared to forebody, abdomen with much more sparse, finer, less distinct punctation, microsculpture on tergal apices fine coriaceous with moderately transverse cells. Tergite VII posterior margin with palisade fringe broadened in middle with more coarse spiniform processes. Tergite VIII basal edge evenly arched, with small concavity in middle of basal sclerotized band; apical edge with sinuate (protruding) corners, and broad, moderately deep emargination in between. Sternite VIII with rounded apical corners, apex in males shallowly concave laterally, gently sinuate in middle; in females slightly more sinuate (convex) in middle. Tergite X unmodified, apex very slightly wider in males than in females. Aedeagus as in Fig. 419. Spermatheca as in Fig. 420, female ringstructures as in Figs 421-422.

ETYMOLOGY: Named after Dr. Ivan Löbl (now Veyrier, Switzerland, originally from Bratislava, Slovakia), a very knowleadgeable and influential worker on all Staphylinidae (but specialist on Scaphidiinae and Pselaphinae) who helped me a great deal in the early days.

COMPARATIVE NOTES: As stated under O. itoi , these two endemic Japanese species are well separable from the more widely distributed congeners, but as both are rather variable, can be difficult to separate from each other. Besides characters given in the key, O. loebli often has small and rather short elytra, with somewhat "inflated", longer and wider abdomen, although such appearance may be inflicted by the disproportionately smaller elytra. This habitus may be suggestive of a particular lifestyle.

DISTRIBUTION: Only known from Japan, very likely endemic, currently known from only one locality.

BIONOMICS: Specimens were collected by sifting from very wet leaflitter near forest stream.

FIGS 395-405

(395-397) Ochthephilus nigerrimus (Cameron) ; aedeagus (395), female ringstructures (396-397). (398-402) O. championi (Bernhauer) ; aedeagus (398), apex of paramere (399), bases of parameres (400-401), female ringstructure (402). (403-405) O. hammondi sp. n.; aedeagus (403), female ringstructures (404-405). Scale bar = 0.05 mm for 404-405, 0.06 mm for 396-397, 399-402, 0.1 mm for 395, 403, 0.11 mm for 398.