Scaphidium solukhumbu, Ivan Löbl & Ryo Ogawa, 2016

Ivan Löbl & Ryo Ogawa, 2016, Contribution to the knowledge of Himalayan and North Indian species of Scaphidium (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 123 (1), pp. 159-163 : 159-161

Scaphidium solukhumbu sp. n.

Figs 1 , 3, 4

Holotype: SMNS; Ƌ; 514 NEPAL: Solukhumbu Distr., Junbesi 2700 m, 11.V.1997 leg. M. Hauser.

Paratypes: SMNS, MHNG; 2 ♀; 521 NEPAL: Solukhumbu Distr., below Pangun 2500 m, 14.- 15.V.1997 leg. W. Schawaller. – MHNG; 1 ♀; 525 NEPAL: Solukhumbu Distr., Hinku Drangka Khola bridge 2000, 18-19.V.1997, leg. W. Schawaller.

Etymology: The species epithet is the name of the district in Eastern Nepal in which the species was collected.

Description: Length 4.0-4.4 mm (with head and abdomen about 5.1 mm); width 2.8-2.95 mm. Body black, elytra each with subbasal and subapical transverse reddish fasciae, both narrowed in middle, reaching to lateral margin striae. Subbasal fascia almost reaching sutural stria and basal puncture row, larger than subapical fascia and strongly narrowed in middle ( Fig. 1 ). Mouthparts brown to reddish. Antennomeres I to VII dark brown to reddish, VIII to X black, XI black in basal half to two thirds, brown in apical half to third. Femora and tibiae black, tarsi dark brown. Frons wide, at narrowest point 0.22-0.27 mm, with punctures smaller than puncture intervals, becoming dense posterior level of eyes. Pronotum not elevated above level of elytra, gradually, moderately inflexed anteriad; lateral margins slightly sinuate, anterior section of lateral margin striae not exposed in dorsal view. Prevailing pronotal punctation fine, most puncture intervals about as twice as large as diameters in middle part of disc, punctures very fine at base, antebasal puncture row slightly impressed, not interrupted in middle. Anterior and lateral margin striae impunctate. Scutellum convex. Elytra moderately convex, without impressions or protuberances; adsutural areas flat in basal third, raised in apical two thirds; discal punctation finer and less dense than pronotal punctation; discal puncture rows absent; sutural striae with punctures about as small as discal punctures. Hypomera and mesanepisterna shiny, not microsculptured, very finely punctate. Prosternal margin punctures not elongate. Middle part of metaventrite impressed posterior midlength, with discrimen uninterrupted. Metacoxal process of metaventrite truncate, not notched. Legs fairly long. Abdomen finely punctate, with punctulate microsculpture.

Male characters: Metaventrite with deep mesal impression. Setal patch dense, covering impressed two thirds of mesal part of metaventrite, setae recumbent and moderately long, except for longer lateral setae, latter oblique, weakly curled. Setiferous punctures dense and coarse, puncture diameters about as puncture intervals. Anterior side of profemora with elongate carina. Protibiae slightly sinuate, thickened posterior mid-length, about 0.11 mm at widest point, near base about 0.08 mm. Protarsomeres 1 to 3 moderately widened. Mesotibiae slightly bent, somewhat thickened in apical third, with distinct setal comb on inner side. Metatibiae almost straight, slightly thickened apically. Aedeagus ( Figs 3, 4 ) 1.42 mm long.

Female characters: Tibiae slightly shorter than in male. Protibiae straight, apical third of mesotibiae and metatibiae slightly bent. Metaventrite with shallow apicomedian impression; punctation much finer than that on middle of sternite 1. Gonocoxite densely setose along inner margin, with two long and one short subapical setae near our apical angle. Gonostyle short, narrowed apically, with one short, one fairly long and one long apical setae, in addition to few scattered setae.

Type locality: Nepal, Solukhumbu District, Junbesi, 2700 m.

Comments: This species is similar to S. nepalense from which it may be readily distinguished by the narrower frons, the pronotum with barely sinuate lateral margins and finer punctation, the shape of the elytral fasciae, in males by the less curved mesotibiae and metatibiae, the patch on metaventrite consisting mostly of straight, recumbent setae, the shape of the median lobe and the internal sac of the aedeagus, in particular by the oblique ventral side of the median lobe (in lateral view) and by the shape of sclerites of the internal sac. As the median lobes of the aedeagi are in these two species more distinctive in lateral than in dorsal view, an illustration of the aedeagus of S. nepalense in lateral view is here given ( Fig. 5 ). The internal sac of the aedeagus of S. solukhumbu is similar to that in S. harmandi (see Löbl, 1992: 593, fig. 72); these two species may be easily distinguished by the head colour and the secondary male characters.

Figures

Figs 1 - 2. Scaphidium solukhumbu sp. n., female paratype, in dorsal and lateral views (1), Scaphidium yeti sp. n., holotype (2), in dorsal and lateral views. Scale bar = 1 mm, valid for both species.

Figs 3 - 7. Scaphidium solukhumbu sp. n., holotype, aedeagus in dorsal (3) and lateral (4) views. Scaphidium nepalense Löbl, aedeagus in lateral view (5). Scaphidium yeti sp. n., holotype, aedeagus in dorsal (6) and lateral (7) views. Aedeagi without proximal part of basal bulb. Scale bar = 0.3 mm, valid for both species.