Paraphloeostiba papuana ( Cameron, 1931 )

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2023, New species and records of the genus Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae) from Papua New Guinea, and notes on some species from India, Indonesia and Philippines, Zootaxa 5301 (4), pp. 486-500 : 493-494

Paraphloeostiba papuana ( Cameron, 1931)

( Figs. 5 , 22–25 )

Phloeonomus papuanus Cameron, 1931: 356

Phloeonomus (Phloeonomus) papuanus: Scheerpeltz 1933: 1050

Paraphloeostiba papuana: Steel 1960: 153

Type material. Holotype of Phloeonomus papuanus Cameron, 1931 ♀ ( Fig. 5 ): ‘Type` <round printed label with red margin>, ‘Mt. Lamington | N. E. Papua | 1300 to 1500 feet | C. T. McNamara` <printed>, ‘ Phloeonomus | papuanus | TYPE [red] Cam.`<handwritten in black>, ‘NHMUK014663272 <printed label with barcode on the right side>, ‘ Paraphloeostiba | papuana ( Cameron, 1952) | Shavrin A.V. det. 2023`<printed> ( BMNH).

Additional material examined. PAPUA NEW GUINEA: 1 ♀: ‘Finschhafen, New Guinea 1.4/[19]44 Helfer` ( BMNH) .

Redescription. Measurements (n=2): HW: 0.38–0.42; HL: 0.20–0.22; OL: 0.15; TL: 0.02; AL (holotype): 0.46; PL: 0.28–0.30; PWmax: 0.52–0.55; PWmin: 0.42–0.44; ESL: 0.47–0.52; EW: 0.60–0.62; MTbL (holotype): 0.29; MTrL (holotype): 0.15 (MTrL 1–4: 0.05; MTrL 5: 0.10); AW: 0.65–0.67; BL: 1.80–1.85 (holotype).

Habitus as in Fig. 5 . Body yellow-brown, with darker lateral portions of head and abdomen in holotype; mouthparts, antennae and legs yellow (antenomeres 7–11 of specimen from Finschhafen slightly darker). Head with indistinct and very fine punctation, denser in middle; neck without punctures; pronotum with very dense and fine punctation, without distinct punctures in middle; scutellum without punctures; punctation of elytra dense, slightly larger and deeper than that on pronotum, finer along suture and in apical portions of each elytron; abdomen without visible punctures on abdominal tergites IV–VI, with very indistinct, fine and sparse punctation on tergites VII–VIII. Head with coarse microscupture; neck with distinct transverse meshes; pronotum with very dense microreticulation, slightly coarser than that in middle portion of head; microsculpture of elytra dense, slightly more transverse than that on pronotum; abdomen with dense sculpture, slightly transverse on abdominal tergites IV–VI and transverse on tergites VII–VIII.

Head with wide and moderately shallow postantennal depression, 1.9 times as broad as long, with very short (about as long as diameter of ocellus) and deep anteocellar foveae; postocular carina indistinct, acute, distance between posterior margin of eye and carina about as long as one nearest ommatidium. Apical maxillary palpomere sligthly more than twice as long as preapical segment. Antennomere 6 slightly and antennomeres 7–10 strongly transverse; antennomere 2 slightly narrower than basal antennomere, 3 slightly longer than 2, 4 slightly shorter than 4, 6 distinctly broader than 5, 7–9 significantly broader than 6, 10 slightly longer than 9, apical antennomere about twice as long as 10.

Pronotum 1.8 times as broad as long, 1.3 times as broad as head, widest in middle, slightly more narrowed posteriad than anteriad; posterior angles obtuse; anterior margin slightly concave in middle; middle portion without paramedian impressions; laterobasal impressions wide and shallow.

Elytra slightly convex, 1.1–1.2 times as broad as long, 1.6–1.7 times as long as pronotum slightly more narrowed posteriad than annteriad.

Abdomen slightly broader than elytra.

Male unknown.

Female. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII truncate ( Fig. 22 ). Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII rounded ( Fig. 23 ). Female accessory sclerite as in Fig. 24 . Spermatheca as in Fig. 25 .

Comparative notes. Based on the slightly convex elytra, the shape of the pronotum P. papuana is somewhat similar to P. obesa (see below), from which it can be distinguished by the smaller and slightly paler body, finer punctation of the pronotum, and different shape of the female accessory sclerite.

Distribution. Paraphloeostiba papuana is known from two localities in eastern part of Papua New Guinea.

Remarks. Phloeonomus papuanus was originally described based on the female from “Mount Lamington”, collected by C.T. McNamara. Steel (1960) redescribed it and transferred to the genus Paraphloeostiba . I re-studied the female which was previously studied by Steel. The spermatheca of P. papuana is figured for the first time.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Habitus of Paraphloeostiba: 1—P. conjuncta (holotype), 2—P. coriacea, 3—P. flaveola (holotype), 4—P. gayndahensis (Papua New Guinea), 5—P. papuana (holotype), 6—P. ullrichi (paratype). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 15–25. Aedeagus and abdominal segments of Paraphloeostiba flaveola (Figs, 15–21: holotype) and P. papuana (Figs. 22–25): 15—aedeagus, parameral view, 16—aedeagus, (lateral view), 17—male tergite VIII, dorsal view, 18—male sternite VIII, ventral view, 19, 22—female tergite VIII, dorsal view, 20, 23—female sternite VIII, ventral view, 21, 24—female genital segment, ventral view, 25—spermatheca, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.