Thaumastocephalus rujnicensis Hlaváč, Bregović & Jalžić, 2019

Hlaváč, Peter, Bregović, Petra & Jalžić, Branko, 2019, Endogean and cavernicolous Coleoptera of the Balkans. XVIII. Strong radiation in caves of the Central Dinarides: seven new species of Thaumastocephalus Poggi et al., 2001 (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae), Zootaxa 4559 (1), pp. 90-110 : 93-96

Thaumastocephalus rujnicensis Hlaváč, Bregović & Jalžić , sp. n.

( Fig. 4 )

Etymology. This species is named after Rujnica where the cave Bežurova jama is situated.

Material studied. HOLOTYPE: Ƌ: CROATIA: Metković , Desne , Rujnica , Varda, Bežurova jama (cave), 9.II.2015, B. Jalžić lgt. (CNHM). PARATYPE (1♂): same data as holotype ( CPH) .

Description. Body shiny, reddish-brown, covered with dense, uneven setae, with long setae on posterior part of elytra; legs, antennae and maxillary palpi of the same colour, length 1.97 mm, maximum width of elytra 0.66 mm. Head 1.25 times as long as wide, 0.74 times narrower than pronotum, rostrum 2.50 times as wide as long. Antennae about 0.84 mm long, scape 2.43 times as long as pedicel, antennomere III as long as IV, antennomere IV 1.2 times as long as V, V–VII of same length, VIII slightly shorter than VII and slightly shorter than IX, antennomere X about as long as VII, terminal antennomere 3.56 times as long as X, relative length of antennomeres: 1.00 / 0.41 / 0.29 / 0.29 / 0.26 / 0.26 / 0.26 / 0.24 / 0.26 / 0.26 / 0.94. Pronotum 1.07 times as long as wide. Elytra 1.30 times as wide as long and 1.17 times as long as pronotum. Abdomen 1.26 times as long as elytra. Legs long, protibiae slightly modified, slightly depressed in apical half, median spine minuscule, mesotibiae simple, metatibiae simple. Aedeagus ( Fig. 4 ) 0.38 mm long, with basal bulb about 1.45 times as long as apical part, right paramere more robust than left, both with three preapical setae, internal sac with two asymmetric structures from which one is spiral, dorsal diaphragm present.

Sexual dimorphism. Females lacking modification of protibiae.

Differential diagnosis. T. rujnicensis is readily separated from all other known species of the genus by: 1) protibiae at most with minuscule tooth, 2) body length under 2 mm, 3) terminal antennomere short, less than 4 times as long as antennomere X, 4) elytra short, less than 1.2 times as long as pronotum.

Distribution and habitat. T. rujnicensis is known only from the cave Bežurova jama ( Figs 19, 21 ), situated at 430 m a.s.l., about 200 m away from the cave Jamica u Docima (type locality of T. kirini ), near the peak Varda (517 m, Fig. 20 ) and the village Desne ( Fig. 30 , yellow circle). The cave is 51 m deep, and the air temperature measured in the cave on 23rd August 1997 was 10.3 °C. The following fauna is also recorded in the cave: Coleoptera— Neotrechus sp., Speonesiotes sp. (det. B. Jalžić), and Bryaxis scapularis (Reitter, 1881) as noted by Bekchiev and Hlaváč (2016).

Figures

FIGURE 30. Distribution map of the species of the genus Thaumastocephalus mentioned in this work.

FIGURES 1–4. 1—Thaumatocephalus bilandzijae sp. n., aedeagus, dorsal view (scale: 0.1 mm); 2—Thaumatocephalus kirini sp. n., aedeagus, dorsal view (scale: 0.2 mm); 3—Thaumatocephalus marsici sp. n., aedeagus, dorsal view (scale: 0.2 mm); 4—Thaumatocephalus rujnicensis sp. n., aedeagus, dorsal view (scale: 0.1 mm).

FIGURES 19–21. 19—entrance to Bežurova jama (cave), type locality (photo Branko Jalžić); 20—peak Varda where the cave is situated (photo Branko Jalžić); 21—topographical map of the type locality (the finding place of the T. rujnicensis sp. n. is marked with red dots).