Pseudobironium brancuccii, Lobl & Liang Tang, 2013

Löbl, Ivan & Tang, Liang, 2013, A review of the genus Pseudobironium Pic (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scaphidiinae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 120 (4), pp. 665-734 : 690-692

Pseudobironium brancuccii sp. nov. Figs 34-36

HOLOTYPE: Ƌ, NEPAL, Arun V. Arun R. 800m, Hedangan-Num, 16.VI.1983, leg. M. Brancucci ( NHMB).

PARATYPES: INDIA, Meghalaya, Tura Peak , 600-1000m, 25°30'N 90°14'E, 12.- 22.VI.2007, 2 Ƌ, 2 ♀ leg. P. Pacholátko ( NHMB, MHNG) .

DESCRIPTION: Length 2.80-3.0 mm, width 2.05-2.20 mm. Head, most of abdomen and femora reddish-brown to blackish-brown. Pronotum and elytra dark reddish-brown to almost black. Tibiae slightly lighter than femora. Apical abdominal segments, tarsi and palpi light reddish-brown, antennae yellowish-brown. Maxillary palpi with palpomere IV tapering, about 4 times as long as wide. Length ratio of antennomeres as II 13: III 10: IV 18: V 18: VI 17: VII 17: VIII 17: IX 17: X 16: XI 19; antennomere XI about three times as long as wide. Head and pronotum with similar, fine and dense punctation. Punctures not clearly delimited, intervals between pronotal punctures mostly about twice to three times as large as puncture diameters. Elytra each with very low, inconspicuous and sometimes hardly visible subapical hump and somewhat irregular surface posterior hump, lateral impression absent. Elytral punctation distinctly coarser that pronotal punctation, punctures well delimited, puncture intervals mostly about twice to four times as large as puncture diameters, near apices coarser and denser than on remaining surface. Prohypomera very finely punctate, appearing smooth. Mesoventrite very finely punctate near margin, without median ridge. Metaventrite in middle almost flat, irregularly, rather finely punctate except on smooth anterior area, lacking microsculpture. Lateral parts of metaventrite very finely punctate, without microsculpture. Submesocoxal area slightly longer than third of shortest interval to metacoxa. Metacoxal process smooth, lacking mesal stria or tuber- FIGS 32-36

(32, 33) Pseudobironium augur sp. nov., aedeagus in lateral view (32), tip of median lobe (33); scale bars for aedeagus = 0.2 mm, for tip of median lobe = 0.1 mm. (34-36) Pseudobironium brancuccii sp. nov., aedeagus in dorsal (34) and lateral (35) views, internal sac in dorsal view (36); scale bars for aedeagus = 0.2 mm, for internal sac = 0.1 mm.

cle, with truncate margin. Mesotibiae and metatibiae weakly curved, mesotibial ventral spur straight. Abdominal sternite 1 without microsculpture, except on apicomedian area, very finely punctuate. Following sternites with punctulate microsculpture, lacking basal wrinkles and very finely punctate.

Male: Tarsomeres 1 to 3 of prolegs fairly widened, slightly narrower than apex of protibia, bearing long tenent setae. Aedeagus (Figs 34-36) 1.03-1.06 mm long, fairly sclerotized. Basal bulb narrow. Apical process slightly longer than basal bulb, weakly inflexed, with ventral side hardly sinuate, tip somewhat prominent ventrally and acute in lateral view. Parameres narrow, evenly wide, sinuate in lateral and dorsal views, lacking membranous lobes. Internal sac with sinuate flagellum, inconspicuous pair of admesal, tripartid complexes of sclerites, membranes strigulate.

DISTRIBUTION: Nepal, Northeast India.

ETYMOLOGY: The species is named in honour of one of its collectors, Michel

Brancucci, Basel, Switzerland, late friend and colleague of the senior author.

COMMENTS: The aedeagus of this species resembles that of P. augur , has however the tip of the median lobe very shortly bent, lacks sclerotized plates joined to admesal sclerotized complex, and differs in the shape of the parameres. It may be distinguished from P. augur also by the abdominal microscultpture, narrow impunctate mesal area of metaventrite, and truncate margin of metacoxal process.