Sunius virilis, Assing, 2015

Assing, Volker, 2015, A revision of Sunius XV. Six new species from Kyrgyzstan and the Himalaya, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 65 (2), pp. 287-295 : 292-293

Sunius virilis spec. nov.

( Figs 11–14 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: “ INDIA W. Begal, Darjeeling distr. , Algarah–Labha 1900 m, Besuchet-Löbl 11.X.78 / Holotypus ♂ Sunius virilis spec. nov. det. V. Assing 2015” ( MHNG) . Paratypes: 3 ♀♀: same data as holotype ( MHNG, cAss) .

Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: virile, masculine) alludes to the conspicuously long and large aedeagus.

Description: Body length 3.7–4.0 mm; length of forebody 1.8–1.9 mm. External characters ( Fig. 11 ) similar to those of S. marratus , except for the slightly larger size and the less dense and less coarse punctation of the anterior dorsal portion of the head.

♂: sternite VII without distinct modifications; sternite VIII ( Fig. 12 ) distinctly oblong, nearly 1.3 times as long as broad, and with small and shallow posterior incision; aedeagus ( Figs 13–14 ) of highly distinctive morphology, 0.8 mm long; ventral process of distinctive shape; internal sac with pair of enormous (length: 0.9 mm), strongly sclerotized internal structures of different shapes.

Comparative notes: Like S. marratus , this species belongs to the S. manasluensis group. It differs from other species of this group by the shape of the male sternite VIII and particularly by the highly distinctive morphology of the aedeagus.

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated between Algarah and Labha in Darjeeling district (North India: West Bengal) at an altitude of 1900 m.

Figures

Figs 1–14: Sunius alaianus spec. nov. (1–6), S. marratus spec. nov. (7–10), and S. virilis spec. nov. (11–14): habitus (1); forebody (2, 7, 11); male sternite VIII (3, 8, 12); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (4, 9–10, 13–14); ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view (5); internal structures of aedeagus in ventral view (6). Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2, 7, 11: 0.5 mm; 3, 8, 12: 0.2 mm; 4–6, 9–10, 13–14: 0.1 mm.