Euconnus (Rhomboconnus) agiraffa, Jałoszyński, 2020

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2020, Euconnus (Rhomboconnus): redescriptions of species described by Schaufuss and Sharp, and descriptions of five new Mexican species (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4759 (2), pp. 209-222 : 214-216

Euconnus (Rhomboconnus) agiraffa sp. n.

( Figs 3–4 , 11 , 29–33)

Holotype: Mexico (Oaxaca State): ♂, two labels: “ S.Madre d. Sur / Umg. Oaxaca” and “Mex 25” on reverse side

[ white, printed, reverse handwritten], “ EUCONNUS / ( RHOMBOCONNUS ) / agiraffa m. / P. Jałoszyński, 2020 / HOLOTYPUS ” [red, printed] ( NHMW). Paratypes: 3 ♀♀, same data as for holotype ( NHMW) .

FIGURES 19–33. Aedeagus in ventral (19, 21, 24, 26, 29, 31) and lateral (20, 22, 25, 27, 30, 32) views, and endophallic sclerites in ventral view (23, 28, 33) of Euconnus (Rhomboconnus) . Euconnus cavifrons (L.W. Schaufuss) (19–23); E. giraffa Sharp (24–28); E. agiraffa sp. n. (29–33).

Diagnosis. Head in male relatively short but broad, with narrowly projecting and nearly straight posterior margin of vertex; tempora distinctly, evenly rounded; pronotum round, indistinctly broader than long and broadest slightly behind middle, with sharply marked transverse antebasal groove distinctly deepened at each end and with distinct, short sublateral carinae; dorsum sparsely setose; antennomeres VIII–IX about as long as broad; aedeagus with ventral plate in distal half gradually narrowing toward apex; endophallus with long and broad sclerites, of which the longest is pointed at apex, with strongly asymmetrical distal half.

Description. Body of male ( Figs 3–4 ) moderately convex, elongate, with moderately long and slender appendages, BL 1.93 mm; cuticle glossy, dark brown with reddish hue, vestiture slightly lighter than cuticle.

Head ( Fig. 11 ) relatively stout, strongly narrowing posteriorly, broadest at eyes, HL 0.40 mm, HW 0.35 mm; vertex and frons confluent, together evenly convex, posterior margin of vertex short and nearly straight; tempora distinctly, evenly rounded, about 4 × as long as eyes in dorsal view; supraantennal tubercles barely marked; eyes moderately large, finely faceted and weakly projecting from silhouette of head. Punctures on vertex and frons fine and inconspicuous; head dorsum with only several long and suberect setae, median area asetose, additionally posterior portion of each temple with 2–3 slender tufts of long thick bristles. Antennae slender but moderately long, AnL 1.00 mm; antennomeres I–II strongly elongate, III–IV each about as long as broad, V–VI weakly elongate, VII distinctly elongate, VIII–IX about as long as broad, X slightly elongate, XI slightly shorter than IX–X together, 2.2 × as long as broad, indistinctly flattened.

Pronotum ( Fig. 11 ) in dorsal view round, broadest slightly behind middle and strongly narrowing anterad, PL 0.43 mm, PW 0.45 mm; sides strongly rounded, anterior and posterior margins nearly straight, base with sharply marked transverse groove connecting tiny lateral pits, and with short and relatively distinct sublateral carinae laterad each pit, extending from posterior margin to the level of transverse groove. Punctures inconspicuous; setae moderately long, sparse, suberect, additionally sides with long and dense thick bristles.

Elytra together suboval, broadest distinctly in front of middle, EL 1.10 mm, EW 0.78 mm, EI 1.42; apices rounded together. Punctures on elytral disc slightly more distinct than those on head and pronotum but superficial and inconspicuous; setae sparse and suberect, similarly long as those on head and pronotum.

Legs moderately long and slender; unmodified.

Aedeagus (Figs 29–33) stout, AeL 0.35 mm, in ventral view drop-shaped with apical region rapidly narrowed; endophallus with relatively broad complex of sclerites (Fig. 33), of which the longest is asymmetrical in apical region, with slender, pointed apex; parameres slender, each with three long apical and subapical setae.

Female. Externally indistinguishable from male. BL 2.00– 2.09 mm; HL 0.43–0.46 mm, HW 0.38–0.39 mm, AnL 1.00– 1.05 mm; PL 0.45–0.46 mm, PW 0.45–0.49 mm; EL 1.13–1.18 mm, EW 0.80–0.85 mm, EI 1.38–1.41.

Distribution. Southern Mexico.

Etymology. The adjective agiraffa refers to the misidentification as E. giraffa , and was chosen to emphasize separate status of this species.

Remarks. This species was misidentified by Franz as E. giraffa (see Remarks for the latter species). In addition to rather laconic label data, Franz (1995) gives the following collecting circumstances: „Ich habe in der Sierra Madre del Sur bei Oaxaca in Mexiko, im Valle del Estudiante in einem kleinen Graben mit Laubhölzern am 25.06.1992 3 Exemplare aus Laubstreu gesiebt” (i.e., „In Sierra Madre del Sur near Oaxaca in Mexico, in Valle del Estudiante, in a small trench with hardwoods, I sifted from leaf litter 3 specimens on 25.06.1992 ”).

Euconnus agiraffa has the pronotum indistinctly transverse and broadest slightly behind middle, with strongly rounded sides and a relatively short anterior margin. These features make it somewhat similar to E. silvafortunensis Jałoszyński ; E. meteti Jałoszyński ; E. rhomboimitator Jałoszyński ; and E. inkachakanus Jałoszyński. The sparsely setose, stout head strongly narrowing posterad and with distinctly rounded tempora and a similarly sparsely setose pronotum differentiate E. agiraffa from E. silvafortunensis (densely setose head weakly narrowing posterad, with the tempora largely straight; pronotum densely setose); E. meteti (moderately densely setose head with nearly straight tempora); E. rhomboimitator (head with nearly straight tempora); and E. inkachakanus (densely setose head with nearly straight tempora; pronotum conspicuously densely setose).

Figures

FIGURES 1–8. Dorsal (1–3, 5–8) and lateral (4) habitus of Euconnus (Rhomboconnus). Euconnus cavifrons (L.W. Schaufuss) (1); E. giraffa Sharp (2); E. agiraffa sp. n. (3–4); E. oaxacanus sp. n. (5); E. bicarinatus sp. n. (6); E. cordobanus sp. n. (7); E. maya sp. n. (8).

FIGURES 9–15. Head and pronotum of Euconnus (Rhomboconnus) in dorsal view. Euconnus cavifrons (L.W. Schaufuss) (9); E. giraffa Sharp (10); E. agiraffa sp. n. (11); E. oaxacanus sp. n. (12); E. bicarinatus sp. n. (13); E. cordobanus sp. n. (14); E. maya sp. n. (15). Abbreviations: ami, anteromedian impression; abg, antebasal groove; abp, antebasal pit; slc, sublateral carina.