Neosclerus bifidus, Assing, 2011

Assing, Volker, 2011, A revision of the genus Neosclerus C (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 6 (1), pp. 89-148 : 124

Neosclerus bifidus sp. n. ( Figs 116-124, 134)

Type material:

Holotype : " Taiwan, Kaohsiung Hsien, Peinantashan trail, 2020 m, 7.VII.93, A. Smetana [T143] / Holotypus  Neosclerus bifidusbifidus sp. n. det. V. Assing 2010 " (cAss) . Paratypes: 2 , 2 : same data as holotype (cSme, cAss); 1 : " Taiwan, Kaohsiung Hsien, Peinantashan trail, 2000 m, 7.VII.93, A. Smetana [T144]" (cSme); 13 exs. [1  with teratologically deformed aedeagus]: " Taiwan, Kaohsiung Hsien , Tengchin , 1610 m, 24.IV.1990, A. Smetana [T20]" (cSme, cAss); 1 : " Taiwan, Kaohsiung Hsien, Tengchin, 1565 m, 23.IV.1990, A. Smetana [T18]" (cSme) .

Description:

Body length 3.5-3.7 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 116. External morphology as in N .. configens ( Fig. 117), except for the (on average) less distinct microsculpture of the head, reliably distinguished only by the male sexual characters:

: posterior margin of sternite VII distinctly concave in the middle, near this concavity with cluster of numerous slender setae ( Fig. 118); sternite VIII anteriorly with longitudinally bifid carina posteriorly extending into a bifid process with two long setae in the middle, posterior excision almost V-shaped, its depth barely 1/4 the length of sternite ( Figs 119-121); aedeagus with ventral process of characteristic shape ( Figs 122-124, 134).

Etymology:

The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: bifid) alludes to the shape of the anterior carina on the male sternite VIII.

Comparative notes:

Neosclerus bifidus is closely related to N .. configensconfigens and allied species, from which it is reliably distinguished only by the male sexual characters.

Distribution and bionomics:

The species was collected in several localities in Kaohsiung Hsien, southern Taiwan, at altitudes of 1565-2020 m in April and July. The specimens were sifted from debris in a Taiwania cryptomeroides forest, from bark, humus, and other debris around bases of standing dead trees in a forest clearing, from moss and bark on a large fallen tree in a mature broadleaved evergreen forest, and from moist fallen leaves and various debris along edges of an abandoned forest road in an evergreen broadleaved forest (SMETANASMETANA pers. comm.). One of the males has a teratologically deformed aedeagus .