Pseudomedon bengalensis, Assing, 2012

Assing, V., 2012, The first species of Pseudomedon from the Himalaya, with additional records of P. kazakhstanicus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Medonina), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (1), pp. 347-350 : 348-349

Pseudomedon bengalensis nov.sp. ( Figs 1-4 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype Ƌ: " India W. Bengal, Darjeeling distr., Ghoom-Lopchu, 2000 m, Besuchet-Löbl, 14.X.78 / Lathrobium sp.?, det. G. de Rougemont 1999 / Holotypus Ƌ Pseudomedon bengalensis sp.n. det. V. Assing 2011 " (MHNG). Paratypes Ƌ: same data as holotype (cAss).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 3.2-3.4 mm. Coloration: body yellowish-red, with the anterior two thirds of abdominal segment VII infuscate; legs and antennae darkyellowish.

Head ( Fig. 1 ) approximately as long as broad; lateral margins behind eyes subparallel or weakly converging posteriad; posterior angles moderately marked; punctation, except for some punctures on frons, extremely fine and dense, barely noticable; interstices with very shallow microsculpture. Eyes large, 0.7-0.8 times as long as postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna moderately slender; antennomere III approximately as long as II, approximately 2.5 times as long as broad; IV-VIII of gradually decreasing length and decreasingly oblong; IX approximately as long as broad; X indistinctly transverse.

Pronotum ( Fig. 1 ) weakly oblong, approximately 1.05 times as long as broad and 1.05

times as broad as head; punctation extremely fine and dense; interstices without distinct microsculpture and glossy.

Elytra approximately 1.1 times as long as, and much broader than pronotum ( Fig. 1 ); punctation extremely dense and fine, but more distinct than that of head and pronotum.

Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra; punctation very fine and dense; interstices with shallow microreticulation; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

Ƌ: sternite VII not distinctly modified; sternite VIII distinctly oblong, its posterior margin truncate, not concave or distinctly excised ( Fig. 2 ); aedeagus approximately 0.35 mm long, shaped as in Figs 3-4.

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (adjective) is derived from West Bengal, the province where the type locality is situated.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: In order to account for the new species, the key in

ASSING (2009) is modified as follows:

1 Pale-coloured species, forebody or whole body yellowish, reddish, or yellowish-brown.1a

- Dark-coloured species, at least head and abdomen dark brown to blackish........................8

1a Anterior two thirds of abdominal segment VII distinctly infuscate and contrasting with remainder of body. Ƌ: sternite VIII and aedeagus as in Figs 2-4 . N-India: West Bengal ..... .......................................................................................................... P. bengalensis nov.sp.

- Abdominal segment VII not distinctly contrasting with remainder of body. Ƌ: sexual characters different. Absent from the Himalaya..................................................................2 D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: The type locality is situated near Ghoom, Darjeeling district, West Bengal province, North India. The specimens were collected at an altitude of 2000 m.

Figures

Figs 1-4: Pseudomedon bengalensis nov.sp.: (1) forebody; (2) male sternite VIII; (3) aedeagus in lateral view; (4) ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2: 0.2 mm; 3-4: 0.1 mm.