Lathrobium guransicum, Assing, 2018

Assing, Volker, 2018, Five new species of Lathrobium from Nepal and China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology (Beitr. Entomol.) 68 (2), pp. 361-369 : 364

Lathrobium guransicum spec. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B1554BAD-7DAF-4C64-938B-2CB07BC00902 ( Figs 11–16 ) Type material: Holotype : “NEP: Mahakali / Darchula, vic. Rapla, Shipu Lekh , 4320 m, N29°54'17", E80°47'57", 24.VI.2017, leg. A. Weigel, rocky slopes/snow fields, #17-11a / Holotypus  Lathrobium guransicum sp. n., det. V. Assing 2018” (NME). 2 : same data as holotype (NME, cAss). Etymology: The specific epithet is an adjective derived from the name of the mountain range (Gurans Himal) where the type locality is situated. Description: Body length 7.0– 7.5 mm; length of fore- body 3.2–3.4 mm; habitus as in Fig. 11 . Coloration: body reddish; legs yellowish-red; antennae reddish. Head ( Fig. 12 ) approximately as broad as long; punctation moderately fine and rather dense; interstices with very shallow microreticulation. Eyes ( Fig. 13 ) not projecting from lateral contours of head, very small, and composed of approximately 10 ommatidia.

Pronotum ( Fig. 12 ) approximately 1.25 times as long as broad and approximately 0.95 times as broad as head; punctation slightly finer and denser than that of head; interstices without microsculpture.

Elytra ( Fig. 12 ) short, approximately 0.6 times as long as pronotum; humeral angles weakly marked; punc- tation shallow and ill-defined; interstices without microsculpture. Hind wings completely reduced. Metati- bia somewhat compressed.

Abdomen broader than elytra; punctation moderately fine and dense; interstices with fine, shallow, and trans- verse microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe; posterior margin of tergite VIII convex.

: protarsomeres I–IV strongly dilated; sternite VII ( Fig. 15 ) very strongly transverse, with dense and strongly modified setae in postero-median portion and with moderately dense and weakly modified setae along middle, posterior margin broadly and distinctly concave; sternite VIII ( Fig. 16 ) transverse, with extensive impres- sion in postero-median portion, this impression with numerous dense and strongly modified setae, posterior excision very broad, shallow, and slightly asymmetric; aedeagus ( Fig. 14 ) 1.6 mm long; ventral process straight and apically hooked in lateral view, and symmetric in ventral view; dorsal plate with long, strongly sclerotized, and apically acute apical portion, basal portion completely reduced; internal sac with a massive and strongly scle- rotized apical spine and with a weakly sclerotized subapical spine.

: unknown.

Comparative notes: Primarily based on the morphology of the aedeagus (dorsal plate with strongly sclerotized apical portion and reduced basal portion; internal sac with heavily sclerotized apical spine), L. guransicum is tentatively attributed to the L. emodense group (see ASSING 2012), which previously included seven species from Central Nepal: L. emodense COIFFAIT, 1975 (SW-Annapurna), L. curvum ASSING, 2012 (Dhaulagiri) , L. spinosissimum ASSING, 2012 (Annapurna: Lamjung Himal), L. annapurnense ASSING, 2012 (Annapurna: Lamjung Himal), L. rude ASSING, 2014 (SE-Annapurna), L. kiruense ASSING, 2015 (SE-Annapurna), and L. unguiferum ASSING, 2016 (S-Dhaulagiri). The new species is distinguished from all of them by smaller eyes (other species: eyes composed of at least approximately 20 ommatidia), by completely different shapes and chaetotaxy of the male sternites VII and VIII, as well as by the morphology of the aedeagus. For illustrations of other species of the L. emodense group see ASSING (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016).

Distribution: The type locality and the circumstances of collection are identical to those of L. adsurgens .

Figures

Figs 1–14: Lathrobium adsurgens (1–10) and L. guransicum (11–14): habitus (1, 11); forebody (2, 12); head in lateral view (3, 13); male sternite VII (4); male sternite VIII (5); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (6–7, 14); female sternite VIII (8); posteromedian portion of female sternite VIII (9); female tergites IX–X (10). Scale bars: 1, 11: 2.0 mm; 2, 12: 1.0 mm; 3–8, 10, 13–14: 0.5 mm; 9: 0.2 mm.

Figs 15–20: Lathrobium guransicum (15–16) and L. latius (17–20): male sternite VII (15, 17); male sternite VIII (16, 18); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (19–20). Scale bars: 15–16: 0.5 mm; 17–20: 0.2 mm.