Orphnebius (Deroleptus) moruliflavus, Assing, 2019

Assing, Volker, 2019, On the Lomechusini fauna of the Palaearctic and Oriental regions. XXVI. New species, a new synonymy, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 69 (1), pp. 33-70 : 52-53

Orphnebius (Deroleptus) moruliflavus spec. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:57A6C5B3-7F8A-46BB-88B3-2213C17C91A8

(Figs 17–18, 110–113)

Type material: Holotype: “BORNEO, Sabah, ca. 300 m, SAFE Project xi–xii.2011, Logged forest , Palm oil, N4°63'50’’ – N4°77'16’’ [sic], E117°43'83 – E117°70'31’’ [sic], Malaise-Pitfall Combination / SAFE Project, Ewers et al., 111119-154b, 016004 / Holotypus Orphnebius moruliflavus sp. n., det. V. Assing 2018” (cAss).

Etymology: The specific epithet is an adjective composed of the Latin adjectives morulus (black) and flavus (yellow). It alludes to the conspicuously bicoloured body.

Description: Body length 3.6 mm; length of forebody 1.6 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 17. Coloration (Figs 17–18): head blackish with the frons and the clypeus paler brown; remainder of body dark-yellow; legs, antennae, and maxillary palpi yellow.

Head strongly transverse, posterior angles obsolete; clypeus not membranous, broadly concave anteriorly; dorsal surface with moderately sparse and moderately fine punctation; interstices without microsculpture. Eyes large and bulging, nearly reaching posterior margin of head. Antenna moderately slender, 1.4 mm long; antennomeres III slender, IV weakly oblong, V approximately as long as broad, VI–X increasingly transverse and gradually increasing in width, X less than 1.5 times as broad as long, and XI approximately as long as the combined length of IX and X.

Pronotum strongly transverse, 1.65 times as broad as long and as broad as head; disc moderately convex in cross-section; lateral margins straight and nearly parallel in dorsal view; punctation fine and sparse, midline broadly impunctate; lateral margins each with three long and erect black setae, two anteriorly and one posteriorly.

Elytra approximately 1.2 times as long as, and distinctly broader than pronotum; punctation moderately fine and moderately dense; interstices without microsculpture. Hind wings fully developed. Legs moderately long and slender; metatibia approximately 0.7 mm long; metatarsus nearly as long as metatibia; metatarsomere I slightly longer than the combined length of II and III.

Abdomen (Fig. 18) gradually tapering from base to apex; tergite IV and sternites III–IV with a short and broadly rounded extension; sternite V with a pronounced, long and flattened extension directed posteriad; tergite IV broadly and convexly produced posteriorly; tergite V broadly produced posteriorly, middle of this projection broadly truncate; tergites V and VI with a pair of moderately long setae at posterior margin and with a conspicuously stout long and dark seta postero-laterally on either side; tergites III–VI otherwise practically impunctate; tergite VII with rather coarse and very dense non-setiferous punctation, posterior margin with a pronounced palisade fringe; tergite VIII with posterior margin of distinctive shape (Fig. 110).

: sternite VIII transverse, with strongly convex posterior margin, and with some stout dark setae mediolaterally; median lobe of aedeagus and paramere as in Figs 111–113.

: unknown.

Comparative notes: Based on the external and sexual characters, especially the shape of tergite VIII and the chaetotaxy of sternite VIII, O. moruliflavus belongs to the O. siwalikensis group. Among the species of this group, it is characterized particularly by the coloration, the modifications of the abdomen, and the shape of the posterior margin of tergite VIII. From other species of the O. siwalikensis group recorded from Borneo, this species is distinguished by the coloration alone. For illustrations of numerous other species of the O. siwalikensis group see ASSING (2016b, 2017a).

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated in Sabah ( Malaysia), Borneo. The holotype was collected with a combination of Malaise and pitfall traps.