Cephennodes (Cephennodes) gorkha, Jałoszyński, 2017

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2017, Ant-like stone beetles on the roof of the world. Cephenniini of Nepal and Bhutan (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4349 (1), pp. 1-120 : 60-62

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) gorkha sp. n.

( Figs 151 , 175–178 , 224 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL (Taplejung District): ♂, one label: " NEPAL, Taplejung Distr., / upper Simbua Khola Valley, / near Tseram, 3250–3350 m / 10.–15.V.1988, / leg. J. Martens & W. Schawaller" [white, printed] ( SMNS).

Diagnosis. BL 1.30 mm; abdominal sternite III in ventral view with basal transverse carina deeply emarginate at middle, and with posterior median projection which is broadly subtriangular and bears at middle abruptly expanded rounded lobe; apex of median lobe of aedeagus subtriangular and blunt; apical projection of aedeagus distant from apex of median lobe, with distal margin shallowly sinuate and strongly oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 151 ) moderately dark brown, elongate, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, moderately strongly convex, covered with light brown setae with grayish shade; BL 1.30 mm.

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.18 mm, HW 0.23 mm; vertex strongly and evenly convex, with a pair of tiny but distinct tubercles; frons confluent with vertex; supraantennal tubercles small, weakly elevated; eyes moderately large, strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on vertex and frons very small but distinct, shallow but with sharply marked margins, slightly irregular in shape, unevenly and densely distributed, those in median portion of frons separated by spaces 0.5–2 × as wide as diameters of punctures; setae sparse, short, suberect. Antennae moderately long and slender, AnL 0.68 mm, pentamerous club indistinctly delimited; antennomere I about 1.5 × as long as broad; II narrower and much longer than I, 1.8 × as long as broad; III–VI subequal in length and width, each slightly narrower than II and 1.1–1.3 × as long as broad; VII slightly longer and broader than VI, 1.2 × as long as broad; VIII distinctly broader but only slightly longer than VII, slightly transverse; IX much larger than VIII, slightly transverse; X larger than IX, slightly transverse; XI distinctly broader than X, much shorter than IX–X together, slightly less than twice as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view is nearly semicircular, broadest between middle and anterior third, PL 0.38 mm, PW 0.60 mm; anterior margin in strictly dorsal view arcuate; lateral margins not serrate, strongly rounded in anterior third, nearly straight in posterior half and distinctly convergent toward slightly obtuse-angled hind corners; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae distinct but narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small and shallow, each slightly closer to lateral than posterior pronotal margin. Punctures on disc very small and shallow, evenly and densely distributed, separated by spaces 1–1.5 × as wide as diameters of punctures; setae moderately long, dense, suberect.

Elytra elongate, oval, broadest near anterior third, EL 0.75 mm, EW 0.70 mm, EI 1.07. Humeral calli weakly elevated; subhumeral lines distinct, equal to about 0.2 EL, each developed as a sharp stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron connected to relatively deep, arcuate impression extending posteriorly and slightly mesally; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures similar to those on pronotum but of various depths, so that surface of elytra appears slightly uneven; setae denser, longer and more erect than those on pronotum.

Hind wings not studied.

Metaventrite with moderately large, sharply delimited postmesocoxal impressions, with median area covered with very fine, dense punctures.

Abdomen ( Figs 175–176 ) with only sternite III modified, in ventral view sternite III bears broad transverse submedian carina, carina deeply and broadly emarginate at middle, posteriorly sternite III with broadly subtriangular and short median lobe bearing at middle abruptly expanded small rounded lobe.

Legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 177–178 ) slender, AeL 0.20 mm, apex of median lobe subtriangular and blunt; apical projection distant from median lobe, its distal margin shallowly sinuate and so strongly oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus that it becomes lateral margin; apex of apical projection subtriangular and nearly pointed; parameres very slender, nearly equal in length, not exceeding apex of median lobe, each with one apical seta.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution ( Fig. 224 ). Eastern Nepal.

Etymology. The name refers to the Gorkha Dynasty ruling in Nepal from the 16th century (noun in apposition).

Remarks. This species can also be identified solely on the basis of the unique shape of carinae and projections on the abdominal sternite III in males. Despite very similar general body shape and proportions, C. gorkha and C. malla differ clearly not only in male dimorphic characters, but also in proportions of the antennomeres.

In the holotype male of C. gorkha , two very large subcuticular sacs can be seen in the transparent mount of the abdomen ( Fig. 176 ); these structures are located under sternites II and III, occupying their entire length. It is possible that these structures are gland reservoirs with openings located under lateral portions of the basal carina of the sternite III, and they excrete a secretion similar to that found in C. malla .

Figures

FIGURES 148 – 155. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) letheanus sp. n. (148), C. (s. str.) myagdiensis sp. n. (149), C. (s. str.) malla sp. n. (150), C. (s. str.) gorkha sp. n. (151), C. (s. str.) tharepatianus sp. n. (152), C. (s. str.) minisulcatus sp. n. (153), C. (s. str.) mustangensis sp. n. (154), and C. (s. str.) lalitpuranus sp. n. (155).

FIGURES 163 – 178. Abdomen of male in right lateral (163, 167, 171, 175) and ventral (164, 168, 172, 176) views and aedeagus in ventral (165, 169, 173, 177) and lateral (166, 170, 174, 178) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) letheanus sp. n. (163 – 166), C. (s. str.) myagdiensis sp. n. (167 – 170), C. (s. str.) malla sp. n. (171 – 174), C. (s. str.) gorkha sp. n. (175 – 178).

FIGURES 223 – 224. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) letheanus sp. n. (223, circle), C. (s. str.) myagdiensis sp. n. (223, triangle), C. (s. str.) malla sp. n. (224, circle), C. (s. str.) gorkha sp. n. (224, circle).