Cephennodes (Cephennodes) karnaliensis, 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 : 29-30

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) karnaliensis sp. n.

( Figs 38 , 55–56, 76–77, 90)

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL (Jumla District): ♂, one label: " NEPAL, Prov. Karnali / 29°12,10' N, 82°18,56'E / Hochtal Gothichaur / 2900–3500 m NN / 10.VI.1997 WS / leg.: J. Weipert" [white, printed] ( NME).

Diagnosis. BL ~ 1.5 mm; elytra stout, EI only 1.06; body dark reddish-brown with much darker, dark chocolate head and pronotum; antennae unmodified; protibiae in male strongly thickened and nearly straight, distinctly broadened mesally in sub-basal region, with long patch of dense spatulate setae; apical projection of median lobe in ventral view strongly elongate and strongly recurved, slightly narrowing distally, in lateral view strongly curved; each paramere with one apical and one subapical seta unequal in length and only slightly thickened.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 38 ) dark reddish-brown with much darker, dark chocolate head, pronotum and antennae, also elytral suture slightly darkened; stout, with distinct constriction between pronotum and elytra, strongly convex, covered with light brown setae; BL 1.53 mm.

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.20 mm, HW 0.38 mm; vertex and frons confluent and weakly convex; supraantennal tubercles distinct but weakly elevated; eyes moderately large, strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on frons and vertex fine and inconspicuous; setae very short, sparse, suberect. Antennae moderately long and moderately thickened, AnL 0.75 mm; antennomeres relatively compactly assembled, pentamerous club so indistinctly delimited that antennae appear gradually thickened; antennomere I about 1.4 × as long as broad; II distinctly narrower and slightly shorter than I, about 1.4 × as long as broad; III–V similar, each slightly narrower than II and much shorter, about as long as broad, VI indistinctly larger than V and about as long as broad, VII slightly broader and slightly longer than VI, slightly transverse, VIII–X each gradually larger than preceding one and distinctly transverse, XI distinctly broader than X, slightly longer than IX–X together, about twice as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view nearly semicircular, equally broad from base to slightly in front of middle, PL 0.50 mm, PW 0.65 mm; pronotum strongly convex at middle and strongly flattened near each hind corner but the flattened area very small; anterior margin in strictly dorsal view slightly convex; lateral margins not microserrate, strongly convex in anterior third and straight in posterior half; posterior corners slightly obtuse-angled; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae very narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small and shallow, diffuse, each nearly equally distant from posterior and lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc fine and inconspicuous, surface glossy; setae short and moderately dense, suberect.

Elytra elongate, oval, broadest between middle and anterior third, EL 0.83 mm, EW 0.78 mm, EI 1.06. Humeral calli weakly elevated, elongate; subhumeral lines short, equal to only about 0.2 EL but relatively distinct, developed as sharp stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron large and located in very short, deep, round basal impression; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures more distinct than those on pronotum but superficial and inconspicuous; setae similar to those on pronotum.

Hind wings not studied.

Metaventrite with indistinct postmesocoxal impressions, median area covered with fine punctures.

Protibiae (Figs. 55–56) strongly thickened dorso-ventrally and nearly straight, distinctly expanded mesally in sub-basal region, with large mesal patch of dense spatulate setae.

Abdomen and hind legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 76–77 ) in ventral view with slightly asymmetrical median lobe broadest near base, AeL 0.45 mm, median lobe in ventral view with nearly straight and asymmetrical distal margin, oblique in relation to long axis of aedeagus, diaphragm with deeply and narrowly emarginate edge; apical projection in ventral view long and slender, strongly recurved and weakly narrowing distally, in lateral view strongly curved, curved portion long; each paramere with one apical and one subapical seta of unequal length, setae only slightly thickened.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution ( Fig. 90 ). Western Nepal.

Etymology. Locotypical, after Karnali Zone in Nepal.

Remarks. This middle-sized and stout Cephennodes is externally very similar to C. churtanus described below. Main difference between these species is the apical portion of the aedeagus; the apical projection in C.

karnaliensis is much thinner in lateral view and much more curved. Moreover, antennomere VI in C. karnaliensis is about as long as broad and in C. churtanus transverse, and antennomere XI in C. karnaliensis is distinctly more elongate, about twice as long as broad, vs. about 1.7 × as long as broad in C. churtanus .

The name Gothchaur written in the labels is more frequently spelled Guthichaur.

Figures

FIGURES 32 – 39. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) bagmatianus sp. n. (32), C. (s. str.) popeye sp. n. (33), C. (s. str.) clavodentatus sp. n. (34), C. (s. str.) meredaranus sp. n. (35), C. (s. str.) yangrianus sp. n. (36), C. (s. str.) suturalis sp. n. (37), C. (s. str.) karnaliensis sp. n. (38), and C. (s. str.) churtanus sp. n. (39).

FIGURES 72 – 79. Aedeagus in ventral (72, 74, 76, 78) and lateral (73, 75, 77, 79) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) yangrianus sp. n. (72 – 73), C. (s. str.) suturalis sp. n. (74 – 75), C. (s. str.) karnaliensis sp. n. (76 – 77), C. (s. str.) churtanus sp. n. (78 – 79). Abbreviations: ap, apical projection.

FIGURES 90 – 91. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) suturalis sp. n. (90, circle), C. (s. str.) karnaliensis sp. n. (90, triangle), C. (s. str.) churtanus sp. n. (91, circle), C. (s. str.) sermathangensis sp. n. (91, triangle).