Cephennodes (Cephennodes) penicillipes, 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 : 104-105

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) penicillipes sp. n.

( Figs 282 , 286–287 , 294 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL (Sindhupalchowk District): ♂, one label: " NEPAL (Prov. Bagmati) / Malemchi 2800 m / 14.IV.81 / Löbl & Smetana" [white, printed, '14' handwritten over printed "16"] ( MHNG) . Paratypes (18 exx): 4 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀, same data as for holotype ; 1 ♂, 5 ♀♀, " NEPAL Bagmati / Malemchi 81 / 2800 m 14.IV / Löbl-Smetana" [white, printed] (paratypes in MHNG and cPJ).

Diagnosis. Male with conspicuous tuft of setae on inner (mesal) margin of protibial apex; antennomere X asymmetrical, with lateral (external) margin longer than inner (mesal) margin; aedeagus with strongly asymmetrical median lobe and long, slender apical projection with broadened and bifurcate apex forming two unequal in length finger-like processes.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 282 ) moderately dark brown, moderately stout, with shallow but distinct constriction between pronotum and elytra, moderately convex, covered with light brown setae; BL 1.45–1.53 mm (mean 1.48 mm).

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.20–0.23 mm (mean 0.20 mm), HW 0.35–0.39 mm (mean 0.37 mm); vertex and frons confluent, evenly convex; supraantennal tubercles small and weakly elevated; eyes large and strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on vertex and frons small, very shallow, inconspicuous; setae short, sparse, suberect. Antennae moderately long and slender, with moderately compactly assembled antennomeres, AnL 0.73– 0.80 mm (mean 0.75 mm), pentamerous club indistinctly delimited and weakly thickened; antennomere I 1.7 × as long as broad; II distinctly narrower and slightly shorter than I, 1.6 × as long as broad; III–V similar in shape, each distinctly narrower and much shorter than II, 1.1 × as long as broad, VI indistinctly broader than V, as long as broad, VII–IX each slightly larger than preceding one, each about as long as broad, X slightly broader and longer than VIII, asymmetrical, with its lateral (external) margin longer than inner (mesal) margin, XI distinctly broader than X, as long as than IX–X together, 1.6 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view subtrapezoidal, broadest near middle and very indistinctly narrowing posteriorly or equally broad from base to anterior third, PL 0.45–0.50 mm (mean 0.48 mm), PW 0.65–0.70 mm (mean 0.68 mm); anterior margin arcuate; lateral margins not serrate, strongly rounded in anterior third and straight in posterior half; hind corners right-angled; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae very narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small, shallow and diffuse, each located slightly closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc very small and shallow, inconspicuous; setae moderately short, dense, suberect.

Elytra stout, oval, broadest between near anterior third, EL 0.78–0.85 mm (mean 0.80 mm), EW 0.73–0.78 mm (mean 0.75 mm), EI 1.03–1.10. Humeral calli weakly elevated; subhumeral lines equal to about 0.3 EL, each developed as relatively sharply marked stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron large and located in large and shallow, circular basal impression; narrow adsutural area in anterior half of elytra slightly impressed, so that elytral suture appears raised; apices of elytra rounded together. Punctures more distinct than those on pronotum, very shallow and diffuse but very dense, nearly adjacent one to another; setae similar to those on pronotum.

Hind wings present, long.

Metaventrite with indistinct postmesocoxal impressions, finely punctate.

Protibia with large tuft of setae on inner (mesal) margin of apical region; remaining legs unmodified.

Abdomen unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 286–287 ) of strongly modified latus form, AeL 0.35 mm, median lobe in ventral view strongly asymmetrical, broadest near distal third, apically deeply emarginate; apical projection long and slender, broadened and bifurcate at apex; parameres slender, equal in length, each with two slightly thickened, long apical setae.

Female. Similar to male but lacking the protibial tuft of setae and with antennomere X indistinctly asymmetrical; BL 1.48–1.54 mm (mean 1.52 mm); HL 0.21–0.24 mm (mean 0.22 mm), HW 0.35–0.38 mm (mean 0.36 mm), AnL 0.70–0.75 mm (mean 0.73 mm); PL 0.45–0.48 mm (mean 0.48 mm), PW 0.68–0.75 mm (mean 0.761 mm); EL 0.80–0.85 mm (mean 0.82 mm), EW 0.75–0.80 mm (mean 0.76 mm), EI 1.06–1.10.

Distribution ( Fig. 294 ). Central Nepal.

Etymology. The name penicillipes refers to the penicillus on fore legs.

Remarks. This species resembles members of the C. excavatus group, but its aedeagus is uniquely shaped, with a strongly asymmetrical median lobe and long, slender apical projection with broadened and bifurcate apex. The tuft of setae on protibiae in males, asymmetrical antennomere X, and the bizarre aedeagus allow for unambiguous identification of C. penicillipes .

Figures

FIGURES 282 – 285. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) penicillipes sp. n. (282), C. (s. str.) sulcatus sp. n. (283), C. (s. str.) kalopanianus sp. n. (284), and C. (s. str.) poonensis sp. n. (285).

FIGURES 286 – 293. Aedeagus in ventral (286, 288, 290, 292) and lateral (287, 289, 291, 293) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) penicillipes sp. n. (286 – 287), C. (s. str.) sulcatus sp. n. (288 – 289), C. (s. str.) kalopanianus sp. n. (290 – 291), and C. (s. str.) poonensis sp. n. (292 – 293). Abbreviations: aml, apex of median lobe; ap, apical projection.

FIGURES 294 – 295. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) penicillipes sp. n. (294, circle), C. (s. str.) sulcatus sp. n. (294, triangle), C. (s. str.) kalopanianus sp. n. (295, circle), and C. (s. str.) poonensis sp. n. (295, triangle).