Cephennodes (Cephennodes) gopala, 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 : 87-88

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) gopala sp. n.

( Figs 247 , 255–256 , 271 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL (Panchthar District): ♂, one label: " NEPAL:324 Panchthar / Dist., Dhorpar Kharka / 13.–16.IV.1988 2700 m / leg.W.SCHAWALLER" [white, printed] ( SMNS).

Diagnosis. BL <1.5 mm; pronotum much narrower than elytra; elytra broadest at middle; antennomere VI much shorter than V; subhumeral line on each elytron moderately distinct; median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view with its apical rod-like portion subrectangular, very indistinctly constricted in subapical region, with its apex truncate and with both lateroapical corners well-defined, not rounded but clearly angulate; apical margin of apical projection only slightly oblique in relation to the long axis of aedeagus, weakly concave, in ventral view its left lateroapical corner forming subtriangular, short and truncate projection, and its right corner strongly elongate and slender subtriangular projection.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 247 ) dark brown, elongate, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, moderately convex, covered with light brown setae; BL 1.43 mm.

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.18 mm, HW 0.33 mm; vertex and frons confluent, evenly convex, vertex with a pair of tiny but distinct tubercles; supraantennal tubercles small and weakly raised; eyes large and strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on vertex and frons small but deep and sharply defined, densely and nearly evenly distributed, separated by spaces 1–1.5 × as wide as diameters of punctures; setae short, very sparse, suberect. Antennae relatively short, moderately compact, AnL 0.68 mm, pentamerous club indistinctly delimited, antennomeres VII–VIII only slightly larger than VI, so that club appears trimerous; antennomere I twice as long as broad; II distinctly shorter and narrower than I, 1.6 × as long as broad; III distinctly shorter and narrower than II, 1.6 × as long as broad; IV as broad as II but slightly shorter, 1.5 × as long as broad; V as broad as IV but slightly longer, 1.6 × as long as broad; VI much shorter than V but comparable in width, 1.1 × as long as broad; VII slightly longer and broader than VI, as long as broad; VIII as broad as VII but slightly shorter, slightly broader than long; IX slightly longer and much broader than VIII, distinctly transverse; X slightly broader and much longer than IX, slightly broader than long; XI slightly broader than X, as long as IX–X together, about 1.5 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view subtrapezoidal, broadest between middle and anterior third, PL 0.43 mm, PW 56 mm; anterior margin distinctly arcuate; lateral margins indistinctly microserrate, strongly rounded in anterior third, nearly straight in posterior half and slightly convergent toward right-angled hind corners; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae very narrow, not separated from lateral margins; antebasal pits small and shallow but relatively well-defined, each located closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc much larger than those on frons and vertex, deep and sharply marked, those at middle separated by spaces 0.5– 1 × as wide as diameters of punctures, punctures become gradually smaller and shallower toward lateral margins of pronotum and nearly abruptly smaller and shallower toward anterior and posterior margin, so that narrow anterior and posterior areas along pronotal margins are nearly impunctate; setae moderately short, sparse, suberect.

Elytra elongate, egg-shaped, broadest at middle, EL 0.83 mm, EW 0.68 mm, EI 1.22. Humeral calli small and weakly elevated; subhumeral lines indistinct, equal to 0.3 EL, each developed as moderately sharp stepwise border between more convex subhumeral region and slightly less convex adsutural area; basal pit on each elytron large, located in broad, relatively shallow and nearly circular basal impression; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures similarly dense as those on median area of pronotum but slightly larger and much shallower; setae as those on pronotum but slightly more erect.

Hind wings present, long.

Metaventrite without postmesocoxal impressions, densely covered with small but very distinct, sharply marked punctures.

Abdomen and legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 255–256 ) elongate, AeL 0.23 mm, median lobe in ventral view with extremely long, narrow, rod-like apical portion abruptly truncate at subrectangular apex; apical projection broadly T-shaped, with sharp, falciform right apical arm; parameres relatively broad, unequal in length, each with single apical seta and two subapical setae, proximal subapical seta very distant from apex of paramere.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution ( Fig. 271 ). Eastern Nepal.

Etymology. The name (noun in apposition) refers to the mythical Gopala Dynasty ruling in Nepal in prehistoric times.

Figures

FIGURES 247 – 254. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) gopala sp. n. (247), C. (s. str.) paniporuanus sp. n. (248), C. (s. str.) brachyclavatus sp. n. (249), C. (s. str.) phulchokianus sp. n. (250), C. (s. str.) pokharensis sp. n. (251), C. (s. str.) newar sp. n. (252), C. (s. str.) kusunda sp. n. (253), and C. (s. str.) sindhupalchowk sp. n. (254).

FIGURES 255 – 262. Aedeagus in ventral (255, 257, 259, 261) and lateral (256, 258, 260, 262) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) gopala sp. n. (255 – 256), C. (s. str.) paniporuanus sp. n. (257 – 258), C. (s. str.) brachyclavatus sp. n. (259 – 260), and C. (s. str.) phulchokianus sp. n. (261 – 262). Abbreviations: aml, apex of median lobe; ap, apical projection.

FIGURES 271 – 272. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) gopala sp. n. (271, circle), C. (s. str.) paniporuanus sp. n. (271, triangle), C. (s. str.) brachyclavatus sp. n. (272, circle), and C. (s. str.) phulchokianus sp. n. (272, triangle).