Scaponopselaphus Scheerpeltz, 1972

Chatzimanolis, Stylianos, 2015, A review of the genus Scaponopselaphus Scheerpeltz (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), Biodiversity Data Journal 3, pp. 4735-4735 : 4735

Scaponopselaphus Scheerpeltz, 1972

Scaponopselaphus Scheerpeltz, 1972: 38

Scaponopselaphus Scaponopselaphus mutator (Sharp, 1876) Sharp 1876: 144. original designation by Scheerpeltz 1972

Description

Redescription: Habitus as in Fig. 1, body medium sized, 10.1-10.8 mm in total length. Color of head and pronotum metallic blue, green or purple blue; elytra light brown to brown; ventral surface of body light brown to brown. Mouthparts orange; antenna orange to brown; abdomen light brown to brown exceptVIII and posterior part of VII orange.

Head transverse (Figs 2, 4a), with medium-sized setose punctures and distinctive microsculpture (Fig. 4a) in microlines; epicranium shining, with large prominent macrosetae along border of head. Clypeus emarginate; anteclypeus expanded, well developed. Eyes large, prominent, occupying more than 3/4 of lateral margins of head. Ventral surface of head with transverse microsculpture; postoccipital suture and ventral basal ridge present; infraorbital ridge pronounced posteriorly; postmandiblular ridge present, prominent, extending from near mandible to posterior border of head; gular sutures separated throughout length with narrowest point between them near mid-length; nuchal depression prominent forming well defined neck; neck with microsculpture and few micropunctures.

Antenna (Fig. 4b). Antennomeres 1-3 with multiple rows of macrosetae; antennomeres 4-11 with few macrosetae but covered with microtrichia; antennomeres 1-3 longer than wide; antennomere 4 quadrate; antennomeres 5-10 subquadrate to transverse, just slightly asymmetrical, becoming wider towards antennomere 10; antennomere 11 longer than wide.

Mouthparts. Labrum (Fig. 4a) medially incised. Mandibles as in Fig. 3a, b; curved, moderately elongate, with short tooth medially; left and right mandibles nearly symmetrical; with lateral fold extending from condyle to tooth; prostheca setose. Maxilla as in Fig. 3d; galea and lacinia densely setose; maxillary palpi 4-segmented; P1 small, about 1/3 as long as P2; P2 curved, elongate, subequal in length to P3; P2-P3 with large setae apically; P4 elongate, slightly longer than P3. Labium as in Fig. 3c; mentum with one long and one shorter anterolateral setae at each end. Labial palpi 3-segmented; with transverse microsculpture; P1 longer than P2; P2 trapezoidal; both P1 and P2 with several long setae; P3 securiform; P3 apex wide and with 4-5 rows of sensory setae.

Pronotum subquadrate (Fig. 2); hypomeron expanded (Fig. 4c), with microsculpture; superior and inferior marginal lines of hypomeron separate throughout their lengths; superior line fully visible from above, extending around anterolateral margin of pronotum and contacting inferior line at neck fossa; no portion of dorsum of pronotum visible from below; without postcoxal process. Surface of pronotum shining, with scattered large setose punctures and microsculpture made of microlines (similar to but not as dense as on head); punctures on pronotum denser near anterolateral corners; margins of pronotum with several large setae. Mesoscutellum with dense polygon-shaped microsculpture and multiple rows of small punctures. Basisternum (Fig. 4c) with dense polygon-shaped microsculpture and weak carina; anterior marginal depression present; furcasternum with medial carina pointed vertically; furcasternum without microsculpture.

Elytra subequal to pronotum; with confluent or almost confluent punctures and large setae; with micropunctures but no other microsculpture; elytra appearing shining. Hind wings fully developed. Mesoventrite (Fig. 4d) with anterior margin forming “lip”; with dense polygon-shaped microsculpture and few punctures along edges; without median carina. Metaventrite (Fig. 4d) with dense uniform medium-sized punctures; metaventral process small, rounded, triangular.

Legs. Tarsal segmentation 5-5-5; pro- and mesofemur in both sexes with ctenidium ventrally and proximally; meso- and metatibia with multiple rows of spurs; protibia without multiple rows of spurs but with single row of spurs apically. Protarsus (Fig. 5d) enlarged in both sexes, with spatulate setae ventrally; mesotarsus (Fig. 5e) not enlarged except tarsomere 1 in males twice as wide as other mesotarsomeres and with spatulate setae ventrally; metatarsus not enlarged. Empodium with two small setae.

Abdomen with paired protergal glands present; expanding from segment III to segment V (widest) and then becoming narrower towards segment VIII. Abdominal tergites III-V (Fig. 5a) with tergal basal carina and curved (arch-like) carina. Tergites and sternites with distinctive microsculpture (Fig. 5a, b) on anterolateral corners, sometimes expanded medially. Males with secondary sexual structures of sternites VII-IX (Fig. 5c): sternite VII with round porose structure anteriorly and U-shaped emargination posteriorly; sternite VIII with deep U-shaped emargination posteriorly; sternite IX with V-shaped emargination.

Male and Female Genitalia. Aedeagus typical of Xanthopygina (Figs 6, 7); with long median lobe and paramere divided into two lobes. Paramere with peg setae and short apical setae. Spermatheca not sclerotized.

Diagnosis

Scaponopselaphus can be distinguished from all other genera in Xanthopygina by the combination of the following characters: (1) Head with distinctive microsculpture (Fig. 4a); (2) labial palpomere 3 (P3) securiform (Fig. 3c); (3) pronotum with broad and convex lateral margins (Fig. 2); (4) mesotarsomere 1 in males with spatulate setae [unknown in other Xanthopygina ] (Fig. 5e); (5) tergites III-V with curved (arch-like) carina (Fig. 5a); and (6) sternite VII in males with small porose structure (Fig. 5c). Male specimens in Scaponopselaphus can always be easily identified by the spatulate state on mesotarsomere 1, but some species in Phanolinopsis Scheerpeltz, Styngetus Sharp, Xenopygus Bernhauer may look superficially like Scaponopselaphus . However, these taxa do not have securiform labial P3 and their pronotum is not convex. Perhaps the most confusing scenario can be if someone has unsorted female specimens of Scaponopselaphus , Torobus and Zackfalinus Chatzimanolis; all these taxa have securiform labial P3 and somewhat similar head. However, Scaponopselaphus can be distinguished from these two genera based on the microsculpture of the head and the shape of the pronotum.

Distribution

Known from the state of Pará in Brazil, the department of Vaupés in Colombia, the province of Sucumbios in Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, the departments of Loreto and Madre de Dios in Peru and from Suriname (Fig. 8).

Ecology

Specimens of Scaponopselaphus have been collected from wet tropical lowlands, however, further details on their habitat are unkown since almost all taxa have been collected with malaise or flight intercept traps. It is possible that the genus prefers forested habitats near rivers based on recent collecting events.