Cephennodes (Cephennodes) poonensis, 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 : 107-110

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) poonensis sp. n.

( Figs 285 , 292–293 , 295 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL ( Parbat District ): ♂, two labels: " NEPAL Parbat / Distr. Pun Hill / at Ghoropani Pass / 3050–3100m 8.X.1983 / Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] ( MHNG) . Paratypes (6 exx): 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, same data as for holotype ; 1 ♂, " NEPAL Parbat / Distr. Ghoropani / Pass N slope / 2800m 5.X.1983 / Smetana & Löbl" [white, printed] ( MHNG, cPJ).

Diagnosis. BL 1.31–1.43 mm; body strongly elongate and relatively strongly convex; each elytron with deep and narrow groove extending from basal fovea posteriorly and very weakly toward suture; apex of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view slightly subrectangular with rounded sides and blunt apex, not curved toward apical projection; apical projection of aedeagus touching apex of median lobe, its distolateral margin very weakly concave.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 285 ) light brown, elongate, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, strongly convex, covered with light brown setae; BL 1.31–1.38 mm (mean 1.35 mm).

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.18–0.20 mm (mean 0.19 mm), HW 0.30–0.33 mm (mean 0.32 mm); vertex and frons confluent, evenly and relatively strongly convex; supraantennal tubercles barely marked; eyes small and weakly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on frons very small but sharply marked, separated by spaces subequal to diameters of punctures, vertex with much smaller, inconspicuous punctures; setae very short, sparse, recumbent to suberect. Antennae slender, with relatively loosely assembled antennomeres, AnL 0.75–0.80 mm (mean 0.78 mm), pentamerous club moderately distinctly delimited and only slightly longer than half AnL; antennomere I 1.4 × as long as broad; II distinctly narrower and slightly shorter than I, 1.4 × as long as broad; III slightly narrower and much shorter than II, about 1.1 × as long as broad, IV–VI each as broad as III but indistinctly longer, about 1.2 × as long as broad, VII slightly broader and longer than VI, 1.1 × as long as broad, VIII distinctly broader than VII and similar in length, indistinctly transverse, IX and X each distinctly larger than preceding one, each indistinctly transverse; XI distinctly broader than X, as long as IX–X together, about 1.7 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view nearly semicircular, broadest near anterior third but indistinctly narrowing posteriorly; PL 0.40–0.43 mm (mean 0.42 mm), PW 0.5 8– 0.60 mm (mean 0.58 mm); anterior margin arcuate; lateral margins not serrate, strongly rounded in anterior half, straight in posterior half; hind corners slightly obtuseangled; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae very narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small but deep and sharply marked, each slightly closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures very fine, inconspicuous, surface glossy; setae moderately long and dense, suberect.

Elytra elongate, egg-shaped, broadest near anterior third, EL 0.73–0.75 mm (mean 0.74 mm), EW 0.63–0.65 mm (mean 0.63 mm), EI 1.15–1.20. Humeral calli barely marked; subhumeral lines equal to about 0.3 EL, each developed as a rounded stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area; basal fovea on each elytron large and connected to nearly straight, deep and narrow groove extending posteriorly and only weakly toward suture, demarcating elongate, subtrapezoidal, very convex area around scutellum; subapical region indistinctly flattened on suture, apices of elytra rounded together. Punctures nearly as indistinct as those on pronotum; setae moderately long and dense, suberect, those on subapical flattening directed posteromesally but not distinctly denser or longer than those on remaining areas.

Hind wings not studied.

Metaventrite with large and sharply demarcated postmesocoxal impressions, medially covered with fine punctures.

Abdomen and legs unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 292–293 ) of simonis form, AeL 0.23 mm, median lobe with subtriangular, relatively thick apical portion rounded at apex; apical projection touching apex of median lobe, with its distolateral margin very weakly concave; parameres slender, strongly unequal in length, each with one subapical seta.

Female. Similar to male, with slightly shorter antennae; BL 1.35–1.43 mm (mean 12.38 mm); HL 0.19–0.20 mm (mean 0.20 mm), HW 0.33–0.34 mm (mean 0.33 mm), AnL 0.73 mm; PL 0.43–0.45 mm (mean 0.43 mm), PW 0.60–0.63 mm (mean 0.62 mm); EL 0.73–0.78 mm (mean 0.75 mm), EW 0.65–0.68 mm (mean 0.66 mm), EI 1.12– 1.15.

Distribution ( Fig. 295 ). Central Nepal.

Etymology. Locotypical, after the Poon (= Pun) Hill, south-west of Annapurna.

Remarks. This Cephennodes is most similar to C. kalopanianus ; see remarks for the latter species.

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).