Cephennodes (Cephennodes) dolakhanus, 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 : 39-40

Cephennodes (Cephennodes) dolakhanus sp. n.

( Figs 94 , 102, 104 , 112–115 , 144 )

Type material. Holotype: NEPAL (Dolakha District): ♂, one label: "603 NEPAL: Dolakha Distr. / Hanumante Danda / 2850m, 23.–24.V.2000 / leg.W.SCHAWALLER" [white, printed] ( SMNS).

Diagnosis. BL> 1.5 mm; body stout, with elytra egg-shaped, strongly narrowing behind the broadest site; distal portion of metatibia strongly thickened, with oval subapical porous field broader than long and with one outstanding bristle within short setal fringe of apical margin; abdomen in ventral view with sternite III bearing broadly rounded median lobe; apical portion of median lobe of aedeagus evenly rounded, its longitudinal axis forming about 30°-angle with long axis of aedeagus; apical projection with slightly concave distal margin.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 94 ) moderately light brown, with shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, moderately convex, covered with setae slightly lighter than cuticle; BL 1.58 mm.

Head subtrapezoidal, HL 0.20 mm, HW 0.40 mm; vertex and frons evenly and weakly convex; supraantennal tubercles distinct but weakly elevated; eyes large, strongly convex, coarsely faceted. Punctures on frons and vertex very small but distinct, relatively sharply marked, densely and nearly evenly distributed, separated by spaces 1–1.5 × as wide as diameters of punctures; setae short, moderately dense, suberect to erect. Antennae moderately long and slender, AnL 0.75 mm, pentamerous club indistinctly delimited, covered with matte microgranulation contrasting with glossy surface of proximal antennomeres; antennomere I 1.6 × as long as broad; II slightly longer and narrower than I, twice as long as broad; III–VI subequal in length and width, each distinctly narrower than II and 1.2–1.3 × as long as broad; VII slightly longer and broader than VI, 1.2 × as long as broad; VIII distinctly broader and slightly longer than VII, about as long as broad; IX much larger than VIII, about as long as broad; X larger than IX, slightly broader than long; XI slightly broader than X, distinctly longer than IX–X together, about 2.6 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view nearly semicircular, broadest near middle, PL 0.48 mm, PW 0.78 mm; anterior margin broadly rounded; lateral margins not serrate, rounded and distinctly convergent toward obtuse-angled hind corners; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral carinae very narrow, fused with lateral margins; antebasal pits small and very shallow, each located distinctly closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on disc very small and shallow but very dense, separated by spaces 1–2 × as wide as diameters of punctures; setae dense, short, suberect.

Elytra short, oval, broadest near anterior fourth and strongly narrowing toward apices, EL 0.90 mm, EW 0.85 mm, EI 1.06. Humeral calli weakly elevated; subhumeral lines very narrow but distinct, marked as sharp stepwise border between more convex humeral region and less convex adsutural area, as long as about 0.3 EL; basal pit on each elytron large and connected to short, distinctly arcuate impression extending posteromesally; apices of elytra separately rounded. Punctures on elytra similar to those on pronotum; setae denser, shorter and less erect than those on pronotum.

Hind wings present, long.

Metaventrite with large but indistinctly delimited postmesocoxal impressions, median part covered with very fine punctures.

Hind legs with strongly modified tibiae ( Figs 102, 104 ); in dorsal view lateral (external) tibial margin distinctly recurved and spatulate portion of tibia rapidly narrowed distally; dorsodistal porous field much broader than long; distal fringe of setae with one outstanding long bristle.

Abdomen ( Figs 112–113 ) with sternites II and III distinctly projected in lateral view ( Fig. 112 ); in ventral view sternite III with broadly rounded median lobe ( Fig. 113 ).

Aedeagus ( Figs 114–115 ) moderately stout; AeL 0.24 mm, apical portion of median lobe evenly rounded, its longitudinal axis forming about 30°-angle with the long axis of aedeagus; apical projection with slightly concave distal margin; parameres long and slender, not exceeding apex of median lobe, each bearing one apical and one subapical seta.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution ( Fig. 144 ). Central-eastern Nepal.

Etymology. Locotypical, after the Dolakha District.

Remarks. This species can be identified on the basis of its large and stout body, elytra strongly narrowing from the broadest site to apices, the short and broad porous field on metatibia, the rapidly narrowed spatulate portion of metatibia, and the moderately slender aedeagus with rounded apex of median lobe weakly curved outward from the long axis of aedeagus. The most similar species is C. martensi described below; see remarks for the latter.

Figures

FIGURES 94 – 101. Dorsal habitus of Cephennodes (s. str.) dolakhanus s sp. n. (94), C. (s. str.) manangensis sp. n. (95), C. (s. str.) martensi sp. n. (96), C. (s. str.) paramartensi sp. n. (97), C. (s. str.) monolaminatus sp. n. (98), C. (s. str.) thakanus sp. n. (99), C. (s. str.) annapurnaensis sp. n. (100), and C. (s. str.) parbatensis sp. n. (101).

FIGURES 102 – 111. Right metatibia of male in dorsal view. Cephennodes (s. str.) dolakhanus s sp. n. (102, 104), C. (s. str.) manangensis sp. n. (103, 105), C. (s. str.) martensi sp. n. (106), C. (s. str.) paramartensi sp. n. (107), C. (s. str.) monolaminatus sp. n. (108), C. (s. str.) thakanus sp. n. (109), C. (s. str.) annapurnaensis sp. n. (110), and C. (s. str.) parbatensis sp. n. (111). 104 – 111 not to the same scale.

FIGURES 112 – 127. Abdomen of male in right lateral (112, 116, 120, 124) and ventral (113, 117, 121, 125) views and aedeagus in ventral (114, 118, 122, 126) and lateral (115, 119, 123, 127) views. Cephennodes (s. str.) dolakhanus sp. n. (112 – 115), C. (s. str.) manangensis sp. n. (116 – 119), C. (s. str.) martensi sp. n. (120 – 123), C. (s. str.) paramartensi sp. n. (124 – 127). Abbreviations: aml, apex of median lobe; ap, apical projection.

FIGURES 144 – 145. Distribution of Cephennodes (s. str.) dolakhanus sp. n. (144, circle), C. (s. str.) manangensis sp. n. (144, triangle), C. (s. str.) martensi sp. n. (145, circle), C. (s. str.) paramartensi sp. n. (145, triangle).