Neuraphes

Hlaváč, Peter & Nakládal, Oto, 2015, A new species of Neuraphes Thomson, 1859 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae) from Kazakhstan, Zootaxa 4018 (3), pp. 444-450 : 445-449

Neuraphes (s. str.) kazakhstanicus sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–14)

Material studied. Holotype, male: KAZAKHSTAN: Almaty reg., 43 ° 16 ' 13 "N 77 ° 22 ' 14 "E, 1650 m, Talgar distr., Ак Булак [Ak Bulak], 12.– 15.v. 2014, O. Nakládal & M. Kocian lgt. ( CPH). Paratypes, 6 males, 4 females: the same data as holotype, ( CPH, CPJ, CHM).

Etymology. Locotypic, named after the country name of Kazakhstan, where the new species was collected.

Diagnosis. Medium size, reddish-brown, shiny Neuraphes s.str. with deep and each remote posterior vertexal pits, head with robust posterior lateral vertexal projections.

Description. Male: Body 1.4–1.5 mm long, 0.64 –0,66 mm wide, colour from light to dark reddish-brown, usually pronotum darker than elytra, maxillary palpi, antennae and legs always lighter, whole body shiny, entirely covered by long, sparse setae. Head transverse, 1.45 times as wide as long, head capsule ( Figs. 2–5) divided by occipital constriction ( Fig. 3, occ) into large anterior and smaller posterior part (i.e., 'neck region'), the posterior part retracted into pronotum. Anterior part of head subtriangular, broadest at level of eyes; vertex ( Figs. 2, 4– 5, vt) transverse, twice as wide as long, temples as long as eyes and each forming long posterior vertexal process ( Figs. 2, 4– 5, pvtp), anteriorly confluent with frons ( Fig. 2, 5, fr); supra-antennal tubercles well developed; genae ( Fig. 3; gen) small. Clypeus ( Figs. 2, 5, cl) not separated from frons. Ventral side of head ( Fig. 3) flattened except for strongly convex neck region; gular plate ( Figs. 3, gp) subtriangular, large with distinct gular sutures ( Fig. 3, gs), feebly demarcated from submentum ( Fig. 3, smn) by shallow groove; posterior tentorial pits located between gular plate and submentum. Mouthparts ( Figs. 2–5). Labrum ( Fig. 5, lb) transverse, dorsal surface with eight long setae, epipharynx ( Fig. 3, eph) with several anterior marginal seta-like sensilla. Mandibles ( Figs. 3–5, md) symmetrical, long and slender. Maxillae ( Fig. 3) elongate, with transverse cardo ( Fig. 3, cd) bearing long sub-basal seta; basistipes ( Fig. 3, bst) triangular, with one long basal seta; mediostipes ( Fig. 3, mst) elongate; palpifer ( Fig. 3, ppf) elongate, with one long lateral sub-apical seta; galea ( Fig. 3, gal) elongate and slender; lacinia ( Figs. 3, lac) elongate and wider than galea; maxillary palps ( Fig. 3, mxp) long, palpomere I small, about as long as broad, asetose, palpomere II pedunculate, with sparse setae in apical part, palpomere III about as long as II and pedunculate, broadest behind middle, covered with sparse and long setae; palpomere IV small, slender and subconical, with elongate and pointed apical part, with dense and moderately long setae in basal half. Labium ( Fig. 3) with elongate, trapezoidal submentum ( Fig. 3, smn) laterally separated from hypostomae ( Fig. 3, h) by lateral sutures ( Fig. 3, lss) and bearing pair of long latero-anterior setae; mentum ( Fig. 3, mn) subtrapezoidal with one pair of long and one short latero-anterior setae. Posteriorly and laterally mouthparts demarcated by hypostomal ridges ( Fig. 3, hr) strongly convergent caudad; hypostomae ( Fig. 3, h) subtriangular and elongate. Antennae ( Fig. 6) slender, gradually thickening towards apices, with feably defined 4 -segmented antennal club, antennomeres moderately compactly assembled, scape cylindrical, wider than and about as long as pedicel, antennomere III smallest, antennomere IV about 1.2 times as long as III, antennomeres IV–VII elongate, VIII–X wider than long, terminal antennomere pointed at apex, shorter than IX–X combined, all antennomeres sparsely covered with suberect to erect setae. Pronotum ( Figs. 7–8) moderately convex, 1.05 times as wide as long and 1.30 times longer than head, in dorsal view ( Fig. 7) approximately hexagonal with slightly rounded anterior part, lacking foveae, with short median ( Figs. 7–8, mcar) and longer lateral marginal ( Figs. 7–8, lmc) carinae, median carina on both sides flanked by shallow impressions, anterior corners weakly defined, posterior corners of pronotum well defined. Prosternum ( Fig. 9) about 3.5 times as wide as long, considerably shorter than pronotum; procoxal cavities confluent, separated only in anterior part by slender, short prosternal process ( Fig. 9, pstp); procoxal sockets closed. Hypomera ( Fig. 9, hy) elongate, not demarcated from pronotum by hypomeral ridge, demarcated from prosternum by notosternal sutures ( Fig. 9, nss). Mesoventrite ( Figs. 9–10) very short, much broader than long, with short, narrow median intercoxal proces ( Figs. 9–10, msvp); mesocoxal cavities separated, posterior margin of mesocoxal cavities with dense setae. Metaventrite ( Figs. 9, 10) much longer than mesoventrite, wider than long, anteriorly separated from mesoventrite, with distinct metaventral anterior process ( Figs. 9–10, mvap), lateral margins slightly rounded, at middle posterior margin expanded caudad and forming broad and short sharp metaventral posterior intercoxal process ( Figs. 10, 12, mvpp) with distinct median notch. Elytra ( Fig. 11) 1.55 times as long as wide and 1.30 times longer than pronotum, elliptical, with rounded apices; humeri lacking denticle or calli; elytral base with one well-defined, deep circular and setose basal fovea ( Figs. 7, 11, bef). Legs moderately long and slender, without any special characters. Abdomen ( Fig. 12) elongate, abdominal sternites III–VIII ( Fig. 12, st 3 –st 8) gradually narrowing towards abdominal apex, all of about same length. Aedeagus ( Figs. 13–14) small, 0.15 mm in length, broadening from base to apex, almost twice as long as wide, strongly bent (90 o) at base in lateral view.

Sexual dimorphism. Not apparent.

Differential diagnosis. The new species is easily recognized from known species of the subgenus Neuraphes (s.str.) by the presence of the long posterior vertexal processes and by the strongly bent base of median lobe.

Biology. All specimens were collected in a narrow, periodically flooded, flat valley along a small stream. The valley was covered by sandy soil with many large boulders. A deep humus layer with leaf litter was only around trees and roots of bushes in elevated places. The habitat was overgrown by dense tree and bush vegetation with dominant Populus sp. and Padus sp. All specimens were collected by sifting leaf litter and wood debris especially at the base of the trunks or tree hollows of old trees.

Distribution. Kazakhstan, Almaty reg. (Talgar, Ile-Alatau National Park).