Venezolanoconnus minimus, Jałoszyński, 2020

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2020, Five new species of the Neotropical genus Venezolanoconnus Franz (Coleoptera Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4858 (2), pp. 274-284 : 277-278

Venezolanoconnus minimus sp. n.

( Figs 2 , 8, 9 , 20–23)

Material studied. Holotype: ♂ ( VENEZUELA, Carabobo state): two labels: “VENEZUELA / Carabobo; Umg. Bejuma / Cerro de Paja 15.xi.2005 / 1400-1550m, leg. Brachat ” [white, printed], “ VENEZOLANOCONNUS / minimus m. / P. JAŁOSZYŃSKI, 2020 / HOLOTYPUS ” [red, printed] ( MNHW) . Paratypes (11 exx.): 1 ♂, same data as for holotype ; 6 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀, “VENEZUELA / Carabobo ; Mun. Bejuma / Cerro de Paja, 1500- / 1550m / N10°16’, W68°14’ / 12.i.2007; leg. Brachat ” (paratypes in cPJ, MNHW) .

Diagnosis. Male: BL close to 1 mm; antennomeres 3–6 each about as long as broad, and 7–10 each distinctly transverse; humeral line conspicuously short, only about 0.15 EL; eyes small, so that post-ocular portion of head is clearly longer than eye, posterior emargination of eye sharp-angled; pronotum with two pairs of tiny, shallow, barely discernible antebasal pits, lacking groove; aedeagus subrectangular with broadly rounded apical projection, subapical C-shaped flagellum, and subtriangular, broad subapical plate with rounded apex, and each paramere with a group of 4–6 long setae near apex.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 2 ) moderately stout, strongly convex, BL 0.85–1.03 mm (mean 0.93 mm); cuticle glossy, pigmentation uniformly light to moderately dark brown, vestiture of setae yellowish.

Head ( Figs 8–9 ) short, broadest at eyes, HL 0.15–0.20 mm (mean 0.17 mm), HW 0.16–0.19 mm (mean 0.17 mm); tempora in dorsal view ( Fig. 8 ) weakly convergent posteriorly just behind eyes and then rapidly bent mesad; post-ocular portion of head distinctly longer than eye; vertex and frons confluent and distinctly convex; supraantennal tubercles small and feebly elevated. Eyes small, bean-shaped, strongly emarginate posteriorly, emargination forms a sharp angle, eyes strongly projecting laterally and coarsely faceted ( Fig. 9 ). Punctures on vertex and frons fine and superficial, barely discernible; setae short and sparse, suberect.Antennae slender, weakly thickening distad, AnL 0.38–0.45 mm (mean 0.40 mm); scape and pedicel strongly elongate, antennomeres 3–5 each about as long as broad, 6–10 each transverse (gradually more distinctly so toward apex), 11 much shorter than 9 and 10 combined, almost as long as broad.

Pronotum broadest at base, PL 0.23–0.25 mm (mean 0.24 mm), PW 0.23–0.28 mm (mean 0.25 mm); with two pairs of small and shallow ante-basal pits, lacking transverse groove, covered with barely discernible, fine and shallow punctures, and with dense, suberect setae, sides also with dense, thick bristles.

Elytra together oval, broadest indistinctly behind middle, EL 0.48–0.58 mm (mean 0.52 mm), EW 0.38–0.48 mm (mean 0.43 mm), EI 1.12–1.27; humeral calli prominent, elongate; humeral and post-humeral region demarcated by carinate, diffuse subhumeral line as long as only 0.15 EL; punctures inconspicuous; setae dense, short, suberect.

Legs moderately long and slender, unmodified.

Aedeagus (Figs 20–23) stout and in ventral view subrectangular, AeL 0.10 mm; with broadly rounded apical region; endophallic structures with distinct C-shaped flagellum looped in its proximal region, with broad subtriangular plate rounded at apex, and a group of needle-like sclerites; parameres in lateral view with narrowly subtriangular apices, each with 4–6 long apical setae.

Female. Similar to male but with distinctly smaller eyes, stouter elytra, and antennae shorter in relation to body. BL 0.80–0.95 mm (mean 0.86 mm); HL 0.15–0.18 mm (mean 0.16 mm), HW 0.14–0.16 mm (mean 0.15 mm), AnL 0.30–0.33 mm (mean 0.32 mm); PL 0.20–0.25 mm (mean 0.23 mm), PW 0.23–0.28 mm (mean 0.24 mm); EL 0.45–0.53 mm (mean 0.48 mm), EW 0.38–0.45 mm (mean 0.41 mm), EI 1.12–1.20.

Distribution ( Fig. 36 ). North-western Venezuela.

Etymology. The name refers to minute body of the new species.

Remarks. Venezolanoconnus minimus has the aedeagus of the same general form as that of V. meridanus and species discussed in remarks for the latter taxon, i.e., with broadly rounded apical region and with asymmetrical, Cshaped flagellum looped at base. However, it lacks the subrectangular, elongate and obliquely situated endophallic plate in the distal half. Instead, a broad subtriangular plate can be found in this region. Only the aedeagus of the sympatric V. bejumanus has a similar plate, but pointed at apex, not rounded. The parameres in V. minimus have narrowly subtriangular apices in lateral view, whereas those in V. bejumanus have broadly subtriangular apices. Also the eyes are similar in males of these two species, small and with a very narrow posterior emargination. Venezolanoconnus minimus has a different body shape: a broader pronotum (in males PW/PL 1.00–1.11, vs. 1.18 in V. bejumanus ), especially when compared to the width of head (in males PW/HW 1.33–1.57, vs. 1.86 in V. bejumanus ), and the elytra narrower in relation to head (EW/HW 2.31–2.71, vs. 3.00 in V. bejumanus ).

Figures

FIGURE 36. Distribution of Venezolanoconnus.

FIGURES 1–5. Dorsal habitus of male. Venezolanoconnus meridanus sp. n. (1); V. minimus sp. n. (2); V. colombianus sp. n. (3); V. ecuadoranus sp. n. (4); V. bejumanus sp. n. (5).

FIGURES 6–15. Head of male in dorsal (top) and lateral (bottom) views. Venezolanoconnus meridanus sp. n. (6–7); V. minimus sp. n. (8–9); V. colombianus sp. n. (10–11); V. ecuadoranus sp. n. (12–13); V. bejumanus sp. n. (14–15).