Scymbalium nepalense, Assing, 2013

Assing, V., 2013, On the Palaearctic and Oriental species of Scymbalium and Micrillus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 45 (2), pp. 1479-1520 : 1487-1488

Scymbalium nepalense nov.sp.

( Figs 5-8 , 61-66 )

Type material Holotype: " Nepal P: Mahakali, D: Kanchanpur, Mahendranagar , Hotel Sweet Dream / 210 m, N28°58'13'', E80°11'01'', 02.VII.2009, leg. M. Hartmann, LF 60 / Holotypus Scymbalium nepalense sp.n., det. V. Assing 2013" ( NME) . Paratype: same data as holotype (cAss) .

Etymology: The specific epithet is an adjective derived from Nepal.

Description: Size rather variable; ody length 7.8 - 8.5 mm; length of forebody 3.9 - 4.7 mm. Habitus as in Figs 5 , 63 . Coloration: head reddish to blackish-brown; remainder of body, including appendages, reddish.

Head ( Figs 6 , 61 ) approximately as long as broad; lateral margins behind eyes subparallel; posterior angles marked; disc with sparse, barely noticeable micropunctation, anteriorly, laterally, and posteriorly with scattered coarser punctures; integument with very shallow and very fine transverse microsculpture visible only at higher magnification. Antenna 2.9 - 3.3 mm long and slender, all antennomeres distinctly oblong.

Pronotum ( Fig. 6 ) of rather variable shape, 1.08 - 1.14 times as long and 0.9 - 1.0 times as broad and as broad as head, widest at anterior angles; lateral margins straight, weakly converging in dorsal view; posterior margin distinctly concave; punctation dense and very fine; microsculpture indistinct.

Elytra ( Fig. 6 ) approximately 1.05 times as long as pronotum; disc matt due to extremely dense punctation and microsculpture. Hind wings fully developed. Protarsomeres I-IV moderately dilated. Metatarsomere I approximately as long as combined length of II-IV.

Abdomen narrower than elytra; punctation very dense and very fine; interstices with microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe; tergite X and sternite IX very small.

: posterior excision of sternite VIII weakly and broadly concave ( Figs 62 , 64 ); aedeagus ( Figs 7-8 , 65 - 66 ) of variable size, 0.6 - 0.7 mm long, symmetric, and with weakly sclerotized, membranous internal structures; parameres nearly completely reduced.

Comment: The short, in lateral view transverse plate above the ventral opening of the aedeagus is interpreted as a rudiment of fused ancestral parameres.

Intraspecific variation: The two type specimens differ considerably in body size, the size of the head (in relation to the pronotum), the shape of the pronotum, and the size of the aedeagus. However, the shapes of the aedeagus and of the male sternite VIII are practically identical. Also, both specimens were collected in the same sample, suggesting that the observed differences should be attributable to intra- rather than interspecific variation.

Comparative notes: From L. badium , the only other geographically close described Scymbalium species , the new species is distinguished by the finer and sparser punctation of the head, the shallower posterior concavity of the male sternite VIII, and by the differently shaped apex of the ventral process of the aedagus (lateral view).

Distribution and natural history: Thetypelocalityissituatedin Mahakali province in the extreme southwest of Nepal, close to the borders with Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh. The holotype was collected with a light trap at an altitude of 210 m, suggesting that S. nepalense is widespread at least in the Himalayan region.

Figures

Figs 2-8: Scymbalium persimile CAMERON, holotype (2-4) and S. nepalense nov.sp., paratype (5- 8): (2, 5) habitus; (3, 6) forebody; (4) abdomen; (7) aedeagus in lateral view; (8) aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bars: 2-6: 1.0 mm; 7-8: 0.2 mm.

Figs 56-62: Scymbalium badium (MOTSCHULSKY), lectotype (56-60) and S. nepalense nov.sp., holotype (61-62): (56) forebody; (57, 61) median dorsal portion of head; (58, 62) male sternite VIII; (59-60) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view. Scale bars: 56: 1.0 mm; 58, 62: 0.5 mm; 59- 60: 0.2 mm; 57, 61: 0.1 mm.

Figs 63-66: Scymbalium nepalense nov.sp., holotype: (63) habitus; (64) male sternite VIII; (65-66) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view. Scale bars: 63: 1.0 mm; 64: 0.5 mm; 65-66: 0.2 mm.