Borboropora indica, Assing & -J, 2015

Assing, Volker & - J, S, 2015, The first species of Borboropora KRAATZ from the East Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Falagriini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (2), pp. 1107-1112 : 1108-1111

Borboropora indica nov.sp. ( Figs 1-10 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3: "NE INDIA ARUNACHAL PR., ETALIN vicinity, 700 m, 28°36'56''N 95°53'21''E, FIT (flight interception trap), L. Dembický leg., 12.-25.v.2012 / Holotypus 3 Borboropora indica sp.n. det. V. Assing 2015" (ZFMK). Paratypes: 13, 3♀♀, 2 sex?: same data as holotype (ZFMK, cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet is an adjective derived from India.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Very small species; body length 1.9-2.7 mm; length of forebody 1.1-1.3 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: head and pronotum blackish-brown to black; elytra dark-yellowish; abdomen dark-brown to blackish-brown; legs pale-brown with yellowish tarsi; antennae dark-brown to blackish-brown, usually with the basal two or three antennomeres slightly paler.

Head ( Fig. 2 ) approximately 1.1 times as broad as long; posterior margin distinctly concave; median portion with sharp median furrow of somewhat variable length; punctation extremely fine, noticeable only at high magnification; anterior portion with or without more distinct punctures; interstices without microsculpture. Eyes approximately as long as postocular region or slightly shorter in dorsal view. Antenna ( Fig. 3 ) incrassate apically; antennomere IV weakly tranverse; antennomeres V-X increasingly transverse and of gradually increasing width; antennomere X approximately twice as broad as long.

Pronotum ( Fig. 4 ) small and narrow in relation to head, 1.05-1.07 times as long as broad and 0.80-0.85 times as broad as head; midline with or without very indistinct median furrow; near posterior margin with a pair of marked, sometimes confluent puncture-like impressions; punctation extremely fine, visible only at high magnification; interstices without microsculpture.

Elytra ( Fig. 5 ) 0.75-0.85 times as long as pronotum; punctation moderately sparse and very fine on disc, but more distinct than that of pronotum; near anterior margin and on scutellum with less fine and rather dense punctation; interstices without microsculpture. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra; punctation fine, but more distinct than that of elytra; interstices without microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe; posterior margin of tergite VIII convex and pectinate ( Fig. 8 ).

3: sternite VIII with weakly convex posterior margin; median lobe of aedeagus 0.23 mm long, shaped as in Figs 6-7 ; internal sac with pair of sclerotized structures and with inversely S-shaped flagellum (lateral view).

♀: sternite VIII ( Fig. 9 ) slightly shorter than that of male, posterior margin very weakly convex; spermatheca ( Fig. 10 ) minute, 0.1 mm long, and with very short capsule.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the primary sexual characters and from the three West Palaearctic representatives of the genus additionally as follows:

from B. kraatzi by smaller body size, darker coloration (particularly of the legs and antennae), the more slender and relatively smaller pronotum (B. kraatzi: pronotum approximately as broad as long and approximately 0.9 times as broad as head), the even finer punctation of the pronotum, the shorter elytra (B. kraatzi: elytra approximately 0.9 times as long as pronotum), and the sparser punctation of the elytra;

from B. reitteri by the much finer and sparser punctation of the head, pronotum, and elytra, the relatively smaller and more slender pronotum ( B. reitteri : pronotum approximately as broad as long), and the shorter elytra ( B. reitteri : elytra nearly as long as pronotum);

from B. myrmecophila by much smaller body size ( B. myrmecophila : length of forebody 1.5 mm), the paler coloration of the elytra ( B. myrmecophila : elytra dark-brown), the much finer and sparser punctation of the whole body, and the shorter elytra ( B. myrmecophila : elytra nearly as long as pronotum).

For illustrations of B. kraatzi, B. reitteri , and B. myrmecophila see TRONQUET (2006), ASSING (2009a), and ASSING (2009b), respectively.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: Borboropora indica is the first representative to be recorded from the East Palaearctic region. The type locality is situated in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India, in the border region between the East Palaearctic and Oriental regions, suggesting that the distribution of this species may extend also into the north of the Oriental region. The specimens were collected with flight interception traps at an altitude of 700 m.

Figures

Figs 1-10: Borboropora indica nov.sp.: (1) habitus; (2) antero-median portion of head; (3) antenna; (4) median portion of pronotum; (5) sutural portion of elytra; (6-7) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (8) female tergite VIII; (9) female sternite VIII; (10) spermatheca. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 3: 0.2 mm; 2, 4-10: 0.1 mm.