Cordalia mirica, Assing & J, 2009

Assing, V. & J, Cordalia, 2009, New species and additional records of Palaearctic Falagriini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (1), pp. 471-480 : 475-477

Cordalia mirica nov.sp. ( Figs 13-19 )

Holotype 3: " India, Arunachal Pradesh, Miri hills / Road from Ziro to Daporijo , 27.v.2006, G. de Rougemont leg. / Holotypus 3 Cordalia mirica sp.n. det. V. Assing 2008 (cAss). Paratype ♀ [slightly teneral]: same data as holotype (cRou).

D e s c r i p t i o n: 3.0- 3.3 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 13 . Coloration: head dark-brown; remainder of body reddish-brown, with abdominal segment VI and adjacent parts of segments V and VII somewhat infuscate; legs rufous; antennae reddish-brown, with antennomere XI rufous.

Head without sexual dimorphism, transverse, approximately 1.15 times as wide as long; dorsal surface not impressed ( Fig. 14 ); punctation extremely fine, barely noticeable; microsculpture absent; pubescence dense (especially in lateral parts), long, brownish, suberect to erect. Eyes moderately large, approximately as long as postocular region or nearly so. Antennae gradually and weakly incrassate apically; antennomeres IV and V approximately as wide as long; X moderately transverse, less than 1.5 times as wide as long.

Pronotum without sexual dimorphism, approximately 1.15 times as wide as long and slightly wider than head; midline with complete, narrow, and sharply impressed furrow; posteriorly with some puncture-like grooves ( Fig. 14 ); pubescence similar to that of head; punctation slightly more distinct than that of head; microsculpture absent.

Elytra approximately 1.4 times as wide and at suture about as long as pronotum ( Fig. 14 ); pubescence somewhat paler and shorter than that of head and pronotum; punctation extremely fine. Hind wings fully developed. Metatarsomere I longer than the combined length of II and III.

Abdomen approximately 0.9 times as wide as elytra, widest at segment V; basal impressions of tergites III-V with coarse, the remaining tergal surfaces with moderately coarse and rather dense punctation; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe ( Fig. 15 ); tergite VIII without apparent sexual dimorphism, its posterior margin with rather extensive fringe of dense setae and in the middle with fine acute process ( Fig. 16 ).

3: median lobe of aedeagus as in Figs 17-18 .

♀: spermatheca as in Fig. 19. E t y m o l o g y : The name (adjective) is derived from the Miri hills, where the type locality is situated.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: The new species is distinguished from all its congeners especially by the morphology of the genitalia. From geographically close congeners, it may additionally be separated as follows:

from C. longicornis CAMERON ( Nepal, India) by the absence of a sexual dimorphism of the head, the distinctly more convex pronotum (in C. longicornis somewhat flattened), and by the much coarse punctation of the abdomen;

from the widespread C. vestita by larger size, a more transverse head, the paler coloration of the antennae (in C. vestita dark brown), the smaller eyes (in C. vestita distinctly longer than postocular region), the more pronounced and longer median furrow of the pronotum (in C. vestita not reaching posterior margin), the more convex pronotum (in C. vestita somewhat flattened posteriorly), the distinctly coarser punctation of the abdomen, and by the completely different chaetotaxy of the abdominal tergite VIII;

from C. schawalleri ASSING (eastern Nepal) particularly by the absence of carinae in the anterior impressions of abdominal tergites III-V and by the chaetotaxy of tergite VIII;

from the widespread C. permutata by somewhat smaller eyes, the absence of a sexual dimorphism of the head and the pronotum, the absence of an intrahumeral impression on the elytra, and by the coarser punctation of the abdomen;

from C. smetanai PACE (eastern Nepal) by larger size, the much longer antennae with much less transverse pre-apical antennomeres (antennomere XI in C. smetanai almost 3 times as wide as long), longer legs, larger eyes, distinctly longer elytra with more pronounced humeral angles, and fully developed hind wings (in C. smetanai , the posteriorly widened elytra are clearly shorter than the pronotum and the humeral angles are almost obsolete).

For illustrations of these species see ASSING (2002) and PACE (1991).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: ThetypelocalityissituatedintheMiri Hills, Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. The paratype is slightly teneral. Additional bionomic data are not available.

Figures

Figs 13-19: Cordalia mirica nov.sp.: (13) habitus; (14) forebody; (15) abdominal segments III-VII; (16) male tergite VIII; (17) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (18) ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view; (19) spermatheca. Scale bars: 13: 1.0 mm; 14-15: 0.5 mm; 16-19: 0.1 mm.