Orsunius confluens, Assing, 2015

Assing, Volker, 2015, On Orsunius III. Four new species from China and Thailand, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Medonina), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (1), pp. 83-96 : 92

Orsunius confluens nov.sp. ( Figs 22-29 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3 [slightly teneral]: " CHINA [16] - Yunnan, valley S Gejiu, field margin, 23°08'53''N, 103°10'58''E, 1250 m, 21.VIII.2014, V. Assing / Holotypus 3 Orsunius confluens sp.n. det. V. Assing 2015" (cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective) alludes to the partly confluent punctation of the pronotum.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 4.8 mm; length of forebody 2.6 mm. In external characters highly similar to O. granulosissimus , but distinguished as follows:

Head ( Figs 22-24 ) only indistinctly wedge-shaped, lateral margins behind eyes nearly parallel. Eyes distinctly shorter than postocular region in dorsal view. Punctation of pronotum partly confluent, particularly in postero-median portion ( Fig. 25 ).

3: sternite VII ( Fig. 26 ) with weakly concave posterior margin, otherwise unmodified; sternite VIII distinctly oblong, posterior excision small, of similar shape as in O. granulosissimus ; aedeagus ( Figs 27-29 ) 0.72 mm long, ventral process weakly curved, apically not hook-shaped in lateral view; dorsal plate conspicuously long; internal sac with a pair of moderately sclerotized internal structures.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Based on the highly similar external and male secondary sexual characters, this species is undoubtedly very closely related to O. granulosissimus , from which it differs particularly by the distinctive shape of the aedeagus, as well as by the external characters indicated in the description above.

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: The type locality and the circumstances of collection are identical to those of O. granulosissimus .

Figures

Figs 21-29: Orsunius granulosissimus nov.sp. (21) and O. confluens nov.sp. (22-29): (21) labium; (22) forebody; (23) head and pronotum; (24) median portion of head; (25) postero-median portion of pronotum; (26) male sternite VII; (27-28) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (29) apical portion of aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 22: 1.0 mm; 23: 0.5 mm; 21, 24-29: 0.2 mm.