Panscopaeus stilicinus ( CAMERON , 1931) Assing, Volker, 2011

Assing, Volker, 2011, A revision of Panscopaeus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 61 (2), pp. 389-411 : 405-407

Panscopaeus stilicinus ( CAMERON, 1931) , comb. n. ( Figs 53-60 )

Stilicus lithocharoides CAMERON, 1924a: 183 .

Medon stilicinus CAMERON, 1931: 149 f.; replacement name.

Type material examined:

Lectotype ♂, present designation: "Arni Gad, Rajpur-Mussoorie. / Dr. Cameron, 17.IV.1921. / 6 th v. S. broadly feebly arucately emarginate / Medon stilicinus Cam. / M. Cameron Bequest. B.M. 1955-147. / Syntype / Syntype Stilicus lithocharoides Cameron, 1924 . det. R.G. Booth 2010 / Lectotypus ♂ Stilicus lithocharoides Cameron , desig. V. Assing 2010 / Panscopaeus stilicinus (Cameron) , det. V. Assing 2010" ( BMNH) . Paralectotype ♀: "Arni Gad, Rajpur-Mussoorie. Dr. Cameron. 17.IV.1921. / Stilicus lithocharoides Cam. / Medon stilicinus n. n. Cam. / M. Cameron Bequest. B.M. 1955-147. / Syntype / Paralectotypus ♀ Stilicus lithocharoides Cameron , desig. V. Assing 2010 / Panscopaeus stilicinus (Cameron) , det. V. Assing 2010" ( BMNH) .

Comment:

Stilicus lithocharoideslithocharoides was described from an unspecified number of syntypes, among them at least one male, from "Mussorie District; Arni Gad" ( CAMERON 1924a). The name is a junior secondary homonym of Panscopaeus lithocharoideslithocharoides ( SHARP, 1874) , and was subsequently replaced with the nomen novum Medon stilicinusstilicinus by CAMERON (1931). Two syntypes, a male and a female, were located in the collections of the BMNH. The male is designated as the lectotype.

Redescription:

Body length 4.2-4.8 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 53 . Coloration: head blackish-brown; pronotum castaneous; elytra yellowish to yellowish-brown; abdomen dark-brown, with the posterior margins of the segments and the apex reddish-yellow; legs dark-yellowish; antennae reddish-brown.

Head ( Fig. 54 ) 1.10-1.15 times as wide as long; posterior margin distinctly concave; postocular region weakly convex in dorsal view; posterior angles marked; neck approximately 0.2 times the width of head in dorsal view; punctation of dorsal surface very fine, barely noticeable in the distinct microreticulation ( Fig. 55 ); dorsal surface only with subdued shine. Eyes large and bulging, approximately as long as postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna similar to that of P. yakushimanus .

Pronotum ( Fig. 54 ) weakly transverse, approximately 1.05 times as wide as long and approximately 0.95 times as wide as head, widest at anterior angles; punctation as fine as that of head and barely visible in the pronounced microreticulation ( Fig. 56 ); midline at least in parts slightly less matt than lateral portions.

Elytra ( Fig. 54 ) approximately 1.1 times as long and 1.3 times as wide as pronotum; punctation dense and less fine than that of head and pronotum; interstices without distinct microsculpture. Hind wings fully developed. Metatarsomere I distinctly longer than II, approximately as long as the combined length of II and III.

Abdomen narrower than elytra; punctation very fine and dense; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

♂: sternite VII unmodified; posterior margin of sternite VIII weakly, but distinctly concave in the middle ( Fig. 57 ); aedeagus ( Figs 58-60 ) approximately 0.6 mm long; dorsal plate moderately long; internal sac with long sclerotized basal structure and with apical structures of distinctive shape; ventral process distinctly asymmetric, apically not bifid and weakly concave in ventral view.

Comparative notes:

Based on the morphology of the aedeagus - particularly the shape of the slerotized basal internal structure, evidently a synapomorphy, – P. stilicinus is most closely related to P. breviusculus . Both species are externally highly similar and separated by the coloration of the elytra ( P. breviusculus : at least indistinctly bicoloured, with the posterior margin more or less distinctly paler), the microsculpture of the head and pronotum (even more pronounced in P. breviusculusbreviusculus and rendering the surface almost completely matt), as well as by the shape of the male sternite VIII ( P. breviusculus : shorter and transverse, posterior margin more broadly concave) and the morphology of the aedeagus.

Distribution and natural history:

Confirmed records of P. stilicinus are known only from Uttarranchal, northern India. According to CAMERON (1931), the species has been collected also in Sikkim. The type specimens were collected in April; additional bionomic data are not available .

Figures

Figs 53-60: Panscopaeus stilicinus (57-60: lectotype): habitus (53); forebody (54); median dorsal portion of head (55); postero-median portion of pronotum (56); male sternite VIII (57); aedeagus in lateral view (58); aedeagus in ventral view (59); apical portion of aedeagus in dorsal view (60). Scale bars: 53: 1.0 mm; 54: 0.5 mm; 57-60: 0.2 mm; 55-56: 0.1 mm.