Sunius migrus, Assing, 2015

Assing, Volker, 2015, A revision of Sunius XV. Six new species from Kyrgyzstan and the Himalaya, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 65 (2), pp. 287-295 : 293-294

Sunius migrus spec. nov.

( Figs 23–26 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: “ NEPAL, Kathmandu District / Phulcoki 2600 m, 20.IV.1982, A. & Z. Smetana / Holotypus ♂ Sunius migrus spec. nov. det. V. Assing 2015” ( MHNG) . Paratypes: 4 ♀♀: “ NEPAL: distr. Kathmandu , Phulcoki 2500 m, 28–29.IV.84, Löbl-Smetana ” ( MHNG, cAss) .

Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: small) alludes to the relatively small body size, one of the characters distinguishing this species from the sympatric S. galiberti .

Description: Body length 3.0– 3.8 mm; length of forebody 1.5–1.7 mm. External characters ( Fig. 23 ) similar to those of S. marratus .

♂: sternite VII without distinct modifications; sternite VIII ( Fig. 24 ) weakly oblong, posterior excision moderately large, approximately 0.15 times as deep as length of sternite; aedeagus ( Figs 25–26 ) of distinctive morphology, 0.57 mm long; ventral process slender; internal sac with dark membranous structure, but without pair of sclerotized spines.

Comparative notes: Sunius migrus differs from all other species of the S. manasluensis group by the shape of the male sternite VIII and above all by the distinctive morphology of the aedeagus (shapes of ventral process and of internal structures). It is additionally distinguished from the sympatric S. galiberti by the smaller and more slender body ( S. galiberti : length of forebody 1.8–1.9 mm).

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated on Phulchoki, a mountain near Kathmandu in Central Nepal. The altitudes range from 2500 to 2600 m.

Figures

Figs 15–26: Sunius deplectens spec. nov. (15–18), S. dearmatus spec. nov. (19–22), and S. migrus spec. nov. (23–26): forebody (15, 19, 23); male sternite VIII (16, 20, 24); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (17–18, 21–22, 25–26). Scale bars: 15, 19, 23: 0.5 mm; 16, 20, 24: 0.2 mm; 17–18, 21–22, 25–26: 0.1 mm.