Neosclerus brevispinosus, Assing, 2014

Assing, V., 2014, A revision of Neosclerus CAMERON IV. Two new species and additional records from Taiwan (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 46 (2), pp. 1097-1101 : 1098

Neosclerus brevispinosus nov.sp. ( Figs 1-7 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " Taiwan: Fengchifu, Chiai, 1950 m, 12-13.XI.2000, leg. H. Sugaya / Holotypus Neosclerus brevispinosus sp.n. det. V. Assing 2014" (MNHUB). Paratypes: 2, 1: same data as holotype (MNHUB, cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective) refers to the short spine-like process on the male sternite VIII.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 3.1-3.8 mm; length of forebody 1.9-2.0 mm. Indistinctly bicoloured species: head blackish; pronotum and elytra brown; abdomen blackishbrown with paler apex; legs yellowish; antennae reddish. Other external characters ( Fig. 1 ) as in N. configens ASSING, 2011 and other micropterous representatives of the N. hlavaci group from Taiwan.

: sternite VII ( Fig. 2 ) weakly transverse and with dense pubescence, posterior margin weakly concave in the middle, near this concavity with ill-defined cluster of dense and weakly modified short setae ( Fig. 3 ); sternite VIII ( Figs 4-5 ) approximately as long as broad, anteriorly with short median spine-like process, posterior excision moderately deep, moderately broad, and nearly V-shaped; aedeagus ( Figs 6-7 ) approximately 0.55 mm long and with slender ventral process; subapical indenture distinctly closer to apex than to base of ventral process.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Among the Taiwanese representatives of the N. hlavaci group, N. brevispinosus is most similar to N. configens from Nantou. It differs from this species by the chaetotaxy of the male sternite VII (pubescence near posterior concavity longer and denser), the shorter anterior spine-like process of the male sternite VIII, and by the shape of the ventral process of the aedeagus ( N. configens : indenture approximately in the middle between apex and base of ventral process). For illustrations of N. configens and other Taiwanese Neosclerus species see ASSING (2011).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: The typelocality isprobably identical to Fen-ch'i-hu (23°30'N, 120°41'E) at the western foot of Ali Shan, Chiai Hsien, and situated at an altitude of 1950 m.

Figures

Figs 1-7: Neosclerus brevispinosus nov.sp.: (1) forebody; (2) male sternite VII; (3) postero-median portion of male sternite VII; (4) male sternite VIII in ventral view; (5) male sternite VIII in lateral view; (6) aedeagus in lateral view; (7) apical portion of aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2, 4-7: 0.2 mm; 3: 0.1 mm.