Pselaphodes unicornis, Bekchiev, Rostislav & Hlaváč, Peter, 2013

Bekchiev, Rostislav & Hlaváč, Peter, 2013, Description of a new unusual Pselaphodes Westwood, 1870 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from Nepal, Zootaxa 3700 (3), pp. 495-498 : 497-498

Pselaphodes unicornis sp.n.

( Figs. 2 , 3 )

Material examined: (4 males, 1 female): HOLOTYPE, male, labelled as follows: (p) Nepal, Parbat, Ghorepani, Rhodendron forest, 2860 m, 13.10.2006, leg. D. Bechev / red label (p) HOLOTYPE Lasinus unicornis sp.n., Bekchiev & Hlaváč det. 2013. (NMNHS). PARATYPES: 3 males, 1 female: Nepal, Langtang Valley. Lama longe, 2500–2800 m, 25.10.1984, leg. P. Beron (NMNHS, PCPH).

Description: Body length (BL) 2.70–3.00 mm ( Fig. 2 a), unicoloured, reddish-brown, abdomen slightly darker, maxillary palpi yellow.

Head elongate with very prominent eyes, longer than wide (HL: 0.60–062 mm; HW: 0.48–0.50 mm), vertexal and frontal foveae well-defined, median sulcus deep only in frontal part, vanishing on vertex, clypeus with strongly downward curved horn ( Fig. 2 b), maxillary palpi with palpomere III indistinctly projected laterally. Antennae relatively short, 1.48–1.51 mm long, antennal club as in Fig. 2 a.

Pronotum slightly longer than wide (PL: 0.59–0.62 mm; PW: 0.48–0.51 mm), disc smooth, lateral parts wrinkly, lateral and median foveae glabrous, well-defined, median sulcus almost reaching anterior margin of pronotum. Metaventrite with two long (0.14 mm), slightly curved, apically bifid basal horny processes and two small triangular processes behind them ( Fig. 2 c). Elytra wider than long, EL 0.82–0.86 mm, EW 1.06–1.08 mm.

Legs long and slender, protrochanters with small ventral spine, profemora with long and robust ventral spine at middle ( Fig. 2 d), mesotrochanter with two spines at apex, mesofemora without spines ( Fig. 2 e).

Abdomen broad at base and narrowed apically, AL 1.05–1.07 mm, AW 1.00– 1.10 mm. First visible abdominal tergite (IV) glabrous, basal carinae absent. Aedeagus: 0.50–0.52 mm long, as in Figs. 3 a and, 3b.

Sexual dimorphism: Female readily differs from male by simple unmodified antennal club, the clypeus lacking horn and metaventrite without prominent metaventral processes.

Differential diagnosis: P. unicornis is readily separated from all other species of the genus by the maxillary palpi with segment III indistinctly projected laterally and by the presence of a down-curved horn on the clypeus. It is closely related to P. monoceros but differs from it mainly by the shape of the metaventral process, the clypeal horn and the aedeagus.

Distribution: Nepal.

Etymology: The name is referring to the horned clypeus of the male.

Аcknowledgements

We want to thank our colleagues and reviewers George Coulon ( Canada), and Zi-Wei Yin ( China) for the critically reading of the manuscript and providing useful comments.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Diagnostic features of Pselaphodes unicornis in male: a) habitus, dorsal view – scale 0.2 mm; b) head, lateral view – scale 0.6 mm; c) metaventral processes, lateral view – scale 0.4 mm; d) protrochanter and profemur – scale 1.0 mm; e) mesotrochanter and mesofemur – scale 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 3. Aedeagus of Pselaphodes unicornis: a) dorsal view; b) lateral view, – scale 0.2 mm.