Iniocyphus Raffray, 1912

Kurbatov, Sergey A. & Cuccodoro, Giulio, 2019, Notes on Iniocyphus iheringi Raffray, 1912 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae), Zootaxa 4586 (1), pp. 171-179 : 172-177

Iniocyphus Raffray, 1912

( Figs. 1–23 )

Iniocyphus Raffray, 1912: 435 ; 1924: 144. Park 1942: 277; Newton & Chandler 1989: 50; Löbl, 1994: 692. Chandler 2001: 375.

Type species. Iniocyphus iheringi Raffray, 1912 , by monotypy.

Description. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Head with eyes well-developped (at least in male, female unknown), temples long, moderately convex; vertexal foveae very small, opening near upper eye margins ( Figs. 3, 5 : vf); postantennal notches narrow; ocular-mandibular carinae present; ventral surface covered with pointed microtubercles; gular area depressed at middle, with two gular foveae ( Fig. 4 : gf). Antennae ( Fig. 7 ) with eleven antennomeres, much longer than combined length of head and pronotum; club consisting of antennomeres IX–XI, with antennomeres IX wider than III–VIII, and X much longer than wide. Mouthparts as in Figs. 18–21, 23 ; maxillary palpi ( Fig. 23 ) with article 3 distinctly quandrangular, with mesal margin long, almost as long as external margin; no trichome at the outside of the article 4 (see Nomura, 1991: 40).

Pronotum fairly hexagonal, sides slightly sinuate posteriorly; median antebasal fovea present ( Fig. 3 : maf); antebasal sulcus present ( Fig. 3 : as), joining the lateral foveae ( Fig. 3 : laf); areas posterior to antebasal sulcus and near most protruding portion of lateral edges covered with pointed microtubercles. Prosternum lacking prosternal foveae; paranotal carinae present, entire ( Fig 4 : pc); center covered with pointed microtubercles. Elytra very long, longer than their maximal width combined, and two times longer than abdomen in dorsal view, without foveae, sulci or carinae; with small concavity at posterolateral angles (as one of locking devices sensu Nomura, 1991: 16, Figs. 28–29). Wings well-developped. Mesoventrite with pairs of median mesoventral foveae ( Fig. 6 : mmvf), lateral mesoventral foveae ( Fig. 6 : lmvf), longitudinal anapleural carinae (sensu Nomura, 1991: 12, fig. 18a; Fig. 6 : lapc). Metaventrite apparently with pair of small lateral mesocoxal foveae (not clearly visible without preparation); posterior edge between metacoxae in dorsal view evenly concave. Legs ( Figs. 12–13 ) rather long; pro- and mesocoxae conical, contiguous, oblique ( Fig. 15 ); metacoxae moderately distants ( Fig. 15 ); tarsomeres 1 very short, tarsomeres 2 slightly shorter than 3, latter with 1 claw ( Fig. 17 ).

Abdomen with five visibles tergites (IV–VIII) and six visibles sternites (III–VIII); tergites IV–VI each with pair of small basolateral foveae ( Fig. 9 : blfIV, blfV and blfVI); sternite III with apical margin visible on entire length, including posteriorly metacoxae; sternite IV with pair of basolateral foveae; sternite VIII ( Fig. 22 ) with mediobasal gland.

Upper part of head and mesotrochanters apparently sexually modified. Aedeagus membranous, with 2 parameres fused at base and affixed slightly asymetrically to median lobe.

Comments. With respect to the various genera currently assigned to Iniocyphini, Proterini, and Brachyglutini, the genus Iniocyphus is characterized by the following unique features: 1) Presence of pointed microtubercles on pronotum, prosternum and ventral surface of head; 2) Elytra unusually long, longer than their maximal width combined; 3) Mesocoxae conical and oblique. Within these three tribes the presence of markedly elongate antennomeres X is quite rare and occurs only here and there, such as for example in Simplicorfa Chandler, 2001 (Inyociphini: Natypleurina), and males of Exoterus Cuccodoro & Kurbatov, 2006 (Proterini) . Also notable and potentially of high significance in further reassessments of phylogenetic position of the genus in the system are the quandrangular shape of the third segment of the maxillary palpi, the lack of trichome at the outside of the fourth segment of the maxillary palpi, and the apical margin of abdominal sternite III visible on its entire length.

Figures

FIGURES 1–2. Iniocyphus iheringi Raffray, 1912. lectotype. (1) Habitus habitus. (2) Labels. Scale bar for (1).

FIGURES 3–6. Iniocyphus iheringi Raffray, 1912. lectotype. (3–4) Head (mouthparts removed) and pronotum, in (3) dorsal and (4) ventral views. (5–6) Head (mouthparts removed) and thorax, in (5) lateral and (6) ventral views. Scale bar 200 µm for (3–4), and scale bar 1 mm for (5–6). Abbreviations: as—antebasal sulcus, gf—gular fovea, laf—lateral antebasal fovea, lapclongitudinal anapleural carina, lmvf—lateral mesoventral fovea, maf—median antebasal fovea, mmvf—median mesoventral fovea, pc—paranotal carina. vf—vertexal fovea.

FIGURES 7–15. Iniocyphus iheringi Raffray, 1912. lectotype. (7) antenna. (8–11) abdomen (apical segment removed), in (8– 11) dorsal, (10) lateral and (11) ventral views. and pronotum, in (3) dorsal and (4) ventral views. (12) Anterior tibia and tarsus. (13) Middle tibia and tarsus. (14) Posterior tibia and tarsi. (15) Thorax, in ventrofrontal view. Abbreviations: blfIVbasolateral fovea of tergite IV, blfV—basolateral fovea of tergite V, blfVI—basolateral fovea of tergite VI.

FIGURES 16–23. Iniocyphus iheringi Raffray, 1912. lectotype. (16) Aedeagus (internal sac everted), in ventral view. (17) Apical middle tarsus. (18) Left mandible. (19) Right mandible. (20) Mentum. (21) Labrum. (22) Abdominal sternite VIII. (23) Right maxillary palpus ventral views. Scale bars: vertical for (16–21, 23), and horizontal for (22).