Veraphis shaanxiana, Jałoszyński, 2024

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2024, Two new Veraphis species in China (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 5507 (1), pp. 194-200 : 195-198

Veraphis shaanxiana sp. nov.

( Figs 1 , 3–6 , 11 )

Type material. Holotype: CHINA (Shaanxi): ♂, four labels: “CHINA: S-Shaanxi (Qinling Shan) / mountain range W pass on rd. Xi’an / - Shagoujie , 45 km SSW Xi’an / 33 ° 52’ N, 108 ° 46’ E, 2675 m, / leg. M. Schülke [C01-20]” [white, printed], “ 25. VII. 2001. / N- slope, Abies, Betula, Larix, / Rhododendron, / subalpine meadows / (sifted) [C01-20)” [white, printed], “Sammlung / M. Schülke / Berlin” [white, printed], “ VERAPHIS / shaanxiana m. / P. Jałoszyński, 2024 / HOLOTYPUS” [red, printed] ( MNHB) . Paratype: ♀, same data as for holotype (cPJ) .

Diagnosis. Body only slightly exceeding 1 mm in length; males with unmodified trochanters, with deep median impression on metaventrite; aedeagus in ventral view with distinctly asymmetrical apical region, including endophallus shifted laterad midline, in lateral view median lobe curved near base and nearly straight in distal 2/3, with narrow indentation in subapical region of ventral wall.

Description. BL 1.11 mm. Body of male ( Fig. 1 ) flat, slender, light brown, covered with yellowish vestiture.

Head broadest at large, moderately convex eyes, HL 0.14 mm, HW 0.23 mm; vertex with pair of small posteromedian pits, each prolonged by shallow longitudinal groove extending anteriorly to posteromesal margin of weakly elevated supraantennal tubercle; area between grooves distinctly flattened and impressed in relation to convex sides of vertex and frons. Punctures on head dorsum fine, inconspicuous; setae short, sparse and suberect. Antennae slender, with distinctly demarcated trimerous clubs, AnL 0.48 mm, antennomeres 1 and 2 each strongly elongate, 3 indistinctly transverse, 4 about as long as broad, 5 slightly elongate, 6 and 7 each about as long as broad, 8 much shorter than 7, distinctly transverse, 9 and 10 each weakly transverse, 11 slightly longer than 10, about as long as broad.

Pronotum broadest near middle; PL 0.30 mm, PW 0.31 mm, anterior margin broadly and evenly rounded; lateral margins strongly rounded in anterior half, behind middle nearly straight and barely noticeably converging towards slightly sharp-angled hind corners; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate. Pronotal base with shallow transverse median pit and one pair of distinct lateral pits. Punctures on pronotal disc fine and inconspicuous, shallow and with diffuse margins; setae short and sparse, suberect.

Elytra together slightly rhomboidal, broadest slightly anterior to middle; EL 0.68 mm, EW 0.43 mm, EI 1.59; humeral calli well-marked, elongate. Elytral disc covered with punctures slightly more distinct than those on pronotum but still superficial and inconspicuous, setae similar to those on pronotum. Hind wings well developed, about twice as long as elytra.

Legs moderately long and slender; protrochanters unmodified, protibia with small subapical fin-like projection.

Metaventrite with distinct elongate median impression.

Aedeagus ( Figs 3–6 ) strongly elongate; AeL 0.28 mm; in ventral view median lobe broadly and shallowly constricted proximally to middle, broadening distally and in subapical region narrowing towards broadly rounded apex, apical region clearly asymmetrical, in lateral view median lobe curved near base and nearly straight in distal 2/3, with shallow ventral indentation in subapical region. Endophallus strongly asymmetrical, shifted laterad midline. Parameres slender, exceeding half length of median lobe, each with several short apical and subapical setae.

Female. Externally similar to male except for metaventrite lacking median impression. BL 1.10 mm; HL 0.14 mm, HW 0.23 mm, AnL 0.48 mm; PL 0.30 mm, PW 0.31 mm; EL 0.68 mm, EW 0.45 mm, EI 1.50.

Distribution. Qinling Mountains in CE China ( Fig. 11 ).

Etymology. After Shaanxi province in China.

Remarks. Veraphis shaanxiana is one of a few species with a clearly asymmetrical apical region of the aedeagus. Among Chinese species, a strongly asymmetrical aedeagal apex can be found in V. gansuana , and slightly asymmetrical in V. qinghaienasis and V. assingi . Comparison of the aedeagi ( Fig. 11 ) demonstrates that they all are clearly different. An asymmetrical aedeagal apex can be also found in the Japanese V. yoshitomii Jałoszyński, 2014 , but the general shapes of the aedeagi are different, and V. yoshitomii is much longer, stouter and darkly pigmented.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Distribution of nominal species of Veraphis in China, with comparison of their aedeagi in ventral view (based on Google Maps). Veraphis calcarifer Jałoszyński (a), V. qinghaiensis Jałoszyński (b), V. gansuana Jałoszyński (c), V. assingi Jałoszyński (d), V. modesta Jałoszyński (e), V. spinosa Jałoszyński (f), V. shaanxiana Jałoszyński (g), and V. dabashana Jałoszyński (h).

FIGURES 1–2. Habitus of holotype males. Veraphis shaanxiana sp. nov. (1) and Veraphis dabashana sp. nov. (2).

FIGURES 3–10. Aedeagus in ventral (3, 5, 7, 9) and lateral (4, 6, 8, 10) views. Veraphis shaanxiana sp. nov. (3‒6) and Veraphis dabashana sp. nov. (7‒10).