Pseudomedon discolor, Assing, 2015

Assing, Volker, 2015, First record of Pseudomedon from the Oriental Region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Medonina), Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (2), pp. 1191-1195 : 1192-1194

Pseudomedon discolor nov.sp. ( Figs 1-11 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype Ƌ: "N-Vietnam - pass 8 km NW Sa Pa , 22°21'19''N, 103°46'04''E, 2070 m, degr. prim. for., 11.VIII.2013, V.Assing [11+2] / Holotypus Ƌ Pseudomedon discolor sp.n. det. V. Assing 2015" (cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: This specific epithet (Latin, adjective: colourful) alludes to the distinctive coloration of the species.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 3.9 mm; length of forebody 1.9 mm. Coloration: head and pronotum reddish; elytra reddish-yellow; abdomen blackish, except for the brown posterior portions of segments VII and VIII, and the brown anterior portion of segment IX; fore- and mid-legs dark-yellowish; hind-legs with dark-brown femora, yellowishbrown tibiae, and dark-yellowish tarsi; antennae dark-yellowish with antennomere I reddish; maxillary palpi yellowish.

Head ( Fig. 1 ) as broad as long; punctation moderately coarse and distinct in anterior portion, finer and shallow in posterior portion; interstices without microsculpture ( Fig. 8 ). Eyes weakly convex, approximately 0.7 times as long as postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna 1.1 mm long and shaped as in Fig. 2 .

Pronotum ( Fig. 1 ) 1.05 times as long as broad and 1.03 times as broad as head; punctation fine and shallow; interstices without microsculpture; midline without impunctate band ( Fig. 9 ).

Elytra ( Fig. 1 ) as long as pronotum; punctation fine and dense, in anterior portion finely granulose ( Fig. 3 ). Hind wings probably fully developed (not examined). Protarsomeres I-IV distinctly dilated (sexual dimorphism?).

Abdomen with fine and dense punctation and with short dark pubescence; interstices with microsculpture composed of transverse meshes ( Fig. 10 ); posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

Ƌ: tergite VIII ( Fig. 4 ) distinctly oblong, its posterior margin with rather shallow and broadly concave excision; aedeagus weakly sclerotized, 0.45 mm long, and shaped as in Figs 5-7.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Pseudomedon discolor is readily distinguished from all its congeners by the conspicuous coloration of the body alone. In addition, it is characterized by the moderately dense punctation and pubescence of the forebody (very dense in nearly all other species of the genus) and by the male sexual characters.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: Theholotypewascollectednearapass to the northwest of Sa Pa, North Vietnam, by sifting leaf litter beneath old trees in a degraded primary forest at an altitude of 2070 m ( Fig. 11 ).

Figures

Figs 1-7: Pseudomedon discolor nov.sp.: (1) forebody; (2) antenna; (3) antero-sutural portion of elytra; (4) male sternite VIII; (5-6) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (7) ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2: 0.5 mm; 3-4: 0.2 mm; 5-7: 0.1 mm.

Figs 8-10: Pseudomedon discolor nov.sp.: (8) antero-median portion of head; (9) median portion of pronotum; (10) median portion of abdominal tergite VII. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Fig. 11: Type locality of Pseudomedon discolor.