Paraphloeostiba formosana, Smetana, Aleš, 2016

Smetana, Aleš, 2016, The Taiwanese species of the genus Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Omaliini), Zootaxa 4111 (1), pp. 69-76 : 70-73

Paraphloeostiba formosana sp. n.

( Figs. 1–6 , 13–20)

Type material examined. TAIWAN: Holotype of Paraphloeostiba formosana sp. n., ♂: ‘ TAIWAN, Taitung Hsien | Hsinkangshan above | Chenkung 800m 26.IV. | 95, A. Smetana [T167]’, ‘ HOLOTYPE | Paraphloeostiba | formosana sp.n. | Shavrin A.V. & Smetana A. des. 2016’ <red printed label> ( NSMT).

Paratypes of Paraphloeostiba formosana sp. n., 1 ♂, 3 ♀: same data as the holotype ( NSMT, CSh); 1 ♂: ‘ TAIWAN Kaohsiung | Hsien, Tengchih | 1610m 24.IV.1996 | A. Smetana [T20]’ (CSh). All paratypes with additional red printed label: ‘ PARATYPE | Paraphloeostiba | formosana sp.n. | Shavrin A.V. & Smetana A. des. 2016’.

Description. Measurements (n=6): HW: 0.42–0.47; HL: 0.25–0.27; OL: 0.12−0.14; AL: 0.60−0.62; PML×PMW (III, IV): III (holotype): 0.02 × 0.02, IV: 0.07 × 0.02; PL: 0.35–0.37; PW: 0.55–0.63; ElL: 0.58–0.64; EW: 0.72–0.82; AW(IV): 0.75−0.84; AedL: 0.52–0.55; TL: 2.15–2.49 (holotype: 2.25).

Body red-brown to brown; antennomeres 6–11, postero-lateral and apical portions of elytra, and sometimes shoulders and portion near scutellum slightly darker; ocelli, mouthparts, antennomeres 1–5, legs, abdominal tergite VIII and apical part of abdomen yellow. Head without punctures, with regular and strong isodiametric microsculpture; pronotum with sparse, moderately small punctures, lacking along midline, with strong and slightly larger microsculpture than that of head; punctation of elytra slightly larger than that of pronotum, forming very indistinct longitudinal rows along entire length of each elytron, narrow band along elytral suture without punctures, microsculpture slightly larger than that on pronotum and distinctly coarser; abdomen without punctation, with distinct isodiametric (abdominal tergites III–V) or cellular (abdominal tergites VI–VIII) microsculpture.

Head slightly convex between ocelli, 1.6–1.7 times as broad as long, with short and deep straight anteocellar foveae extending from moderately large ocelli; posterior parts of orbital margin located very close to medium-sized eyes. Antennae short; antennomere 6 distinctly broader than antennomere 5, penultimate antennomere nearly twice as wide as long; antennomeres with lengths × widths: 1: 0.07 × 0.03; 2: 0.05 × 0.02; 3: 0.06 × 0.01; 4–5: 0.03 × 0.02; 6: 0.03 × 0.03; 7–10: 0.03 × 0.05; 11: 0.07 × 0.05.

FIGURES 13–20. Aedeagus (13, 15, 17, 19) and endophallus (14, 16, 18, 20) of Paraphloeostiba formosana : 13−14, 17−18−parameral view, 15−16, 19−20−lateral view; 13−16: paratype: Taiwan, Chenkung; 17−20: paratype: Taiwan, Tengchih. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

Pronotum slightly convex, 1.5–1.7 times as broad as long, 1.3 times wider than head; evenly narrowed from widest middle towards widely rounded anterior and moderately sharp posterior angles; paramedian longitudinal impressions indistinct, wide and long; lateral impressions well defined, moderately deep and wide, beginning from median part of pronotum and reaching posterior angles.

Elytra 1.2 times as wide as long, 1.6–1.7 times longer than pronotum; epipleural keel well distinct and moderately wide.

Abdomen about same width as elytra, with two small wing-folding patches (tomentose spots) on abdominal tergite V, sometimes with wide palisade fringe on apical margin of abdominal tergite VII.

Male. Abdominal tergite VIII as in Fig. 1 . Abdominal sternite VIII as in Fig. 2 . Aedeagus (Figs. 13, 17) with wide basal bulb, gradually narrowing towards thin apical portion of median lobe, slightly expanded towards rounded apex; parameres very long, significantly exceeding apex of aedeagus, with very wide setiferous lobes with two pairs of apical and lateral long setae and several short setae along entire length of inner edge; endophallus (Figs. 14, 16, 18, 20) complicated, with two narrow apical portions and with V-shaped sclerite (Figs. 14, 18) indistinctly visible on high magnification within sclerotized basal half of sac. Aedeagus laterally as in Figs. 15, 19.

Female. Abdominal tergite VIII as in Fig. 3 . Abdominal sternite VIII as in Fig. 4 . Genital segment with asymmetrical, roughly triangular female accessory sclerite as in Fig. 5 . Spermatheca as in Fig. 6 .

Comparative notes. For comparison of the morphological characters provided here see Figs. 5−6, 11−12 , 13, 17, 21−23 and Figs. 9, 11−12 , 32−35, 42−45, 83− 84 in Steel (1960). In addition, see the key below and comparative notes for P. sonani .

Based on the body size, proportions of antenna and the body, as well as on the general shape of the aedeagus and elongated parameres, P. formosana sp. n. is very similar to Taiwanese P. sonani and P. sulcicollis ( Fauvel, 1904) , which was described from Sumatra (Palembang). It differs from these species by the more convex head, pronotum and elytra, as well as by the shape and structure of the aedeagus (apical part of the aedeagus of P. sulcicollis is bilobed, parameral lobes are wider, with very strong denser setation; median lobe and apical part of aedeagus of P. sonani are wider), and by the shapes of female genital segment and spermatheca.

The shape of the apical half of the aedeagus of P. formosana sp. n. is similar on that of P. specularis ( Bernhauer, 1915) , known from New Britain ( Papua New Guinea), and Indonesian P. rhopalocera ( Cameron, 1928) , however, the parameres of P. formosana sp. n. are longer, with different character of setation, and apical third of the aedeagus is distinctly wider.

Etymology. The name of the new species is derived from Formosa, an old name of Taiwan, which was given by the Portuguese, from Portuguese “ilha formosa” which means “beautiful island”.

Distribution. The species is known from central Taiwan (Taitung Hsien, Kaohsiung Hsien).

Bionomics. The specimens were collected in subtropical broadleaved forest (with big tree ferns) with bamboo, by sifting of pile of rotting, mouldy bamboo shoots near a small creek ([T167]), and by sifting bark, humus and various debris (some old mushrooms) around bases of old, dead standing trees in a forest clearing ([T20]).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 12. Abdominal segments and female genitalia of Paraphloeostiba formosana (1 − 6; paratypes: Taiwan, Chenkung) and P. sonani (7 − 12; Taiwan, Chenkung): 1, 7 − male abdominal tergite VIII (dorsal view), 2, 8 − male abdominal sternite VIII (ventral view), 3, 9 − female abdominal tergite VIII (ventral view), 4, 10 − female abdominal sternite VIII (ventral view), 5, 11 − female genital segment (ventral view), 6, 12 − spermatheca. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.