Orphnebius (Deroleptus) septemcuspis, Assing, 2016

Assing, Volker, 2016, On some Lomechusini of the Palaearctic and Oriental regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 66 (1), pp. 13-111 : 69-70

Orphnebius (Deroleptus) septemcuspis spec. nov.

( Figs 60 , 87, 95–96 , 335–339 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: “ Laos-N ( Oudomxai ), 1.–9.v.2002, ~ 1100 m, 20°45'N 102°09'E, Oudom Xai (17 km NEE), Vít Kubáň leg. / Collection Naturhistorisches Museum Basel / Holotypus ♂ Orphnebius septemcuspis sp. n., det. V. Assing 2015” ( NHMB).

Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: with seven apices) alludes to the conspicuous shape of the posterior margin of the abdominal tergite VIII.

Description: Body length 5.0 mm; length of forebody 2.1 mm. Coloration: body black, with the abdominal segments III–V reddish; legs blackish, with the narrow base of the mesofemora and the basal third of the metafemora yellow and with the tarsi reddish; antennae black; maxillary palpi blackish with the terminal palpomere yellow.

Head ( Fig. 87 ) 1.18 times as broad as long; posterior angles practically obsolete; punctation extremely fine and sparse; median dorsal portion impunctate; interstices without microsculpture. Eyes large, longer than distance from posterior margin of eye to posterior constriction of head. Antenna ( Fig. 60 ) slender, 2.05 mm long, and of distinctive morphology; antennomere I conspicuously club-shaped, apically distinctly dilated; antennomeres III–V distinctly flattened, IV–VI distinctly oblong, VII–IX weakly oblong, X approximately as long as broad, and XI distinctly longer than the combined length of IX and X.

Pronotum ( Fig. 87 ) 1.12 times as broad as long and approximately as broad as head, strongly convex in crosssection; lateral margins parallel and straight in dorsal view; disc with few scattered macropunctures, otherwise impunctate, near antero-lateral angles with a long black seta.

Elytra ( Fig. 87 ) approximately as long as pronotum; punctation moderately sparse and coarsely granulose. Hind wings present. Legs long and slender; metatibia 1.2 mm long; metatarsus 0.9 times as long as metatibia; metatarsomere I longer than the combined length of II and III.

Abdomen ( Figs 95–96 ): sternite III with a long and apically acute postero-lateral process; tergite III impunctate; tergites IV–V with several setiferous punctures at posterior margin, otherwise impunctate; tergite VI with a long lateral keel and a lateral setiferous puncture on either side, and with several punctures at posterior margin, between these punctures with some microstriae; tergite VII, except for anterior margin, with coarse and very dense non-setiferous punctation, near posterior margin with a transverse row of oblong setiferous tubercles, posterior margin with palisade fringe; tergite VIII ( Fig. 338 ) of very distinctive shape, with seven pronounced teeth at posterior margin (a long median, two long lateral, four shorter sublateral teeth) and two additional tooth-like processes in posterior portion of lateral margin on either side; sternite VIII ( Fig. 339 ), too, of distinctive shape, posterior margin convex, sublaterally with a short comb of three stout setiferous tooth-shaped processes on either side.

♂: median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 335–336 ) 0.47 mm long and of simple shape; ventral process straight in lateral view and apically convex in ventral view; paramere ( Fig. 337 ) 0.42 mm long, with a moderately long apical lobe.

Comparative notes: Among other geographically close Deroleptus species , O. septemcuspis is characterized by numerous distinctive characters, particularly the coloration, the morphology of the antennae (especially the conspicuously club-shaped antennomere I), coarsely granulose punctation of the elytra, an abdominal tergite VII with extensively non-setiferous punctation and with additional setiferous tubercles, a tergite and sternite VIII of very distinctive shapes, and by the morphology of the aedeagus.

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated near Oudom Xai in North Laos. The holotype was collected at an altitude of approximately 1100 m, together with O. extensus , O. serratus , and O. integer .

Figures

Figs 54–83. Antenna (54–69), forebody (70–73), abdomen (74–76), abdominal segments III–V (77, 81), lateral portion of abdominal segments III–V (78, 82), tergites VI–VII (79, 83), and hind leg (80) of Orphnebius spp. of the subgenus Deroleptus: discrepans (54, 73, 75), triapicalis (55, 71, 76), gracilior (56, 72, 77–80), sexcarinatus (57, 81–83), spoliatus (58), cultellatus (59), septemcuspis (60), vates (61), tortus (62), baccillatus (63), carinatus (64), dispar (65), laticeps (66), biimpressus (67), ulcerosus (68), falagrioides (69), siamensis (70, 74). Scale bars: 70–83: 1.0 mm; 54–69: 0.5 mm.

Figs 84–101. Forebody (84–90), abdomen (91–94, 97–98), lateral portion of abdominal segments III–V/VI (95, 99, 101), and tergite VII (96, 100) of Orphnebius spp. of the subgenus Deroleptus: sexcarinatus (84), spoliatus (85, 91), cultellatus (86, 92–94), septemcuspis (87, 95–96), tortus (88, 98–100), vates (89, 97), baccillatus (90, 101). Scale bars: 84–95, 97–99, 101: 1.0 mm; 96, 100: 0.5 mm.

Figs 317–339. Orphnebius spoliatus (317–324), O. cultellatus (325–334: 331, 334: Laos), and O. septemcuspis (335–339): median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (317–318, 325–326, 335–336); paramere (319, 327, 337); tergite VIII (320, 328, 338); male sternite VIII (321, 329, 339); female sternite VIII (322, 330–331); female segments IX–X in ventral view (323, 332); spermatheca (324, 333–334). Scale bars: 0.2 mm.