Sphaerobulbus ningliei, Zhao & Tang, 2020

Zhao, Xin & Tang, Liang, 2020, Three new species of the genus Sphaerobulbus from China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 60 (1), pp. 333-341 : 337-338

Sphaerobulbus ningliei sp. nov.

(Figs 5, 6, 19–23)

Type material. HƟĿƟŦYPൾ: CHINA: YUNNAN: ³, glued on a card with labels as follows: “China: Yunnan Prov. Binchuan County, Jizu Shan, 25°57′41.76″N 100°23′36.38″E, alt. 3000 m, 16. VII.2010, Liang Tang leg.” “ Holotype / Sphaerobulbus ningliei / Zhao & Tang” [red handwritten label] ( SHNU).

Description. Measurements of male: BL: 14.2 mm, FL: 7.7 mm. HL: 2.06 mm, HW: 2.18 mm, EYL: 0.59 mm, TL: 1.00 mm, PL: 2.88 mm, PW: 2.55 mm, EL: 2.89 mm, EW: 2.95 mm. HW/HL: 1.05, TL/EYL: 1.69, PL/PW: 1.13, EL/EW: 0.98.

Body entirely blackish with metallic blue tint,appendages reddish except mid and hind coxae darker.

Head 1.05 times as wide as long, rounded quadrangular, posterior angles entirely rounded, tempora longer than eyes (ratio 1.69), disc with punctation well delimited on middle portion and more or less confluent on lateral portions, posterior half of head with impunctate midline, interstices densely reticulated, about equal to diameter of punctures on midanterior portion and mostly narrower than half diameter of punctures on the remaining portions.

Pronotum 1.13 times as long as wide, widest at about basal third, disc with complete impunctate midline, punctation confluent, interstices reticulated, narrower than half diameter of punctures; scutellum with black pubescence, finely and densely punctate.

Elytra 0.98 times as long as wide and as long as pronotum; punctation fine and dense, interstices slightly dull with coarse granulose microsculpture.

Abdomen semi-cylindrical, posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe; posterior basal line of abdominal tergites III–V distinctly bisinuate, median impression after posterior basal line relatively shallow; punctation dense and fine, interstices reticulated.

Male. Sternite VIII emarginate at middle of posterior margin; sternite IX (Fig. 19) emarginate medioapically; tergite X(Fig. 20) subtriangular with apex obtusely pointed. Aedeagus (Fig. 21) with median lobe asymmetrical, apical portion hook-like and pointing to left side in ventral view, paramere slightly asymmetrical, slightly shorter than median lobe, underside of paramere (Figs 22, 23) with a few sensory peg seta in apical portion and one degenerated sensory peg seta at middle of subapical portion.

Female. Unknown.

Differential diagnosis. The new species is similar to S. cardinalis Smetana, 2010 from Sichuan and Yunnan, but can be distinguished from the latter by the posterior angles of the head being rounded (slightly prominent in S. cardinalis ), the posterior half of the head with the impunctate midline broad (narrow in S. cardinalis ), the apical portion of the aedeagal median lobe hook-like, and the underside of the paramere with sparser sensory peg setae. Both species seem to differ also in the degree of metallic tint in some cases (compare Figs 5 and 26), but this character seems to be variable in S. cardinalis which can also exhibit a bluish-purple tint (A. Smetana, pers. comm. 2020) and the coloration is hence not useful as a diagnostic character. The new species is also a little similar to S. smetanai described above in coloration, but it can be distinguished by the head with an impunctate midline, the elytra distinctly longer, and the abdomen distinctly darker in coloration.

Etymology. This species is named in honor of Mr. Lie Ning who accompanied the second author during the collecting trip.

Distribution. China (Yunnan).