Veraphis assingi, Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2013

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2013, Three new species of Eutheiini (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae) from China, Zootaxa 3609 (5), pp. 495-503 : 500-501

Veraphis assingi sp. n.

( Figs. 5, 7, 10–11 , 13 )

Type material. Holotype: CHINA (Sichuan Prov.): ♂, two labels: " CHINA [24]: N-Sichuan / pass NW Songpan, / 3600 m, 32° 55'32''N, / 103° 25'56''E, sifted, / 11.VIII.2012, V. Assing" [white, printed]; " VERAPHIS \ assingi m. \ det. P. Jałoszyński, '12 \ HOLOTYPUS " [red, printed] (MNHW).

Diagnosis. Male protrochanter with subtriangular apex; aedeagus in ventral view with asymmetrical, about as long as broad apical part slightly expanded distally in middle and distinct internal armature located sub-apically; in lateral view apical part of median lobe recurved, with apex directed dorsally.

Description. BL 1.45 mm. Body of male ( Fig. 5 ) weakly convex, slender, moderately dark brown, covered with yellowish vestiture, legs and antennae only minimally lighter.

Head broadest at large strongly convex eyes, HL 0.18 mm, HW 0.25 mm; vertex with distinct pair of median pits not prolonged by longitudinal grooves; frons flattened, clypeus steeply declining anterad and flattened; sides of vertex and frons confluent and convex; supraantennal tubercles weakly raised. Punctures on head dorsum fine and indistinct; setae short, sparse and suberect. Antennae slender, with distinctly demarcated club composed of antennomeres IX–XI, AnL 0.53 mm, antennomere I 2.5 × as long as broad; II distinctly shorter and slightly narrower than I, 2.5 × as long as broad; III distinctly transverse; IV–V each elongate (V longest); VI about as long as broad; VII slightly transverse; VIII distinctly shorter and slightly narrower than VII, strongly transverse; IX–X each distinctly transverse; XI barely longer than broad.

Pronotum nearly subquadrate, broadest near anterior fourth; PL 0.33 mm, PW 0.35 mm, anterior margin broadly and evenly rounded; lateral margins strongly rounded in anterior third, from widest place distinctly convergent towards obtuse and blunt hind angles; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate. Pronotal base with distinct, deep and nearly circular median ante-basal pit and lateral pair of elongate impressions running along lateral pronotal margins. Punctures on pronotal disc large and dense but shallow and diffused, in middle separated by spaces equal to 1–1.5 puncture diameters, punctures gradually becoming finer towards pronotal margins. Setae short and sparse, suberect.

Elytra more convex than pronotum, oval, broadest slightly anterior to middle; EL 0.73 mm, EW 0.53 mm, EI 1.38; humeral calli well-marked, elongate. Punctures on median part of elytra slightly denser, smaller and more diffused than those on pronotum; setae similar to those on pronotum. Hind wings well developed.

Legs moderately long and slender; protrochanter with rounded margin and subtriangular apex, protibia with sub-apical fin-like projection ( Fig. 7 ).

Metaventrite with median impression nearly as long as ventrite, margins of impression diffused.

Aedeagus ( Figs. 10–11 ) slender; AeL 0.35 mm; in ventral view median lobe gradually broadening from subbasal to sub-apical regions, with asymmetrical apical part slightly expanded distally and strongly curved dorsally; internal structures distinct, located in sub-apical region; parameres shorter than half length of median lobe.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. China, Sichuan Prov. ( Fig. 13 ).

Etymology. This species is dedicated to its collector and a specialist on Staphylinidae, Volker Assing.

Remarks. Veraphis assingi differs from all Palaearctic species of Veraphis in the strongly recurved apical part of median lobe in lateral view, with the apex directed dorsally. The new species is most similar to the V. japonicus species group, to which it can be included.

Figures

FIGURES 4 – 11. Veraphis gansuanus sp. n. (4, 6, 8 – 9) and V. assingi sp. n. (5, 7, 10 – 11). 4 – 5 ― dorsal habitus of holotype males; 6 – 7 ― right fore leg in posterior view; 8 – 11 ― aedeagus in ventral (8, 10) and lateral (9, 11) views.

FIGURES 12 – 14. Distribution of Eutheiini in China. 12 ― genus Eutheia (a ― E. laolongiana; b ― E. nujianglisuana; c ― E. puetzi; d ― E. sculpturata); 13 ― genus Ve ra ph i s (a ― V. assingi; b ― V. calcarifer; c ― V. gansuanus; d ― V. m o de s t u s; e ― V. qinghaiensis; f ― V. s p i n o s u s); 14 ― all Eutheiini.