Euphanias sergeevae Salnitska 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Salnitska, Maria
name: Sheykin, Sergey
name: Semerikova, Daria
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Euphanias
Euphanias sergeevae

description: Euphanias sergeevae Salnitska, 2023, sp. nov.
(Figs 1, 3A, 4, 5)
Type material. Holotype: “ RUSSIA, Tyumen Prov., Tavolzhan vill., Tavolzhan Lake, N55,340, E70.151, 21.VI.2023, leaf litter along flooded shore of lake / mostly with Salicornia sp., leg. V. Krivosheeva, M. Salnitska, E. Kargapoltseva UTMN WS23-08 a/ UTMN _ LISP _000248” (male, UTMN). Paratypes: same data but “ UTMN _ LISP _000247” [specimen covered by the thin layer of gold after SEM] (1 male, UTMN); “ UTMN _ LISP _ 000249” (1 female, NHMD); “ Tyumen Prov., Sladkovskiy Distr., Alexandrovka vill., 55°20'41"N, 70°01'25"E, 10– 11.VIII.2021, E. V. Sergeeva leg. [in Russian] / territory of hunting farm “Tavolzhan”, salt meadows [in Russian]/ UTMN _ LISP _000250” (1 female, UTMN).
Description. Measurements and ratios (n = 4): HL: 0.40–0.43 (0.41); HW: 0.46–0.51 (0.47); PL: 0.46–0.51 (0.48); PW: 0.60–0.69 (0.63); EL: 0.40–0.46 (0.44); EW: 0.86–0.91 (0.89); FB: 1.49–1.66 (1.55); HL/HW: 0.83– 0.94 (0.88); PL/PW: 0.73–0.81 (0.76); EL/EW: 1.40–1.57 (1.51); PL/EL: 0.67–0.81 (0.73); PW/EW: 0.66–0.73 (0.71).
Body black, appendages vaguely paler, legs vaguely brownish, mandibles dark brown with apical portions yellowish, maxillary palps dark brown, labial palps yellowish (Fig. 3A). Body surfaces deeply punctured and covered with numerous plumose whitish setae (Fig. 4).
Head transverse (HL/HW: 0.88), widest at eyes, slightly shorter than pronotum; epistomal suture barely visible, disk with strongly developed carina running across midline from strongly pronounced supraantennal prominences to the level of posterior margin of eye, deep invagination present between carina and eye; surface deeply punctured and covered by scattered plumose setae (Figs 3A, 4A, D). Eyes vaguely convex, temples as long as or slightly longer than eyes (temples/eyes: 1.04), with small setae between facets (Fig. 4D). Antennae moderately long, three times longer than head; segments 1–8 distinctly longer than wide, 3–5 gradually increasing in length, 8–11 as long as or wider than long forming a club; first segment covered by scattered short and flattened whitish setae, 2–5 covered by rare short hair-like setae, 6–11 by short and long hair like setae (Figs 3A, 4A–C). Labrum vaguely bilobed (Fig. 4D). Mouth appendages bearing numerous setae (Fig. 4D).
Pronotum transverse, distinctly wider than long (PL/PW: 0.76), widest behind midline at pronounced lateral portions, shorter (PL/EL: 0.73) and narrower (PW/EW: 0.71) than elytra; of hexagonal shape (Fig. 3A, 4A) with smoothly rounded angles; apical margin forming camber line, posterior portion strongly narrowing basad, lateral portions explanate, middle portion with carina of specific shape bearing barely visible middle depression, with deep invaginations between carina and lateral margins extending from apical to posterior margin (Figs 3A, 4A, E). Punctation and setation same as on head (Fig. 4E).
Single elytron longer than wide (EL/EW: 1.51), combined elytra longer (PL/EL: 0.73) and wider (PW/EW: 0.71).) than pronotum, slightly expanding posteriad; anterior angles obtuse, posterior angles with deep and round excision; bearing three carina, 1st and 3rd not reaching posterior margin and gradually ending in second half of elytra, 2 nd extended along entire length and gradually turns into posterior margin (Figs 3A, 4A, F). Surface of deep punctures larger than that on pronotum and elytra, covered with whitish plumose setae (Fig. 4F). Wings fully developed.
Abdomen shorter than forebody and slightly wider than elytral width combined, gradually narrowing basad; with numerous sparsely scattered whitish plumose setae, surface between setae shiny and unpunctured, microsculpture absent or vaguely visible (Figs 3A, 4A, G). Apical margin of tergite VIII without palisade fringe.
Male. Genital segments: sternite VIII with posterior margin almost straight and bearing minute setae along almost all of its length (Fig. 5D), tergite IX triangular with elongated arm extending basad, bearing minute setae at apex (Fig. 5A), sternite IX elongated with square and obtusely pointed apex, posterior margin densely covered with short setae (Fig. 5C), tergite X – triangular with sharp apex covered with minute setae and with ventral struts (Fig. 5B).
Aedeagus (Fig. 5C) rather short, median lobe (in lateral or dorsal view) wide at base with large basal pressure plate, gradually narrowing apicad to obtusely pointed apex, apical margin covered with numerous microsetae; parameres parallel-sided, slightly but distinctly reaching beyond apex of median lobe (in lateral or dorsal view), sparsely covered with pores rarely bearing microsetae; internal sac with trident shaped sclerite.
Female. Sternite VIII triangular and pointed basad with shallow setae at posterior margin (Fig. 5E), spermatheca as in Fig. 5F.
Distribution and ecology. Euphanias sergeevae is hitherto known only from the flooded and sandy shores of the Tavolzhan salt lake in Tyumen Province and the habitat is mostly covered with Salicornia sp. (Figs 1, 2A, B).
Etymology. The species is named after Mrs. Elena Sergeeva (Tobolsk complex scientific station of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tobolsk, Russia), who collected the first specimen of E. sergeevae sp. nov. (paratype, UTMN_LISP_000250) from Tavolzhan lake and drew our attention to this interesting finding.
Differential diagnosis. The new species can be distinguished from other members of the genus Euphanias by the following combination of characters: piceous, only tarsomeres and mouth appendages slightly lighter, antennae moderately short, distinctly shorter than forebody (Figs 3A, 4A), first segment of antennae more than three times as long as wide, segments 3–5 gradually increasing in length (Figs 3A, 4A–C), pronotum almost hexagonal in shape with strongly pronounced angles and with weak medial furrow throughout its length, 1 st and 3 rd ridges of elytra not reaching elytral posterior margin and extending through half of its length (Figs. 3A, 4A, F), pronotum, elytra and abdomen covered with brush like plumose setae (Fig. 4H). According to the only existing identification key for Euphanias species (Blinstein 1976), E. sergeevae sp. nov. reaches the couplet comprising E. pliginskii and E. pusanovi, sharing the character state of the first antennomere, which is three times as long as wide. Our examination of E. pliginskii and E. pusanovi types and additional materials revealed that E. pusanovi can be distinguished from both species by its darker and uniform coloration, less pronounced eyes, different shape of pronotum with weak medial furrow (Figs 3A, 4A, D, E); from E. pusanovi by the sparser punctuation, brush-like plumose setae, shorter antennae and more transverse segment 6, more sharply tapering apex of abdomen more straight and not curved parameres (Figs 3A, 4A, B, C, G, H, 5G); from E. pliginskii by the shorter and weaker 1 nd and 3 rd elytral ridges not reaching posterior margin of elytra (Figs 3A, 4A, F).
description: Published as part of Salnitska, Maria, Sheykin, Sergey & Semerikova, Daria, 2024, Description of a new species Euphanias sergreevae sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) from Western Siberia, Russia, pp. 288-296 in Zootaxa 5406 (2) on pages 290-292, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5406.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/10618214