Discheramocephalus jaeseoki Jang & Park, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Jang, Taeyoung
name: Park, Jong-Seok
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Ptiliidae
Discheramocephalus
Discheramocephalus jaeseoki

description: Discheramocephalus jaeseoki sp. nov.
(Figs. 1–4)
Diagnosis. Adult specimens of Discheramocephalus jaeseoki sp. nov. are morphologically similar to those of the Malaysian species, D. nigritus Darby, but can be easily distinguished by more sparse setae on dorsal aspect (Figs. 1A, B), and also distinguished from those of other Discheramocephalus species by the pronotal inner depression reaching the middle of the pronotum, two times longer than the outer depression (Fig. 1C).
Description. Body length 0.51–0.56 mm, width 0.21–0.25 mm. Color dark brown, evenly punctuate with pale yellow pubescence; antennae, mouth parts, and legs dusky yellow.
Head. Round, distance between eyes in ventral view 0.094 mm. Transverse postocellar groove on head fully bridged by posterior extension of eye joining temple and closed laterally (Fig. 2A); longitudinal grooves on labrum present (Fig. 1D). Antennomeres II–XI 0.24 mm; V, VII, and IX weakly swollen then VI; X–XI weakly clavate; XI oval, 1.80 times longer than IX, 1.20 times longer than X (Figs. 1, 2A).
Thorax. Pronotum length 0.14–0.16 mm, width 0.18–0.20 mm, widest in front half. Pronotal disc with pair of median longitudinal furrow and two pairs of longitudinal laterobasal depressions; furrows almost adjacent at basal 1/5. Longitudinal furrow about 90% of pronotal length, inner depression about half, and outer depression about a quarter of pronotal length (Fig. 1C). Scutellum with depressions divided by longitudinal keel; each depression with two foveae on anterior edges (Figs. 1C, 2B).
Wings. Elytra length 0.35–0.37 mm; complete; with sparse, longitudinal rows of setae; widest at middle, side margin round and narrowed posteriorly (Figs. 1A–B, E, 2B). Alae trichial formula 7–8 + 19–22 + 50–51 (Fig. 2B).
Meso-, Metaventrite. Mesoventrite without longitudinal ridges of microsculpture. Metaventral longitudinal lines present; about half of metaventral length. Metacoxal cavities contiguous (Fig. 2C).
Abdomen. Pygidium (tergite X) serrate, semicircular; posterior margin with 7–8 pairs of individual projections; apex without projection (Figs. 3B, F). Abdominal sternite VI with pair of large cavities of some 1/5 width (Figs. 3A, E).
Legs. Femora and tibiae slender (Figs. 2C–F). Protibiae with row of bristles on inner margin distal 2/3 (Figs. 1G, 2D).
Aedeagus. Long and oval, as in Figs. 3C–D.
Spermatheca. As in Fig. 3G (chord broken during dissection).
Materials examined (n=3, 2♂♂ 1♀).
Holotype (deposited in NIBR), ♀ (dry, abdomen dissected and mounted on plastic card), “ SNU] Col.#: 210417 ChangW-01 / Loc: Gobdol mine, 118 / Dongeup-ro, Changwon-si, / GN, Korea. / Date: 17. iv. 2021 / Leg: Jae Seok Oh ”.
Paratypes (deposited in CBNUIC), 1♂ (slide mounted), “ SNU] Col.#: 210417 ChangW-01 / Loc: Gobdol mine, 118 / Dongeup-ro, Changwon-si, / GN, Korea. / Date: 17. iv. 2021 / Leg: Jae Seok Oh ” (same data as in holotype); 1♂ (slide mounted), “ [SNU] Col.#: 221025 OJS-01 / Loc: Gobdol mine, 193-118 / 1055beon-gil, Dongeup-ro, / Changwon-si, GN, Korea. / 35° 19' 30"N 128° 39' 14"E / Date: 25. x. 2022 / Leg: Jaeseok Oh ”.
Etymology. Species name dedicated to the arachnologist, Mr. Jaeseok Oh, collector of the types of this species.
Habitat. The term “Gobdol” on the label refers to the mineral talc. The collection site is an abandoned talc mine, and the entrance was narrowed with piled soil (Fig. 4C). In addition, the inside cavity is used as a nest and wintering space for the common bent-wing bat Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl) and greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber). Discheramocephalus jaeseoki sp. nov. was collected by sifting bat guano and soil near the entrance (J. Oh & J. Seo, personal communication, 25 October 2023).
Distribution. Korea: Changwon-si, Gyeongnam Prov. (Fig. 4A).
description: Published as part of Jang, Taeyoung & Park, Jong-Seok, 2024, The first Palearctic species of Discheramocephalus Johnson (Coleoptera, Ptiliidae, Ptiliinae) from Korea with an annotated catalog of the genus Discheramocephalus, pp. 539-548 in Zootaxa 5541 (4) on pages 540-542, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5541.4.6, http://zenodo.org/record/14241254