Nepalota cuneata Assing 2015, nov.sp.

Nepalota cuneata nov.sp. (Figs 17-28, Map 4) Type material: Holotype ♂: " CHINA [6] - Yunnan, NE Kunming, 25°08'35''N, 102°53'49''E, 2320 m, mixed forest, sifted, 13.VIII.2014, V. Assing / Holotypus ♂ Nepalota cuneata sp.n. det. V. Assing 2014" (cAss). Paratypes: 1♀: same data as holotype (cAss); 2♀♀: " CHINA [5] - Yunnan, NE Kunming, 25°08'40''N, 102°53'48''E, 2290 m, mixed forest, sifted, 11.VIII.2014, V. Assing" (cAss); 1♂, 5 exs.: " CHINA - N-Yunnan [2005-12], Nujiang Lisu Aut. Pref., Gongshan Co., Gaoligong Shan, 2500 m, 27°45.404'N, 98°35.749'E, litter & debries [sic] at snowfield sifted during rain, 19.VI.2005, M. Schülke" (cSch, cAss); 5♂♂, 8 exs.: " CHINA: Yunnan, Lincang Pref., Laobie Shan, Wei Bo Shan pass, 24°08'16''N, 99°42'53''E, 2375 m, creek valley, devastated second. decid. forest, litter & moss sifted, 8.IX.2009, leg. M. Schülke [CH09- 35]" (cAss); 2♂♂, 3 exs.: " CHINA (Yunnan) Dali Bai Aut. Pref., mount. range E Weishan, 12 km NE Weishan, 2630-2660 m, (scrub with pines and bamboo, litter sifted), 25°17'02-15''N, 100°22'23-30''E, 15.IX.2009, D.W. Wrase [54A]" (cSch, cAss); 2♀♀: same data, but leg. Schülke (cSch); 1♂, " CHINA - Yunnan, Dali Bai Aut. Pref., Jizu Shan, path to cable car, 37 km NE Dali, 25°58'N, 100°23'E, 2450 m, mixed forest, sifted from litter, moss & pine apples, 5.IX.2009, leg. M. Schülke [CH09-29]" (cAss); 1♂, 1♀: same data, but leg. Wrase (cSch); 6♂♂, 8 exs.: " CHINA: Yunnan, Lincang Pref., Laobie Shan, Wei Bo Shan pass, 24°08'16''N, 99°42'53''E, 2375 m, creek valley, second. decid. forest, litter & moss sifted, 8.IX.2009, leg. M. Schülke [CH09-35] (cSch, cAss); 1♂: " CHINA: Yunnan, Pu'er Pref., Ailao Shan, 37 km NW Jingdong, 24°45'12''N, 100°41'24.5''E, 2300 m, devastated forest remnant, litter & dead wood sifted, 13.IX.2009, leg. M. Schülke [CH09-48]" (cAss). Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: wedge-shaped) alludes to the conspicuous shape of the median lobe of the aedeagus. Description: Body length 5.0- 5.4 mm; length of forebody 2.2-2.3 mm. Coloration: head blackish, pronotum blackish-brown to blackish, elytra dark-yellowish; abdomen dark-brown to blackish, with the posterior margins of the segments narrowly brownish; legs yellowish; antennae blackish, with antennomere I paler brown. Head (Fig. 17) noticeably transverse; dorsal surface with distinct microreticulation, subdued shine, and very fine and sparse, barely noticeable punctation. Eyes large, much longer than postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna (Fig. 18) slender, 1.5-1.7 mm long; preapical antennomeres very weakly transverse; antennomere XI elongated and apically acute. Pronotum (Fig. 17) 1.20-1.25 times as broad as long and approximately 1.35 times as broad as head, subject to weakly pronounced sexual dimorphism; disc with pronounced microreticulation and subdued shine. Elytra (Fig. 17) approximately as long as pronotum; punctation dense and fine; interstices with distinct microreticulation and subdued shine. Hind wings fully developed. Abdomen with fine, but distinct transverse microsculpture; tergites III-VII impunctate near anterior margins; tergites III-VI with moderately dense, tergite VII with sparser punctation on remainder of surfaces; pubescence predominantly composed of short and rather stout brownish setae; tergite VII without sexual dimorphism. ♂: pronotum with weakly granulose punctation only in postero-median portion, remainder of disc with fine and non-granulose punctation; tergite III with weakly pronounced median tubercle; tergite VIII (Fig. 19) with broadly and distinctly concave posterior margin; sternite VIII (Fig. 20) transverse, somewhat longer than tergite VIII, and strongly convex posteriorly; median lobe of aedeagus (Figs 21-22) approximately 0.75 mm long and of very conspicuous shape, particularly in lateral view: in the middle with pronounced wedge-shaped protrusion, ventral process distinctly bisinuate in lateral view, crista apicalis narrow, but pronounced; paramere (Fig. 23) large and approximately 0.75 mm long, apical lobe with conspicuously long and black subapical seta. ♀: pronotum with fine, non-granulose punctation; tergite III with or without median tubercle (similar to that of male); posterior margin of tergite VIII (Fig. 24) truncate in the middle; sternite VIII (Fig. 25) distinctly transverse and with broadly and distinctly convex posterior margin, submarginal setae only indistinctly modified; spermatheca (Figs 26-28) approximately 0.31 mm long, of very variable shape. Comparative notes: As can be inferred from the similar sexual and external characters, particularly the presence of a sexual dimorphism of the pronotum, N. cuneata is closely allied to N. franzi and N. chinensis, from which it differs by the slightly more slender pronotum, the less extensively granulose punctation of the male pronotum, by the shapes of the male tergite and sternite VIII, the conspicuous morphology of the aedeagus, the shape and chaetotaxy of the female sternite VIII, and by the shape of the spermatheca. Distribution and natural history: The known distribution is confined to several localities in Yunnan (Map 4). The specimens were sifted from sifting leaf litter in various forest habitats at altitudes between 2290 and approximately 2650 m, partly together with N. smetanai.Published as part of Assing, Volker, 2015, On the Nepalota fauna of China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Athetini), pp. 207-248 in Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (1) on pages 220-221, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.541415