Cephennodes (s. str.) tuberculatus, Jałoszyński, 2025

Cephennodes (s. str.) tuberculatus sp. nov.

( Figs 89–92 View FIGURES 89–94 )

Type material. Holotype: CHINA (YUNNAN Prov.): ♂, two labels: “CHINA [3] - Yunnan, E / Kunming, 24º55’43’’N, / 103º05’22’’E, 2110 m / Xiaobailong Forest Park / 10.VIII.2014, V. Assing” [white, printed]; “ CEPHENNODES (s. str.) / tuberculatus m. / P. Jałoszyński, 2025 / HOLOTYPUS ” [red, printed] ( MNHW) GoogleMaps . Paratypes (75 exx.): 6 ♂♂, 17 ♀♀, same data as for holotype GoogleMaps ; 9 ♂♂, 41 ♀♀, “CHINA: Yunnan, E Kunming, / Xiaobailong Forest Park, 2110 m, 24º55’43’’N, 103º05’22’’E, sec. / pine forest margin, litter sifted, / 10.VIII.2014, Schülke [ CH14-03 ]” [white, printed] GoogleMaps ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, “CHINA: Yunnan, E Kunming, / 25º09’07’’N, 102º53’46’’E, 2280 m / secondary pine forest, with scattered old alder, litter sifted, / 11.VIII.2014, Schülke [ CH14-04 ]” [white, printed]. Each paratype with yellow “ PARATYPUS ” label ( MNB, MNHW, cPJ) GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. Body large, BL around 1.6 mm; antennae with indistinctly delimited trimerous clubs; punctures on vertexal region, pronotum and elytra small but distinct and dense, those on pronotum distinctly deeper than those on elytra; pronotal lateral carinae single; subhumeral lines short, as long as 0.3 × EL. Male: head modified ( Fig. 90 View FIGURES 89–94 ), with pair of transverse subtriangular lateral asetose and impunctate impressions between eyes, elongate median impunctate tubercle just anterior to anteromesal margins of impressions bearing posteriorly elongate group of setae, and pair of large lateral tubercles adjacent to supraantennal tubercles and covered with setae, flanking median asetose and impunctate area where tubercle is situated; aedeagus ( Figs 91–92 View FIGURES 89–94 ) in ventral view with distal margin of capsular region broadly rounded, distal plate elongate and strongly curved dorsad.

Description. Body of male ( Fig. 89 View FIGURES 89–94 ) strongly convex, oval, with very shallow constriction between pronotum and elytra, dark brown with slightly lighter tarsi, covered with light brown setae. BL 1.56–1.65 mm.

Head ( Fig. 90 View FIGURES 89–94 ) broadest across moderately large and conspicuously weakly convex, coarsely faceted eyes, HL 0.21–0.25 mm, HW 0.36–0.39 mm; frontovertexal region with pair of transverse subtriangular lateral impressions between eyes, elongate median tubercle, and pair of large lateral tubercles adjacent to supraantennal tubercles; supraantennal tubercles weakly elevated. In not fully pigmented specimens, a pair of minute dark tubercles can be seen on posterior frontal region ( Fig. 90 View FIGURES 89–94 ), in fully pigmented males these tubercles are difficult to observe. Punctures on clypeus sparse and mainly situated on its lateral regions; median tubercle and surrounding area and lateral subtriangular impressions impunctate and asetose, punctures on areas posterior to impressions small but sharply marked and dense, separated by spaces subequal to their diameters; setae on punctate areas unevenly distributed, those on lateral tubercles dense, on clypeus and posterior frontovertexal region sparse and moderately long, median tubercle and median longitudinal area behind it with group of long dense setae. Antennae long and slender, with indistinctly demarcated trimerous clubs, AnL 0.75–0.78 mm, antennomere 1 about as long as broad, 2 weakly elongate, 3 weakly transverse, 4–6 each about as long as broad, 7 weakly elongate, 8–10 each about as long as broad, 11 as long as 9 and 10 combined, nearly twice as long as broad.

Pronotum semi-oval, moderately strongly convex at middle and flattened near hind corners, broadest near middle or equally broad between base and middle; PL 0.50 mm, PW 0.68–0.73 mm. Anterior margin in strictly dorsal view nearly straight; lateral margins strongly rounded in anterior half and nearly straight posteriorly, finely microserrate, posterior corners nearly right-angled; posterior margin shallowly bisinuate; lateral marginal carinae simple (i.e., not doubled); lateral antebasal pits shallow but distinct, each located much closer to posterior than to lateral pronotal margin. Punctures on median region of pronotal disc small but sharply marked, separated by spaces subequal to their diameters; punctures near anterior angles denser. Setae on pronotal disc long and moderately dense, suberect.

Elytra about as wide as pronotum, together oval, broadest near anterior third; EL 0.85–0.93 mm, EW 0.73–0.78 mm, EI 1.13–1.23; subhumeral lines developed as sharp borders between elevated humerus and lower mesal region, as long as about 0.3 × EL and distinctly divergent posterad; basal elytral fovea on each elytron almost equidistant from lateral margin of mesoscutellum and subhumeral line; elytral apices separately rounded. Punctures on elytra distinctly shallower and slightly sparser than those on pronotum but distinct; setae distinctly longer than those on pronotum, dense and erect.

Hind wings in some specimens functional, in others distinctly shortened (but only in a few specimens wings have been studied).

Metaventrite lacking lateral impressions.

Legs long and slender, unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 91–92 View FIGURES 89–94 ) of modified simonis form, AeL 0.30 mm; capsular region of median lobe in ventral view oval, with distal margin broadly rounded; dorsal apical projection (= distal plate) in ventral view slender, elongate and tapering distad, in lateral view hook-shaped, curved dorsad at nearly right angle; parameres long and slender, not reaching apex of aedeagus, each with one long apical and two similarly long subapical setae.

Female. Externally similar to male, except for unmodified head; wingless; BL 1.58–1.63 mm; HL 0.23–0.25 mm, HW 0.38–0.40 mm, AnL 0.68–0.75 mm; PL 0.49–0.53 mm, PW 0.70–0.75 mm; EL 0.83–0.90 mm, EW 0.73–0.80 mm, EI 1.09–1.20.

Distribution. S China: Yunnan.

Etymology. The adjective tuberculatus refers to the median convexity between supraantennal tubercles in males.

Remarks. Cephennodes tuberculatus can be easily identified by unique head modifications in males: a pair of transverse subtriangular lateral asetose and impunctate impressions between eyes, an elongate median impunctate tubercle just anterior to impressions bearing a dorsal group of setae, and a pair of large lateral tubercles adjacent to supraantennal tubercles and covered with setae, flanking median asetose and impunctate area where the tubercle is situated. Moreover, the eyes of males and females of this species are conspicuously weakly convex, much less so than in all other species of the C. impressifrons group. The aedeagus of C. tuberculatus within the type series from Kunming has an oval capsular region of the median lobe ( Fig. 91 View FIGURES 89–94 ), and although clearly differs from the genitalia of all remaining members of the C. impressifrons group in a broadly rounded, not subtriangular apex of the capsular region of the median lobe, this character makes it highly similar to some species of the closely related C. bos ( C. pseudobos , C. buceros ) and C. taurus ( C. clypeicornis , C. qiongdaoanus ) groups, which clearly differ in secondary male dimorphic characters of the head.

One male from a mountain near Yuxi has the capsular region of the aedeagus drop-shaped, with a clearly defined subtriangular apex, and somewhat different shape of the apical group of projections ( Figs 93–94 View FIGURES 89–94 ). Externally, this specimen does not differ in any characters from those from Kunming, and all structures on the head in males appear identical. This male may represent a separate cryptic species, but a larger sample from Yuxi is required to test this hypothesis. The specimens from Yuxi are not included in the type series of C. tuberculatus , and they comprise 1 ♂ and 5 ♀♀, with the following data: “ CHINA: Yunnan, mountain W Yuxi, 24º27’11’’N, / 102º29’58’’E, 2250 m, secondary mixed forest, litter, roots and moss sifted, 31.VIII.2014, M. Schülke [CH14-23]” (cPJ) GoogleMaps .