Australosagola minhoi, Choi & Chandler & Park, 2025

Choi, Su-Ho, Chandler, Donald S. & Park, Jong-Seok, 2025, Australosagola, a new genus of pselaphine beetles from southern Australia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae, Faronitae) with descriptions of seven new species, ZooKeys 1245, pp. 177-205 : 177-205

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1245.151556
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C4112641-FC74-4967-AC60-198EF5E7E381
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15930441
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3022EC4E-ACD4-5907-94A6-32578623CF15
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Australosagola minhoi
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Australosagola minhoi sp. nov.

Figs 1 F View Figure 1 , 2 F View Figure 2 , 7 View Figure 7 , 14 View Figure 14

Type material.

Holotype. Australia: New South Wales: • ♂ (aedeagus dissected; ANIC), “ AUSTRALIA: NSW., / Brown Mtn. Floral / Res., 0.5 km SSW / Cochrane Dam, 940 m // II- 8 / 22-1993 / ANewton & MThayer / cool temp. rainfor / window trap ” . Paratypes (n = 46; 37 ♂♂, 9 ♀♀). Australia: New South Wales: • 31 ♂♂ 6 ♀♀ (10 ♂♂ aedeagus dissected; 2 ♂♂ 1 ♀ slide-mounted; FMNH), Mt. Brown, Flora Res., 0.5 km SSW Cochrane Dam. , 950 m, 36°35'S, 149°27'E, 20 XII 1986 – 15 II 1987, warm-temp. rainforest, FMHD#86-648 , flight intercept (window) trap, A. Newton & M. Thayer 767 GoogleMaps ; • 4 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀ [4 ♂♂ 1 ♀ (1 ♂ aedeagus dissected; 1 ♂ slide-mounted; FMNH), 1 ♀ ( UNHC)], same data as holotype ; • 1 ♀ (slide-mounted; FMNH), Brown Mt., Flora Res., 0.5 km SSW Cochrane Dam , warm-temp. rainforest, 950 m, 36°35'S, 149°27'E, 20 XII 1986, FMHD#86-650 , berl., leaf & log litter, forest floor, A. Newton & M. Thayer 767 GoogleMaps ; Tasmania: • 1 ♂ ( ANIC), Claytons, Bathurst Harbour , 43°22'S, 146°08'E, 7 XII 1990 – 15 I 1991, F. I. T. # 3 F. I. T. ANIC 1149 closed forest litter # 3, E. Nielsen, T. Edwards GoogleMaps ; • 1 ♂ ( ANIC, slide-mounted), Claytons, Bathurst Harbour , 43°22'S, 146°08'E, 29 VIII – 28 XI 1991, F. I. T. # 3, F. I. T. ANIC 1204 closed forest, I. Naumman, G. Clarke GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis.

Male specimens of A. minhoi sp. nov. can be distinguished from the other Australosagola species by the large and prominent eyes (Fig. 7 C, H View Figure 7 ) and the broad apex of the median lobe of the aedeagus best seen in a ventral and basoventral views (Fig. 7 L, M View Figure 7 , black arrow).

Male description.

Length 2.7–3.0 mm. Body reddish to dark brown. Head. Head in dorsal view with concavity at base of frontal rostrum around frontal fovea; frontal sulcus slightly separated from base to apex (Fig. 7 H View Figure 7 , black arrow). Vertexal foveae well-developed (Fig. 7 C, H View Figure 7 ). Antennomere 1 cylindrical and longer than wide; 2 subquadrate and longer than wide; 3 smallest, subconical and slightly longer than wide; 4–6 subquadrate, slightly longer than wide; 7 and 8 trapezoidal, as long as wide; 9 and 10 subquadrate and transverse (Fig. 7 A, G View Figure 7 ). Thorax. Prothorax slightly broader than long (Fig. 7 I View Figure 7 ). Elytra with two subbasal elytral foveae, three basal elytral foveae (1 being fovea at base of sutural stria), discal elytral foveae with short discal striae, and fovea in sutural striae. Hind wings fully developed. Metatrochanter with ventral margin angulate (Fig. 7 E, J View Figure 7 ). Abdomen. Abdominal sternites 4 and 5 (VI – VII) broadly and medially impressed (Fig. 7 E View Figure 7 ). Abdominal sternite 5 (VII) with lateral rows of apical setae near middle, apex of sternite VII indented at middle (Fig. 7 K View Figure 7 ). Genitalia. Length 0.45 mm, aedeagus symmetrical, apical portion of median lobe abruptly widened to appear as spines in ventral view, then narrowed to broad apex, this area broadly rounded and with separated apices in basoventral view (Fig. 7 M View Figure 7 , black arrow). Single tiny tubercle at apex of median lobe in basoventral view (Fig. 7 M View Figure 7 , white arrow). Pair of dentate projections at midpoint of median lobe curved slightly medially at apices in basoventral view, longer than parameres (Fig. 7 L, M View Figure 7 ). Projections at basal part of median lobe strongly curved in lateral view, appearing broadly V-shaped in basolateral view and directed apically, phallobase with lateral margins unevenly rounded in ventral view, shortly curved in lateral view (Fig. 7 L – N View Figure 7 ).

Female sexual characters.

Antennomeres 9 and 10 wider than those of male (Fig. 7 B View Figure 7 ). Metatrochanter with posterior margin convex (Fig. 7 F View Figure 7 ). Abdominal sternites convex, lacking apical rows of setae on abdominal sternite 5 (VII; Fig. 7 F View Figure 7 ).

Comment.

Aedeagi of A. rugicornis , A. tasmaniae , A. minsangi , A. minhoi , and A. jungjooni are similar in general appearance, with A. minhoi having the widest median lobe (Fig. 7 M View Figure 7 , black arrow). This species can be easily separated from any other species in Australosagola by the large, prominent eyes (Fig. 7 H View Figure 7 ). Additionally, A. tasmaniae and A. rugicornis each possess two rows of setal clusters on abdominal sternite 5 (VII), whereas A. minhoi has only a single row (Figs 3 N View Figure 3 , 4 K View Figure 4 , 7 K View Figure 7 ).

Etymology.

This species is named for a specialist in aquatic insect ecology who has been an enthusiastic supporter of this study, Min-Ho Song.

Distribution.

New South Wales and Tasmania (Fig. 14 View Figure 14 , blue triangles).

Habitat.

Specimens of this species were collected using flight intercept traps (F. I. T.), and by sifting leaf, log, or forest floor litter. Found most commonly in warm-temperate rainforests.