Phlaeopterus smetanai Mullen and Campbell, 2018

Mullen, Logan J., Campbell, J. M. & Sikes, Derek S., 2018, Taxonomic Revision of the Rove Beetle Genus Phlaeopterus Motschulsky, 1853 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Anthophagini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 72, pp. 1-54 : 48-49

18. Phlaeopterus smetanai Mullen and Campbell , new species

( Figs. 5B , 14B , 16E, 23B–C, 33H) Zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B4AB0AFD-A8C3-4922-8957-C875B57264E8

Type Locality. Mt. Hood National Forest , Oregon, USA .

Description. Habitus: Length 6.0–9.0 mm. Black, usually darker than any other Phlaeopterus

species; legs, palpi, and antennae sometimes lighter, dark brown ( Fig. 5B ). Head: Broad, ratio of width across eyes to head length about 5:4. Interantennal groove broadly and deeply impressed. Anteocellar foveae large, deeply impressed. Eyes glabrous or with less than 10 scattered setae near ventral margin. Antennomeres 5–10 at least 2 times longer than wide; antennomeres 4–11 each with many sensory pits with papilliform projections. Ocelli present. Nuchal constriction vague. Epipharynx as in Fig. 33H. Mandibular molar area with L-shaped row of setae. Labrum with sensory pores along entire surface. Labial palpi with 3 rd palpomere 1.6–1.8 times longer than palpomere 2. Thorax: Pronotum somewhat broad (Fig. 16E), length to width ratio = 0.63–0.77; ratio of pronotal width to head width = 1.49–1.67; maximum width subequal to elytral width at humeral angles; punctures on dorsal surface separated by average distance slightly greater than diameter of a puncture; lateral margins explanate posterad lateral foveae, progressively more narrowly explanate from lateral foveae to just before apex; lateral foveae deeply impressed. Elytra with humeral angles convex; epipleural carina not projecting; 2.3–2.6 times longer than pronotum; apical margins broadly convex. Wings fully developed in most individuals, brachypterous in very few. Mesosternum with projecting tooth, tooth more strongly notched on posterior margin than on anterior margin; longitudinal carina along midline of mesosternum complete. Legs: All tibiae with dense pubescence to apex or with small glabrous region at apex, if with glabrous region, length of glabrous apex of mesotibia shorter than length of basal mesotarsomere. Metatrochanter without tooth on apical margin. Abdomen: Wing-folding spicules on tergites IV and V broad, transverse, narrowly separated; tergite VI lacking wingfolding patches. Aedeagus: Length 1.28–1.67 mm. Median lobe roughly triangular, evenly to convexly narrowed from base to apex. Parameres slightly diverging from base to near apex then converging; ending just beyond to distinctly beyond apex of median lobe ( Fig. 23B–C ). Internal sac elongate, roughly rectangular, narrowed from base to apex; apex subtruncate; lightly sclerotized; more densely covered in microspinules on apical half.

Type Specimens. Holotype male (UAMObs: Ento:235828) and paratype female (UAMObs:Ento: 235829) labeled as follows: ORE., Mt. Hood N. F., Tilly Jane Cr., 7000’ 31.VII.1979, J. M. & B. A. Campbell / HOLOTYPE ³ (or ALLOTYPE ♀) Phlaeopterus smetanai , desig. L.J. Mullen and J. M. Campbell CNC No. 18465 (red label). Both specimens are in the CNC. Paratypes (n = 504) are deposited in the AMNH, CAS, CNC, CSCA, FMNH, MCZ, NHMUK, OSAC, RBC, ROM, UCRC, and USNM.

Distribution. Phlaeopterus smetanai is broadly distributed in the northwestern USA from Washington east to Idaho and south to Colorado, Arizona, and southern California ( Fig. 14B ).

Bionomics. Adults have been collected during April–October at elevations of 360–3,000 m. Adults have been collected under rocks and in moss from the edges of cold streams or in the splash zones of waterfalls, as well as in gravel at the edges of springs and in one case from under rocks near a spring that had recently stopped flowing.

Remarks. Phlaeopterus smetanai is more uniformly black than any other Phlaeopterus species. It is most similar to P. occidentalis , from which it can be distinguished by its darker color, the subglabrous region at the apex of the mesotibia shorter, and by aedeagal characters, including lacking the subapical transverse fold of the latter species. Members of a population near Payson, Arizona differ from other specimens by their shape and larger size of the aedeagus (1.60–1.67 mm vs. 1.28–1.52 mm; Payson population aedeagus in Fig. 23C , main population aedeagus in Fig. 23B ). Genetic analysis could help determine if this population is a distinct species.

Etymology. This species is named in honor of Dr. Aleš Smetana, Biosystematics Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.

Figures

Fig. 5. Phlaeopterus species, habitus. A) P. olympicus, female (UAMObs:Ento:232960), B) P. smetanai, male

Fig. 14. Distributions of Phlaeopterus species based on all georeferenced specimen records. A) P. olympicus, B) P. smetanai. Grey dots represent localities where at least one Phlaeopterus species, but not the species of interest, was collected. Red dots represent localities where the species of interest was collected.

Fig. 23. Phlaeopterus species, aedeagi (left = ventral view; right = dorsal view of median lobe). A) P. bakerensis, B) P. smetanai, C) P. smetanai, D) P. occidentalis.