Aleochara (Xenochara) cornuta FAUVEL , 1886

Assing, V., 2009, On the taxonomy and zoogeography of some Palaearctic Aleochara species of the subgenera Xenochara M & R and Rheochara M & R (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 59 (1), pp. 33-101 : 77-78

Aleochara (Xenochara) cornuta FAUVEL, 1886 ( Figs 155-161, Map 6)

Aleochara cornuta FAUVEL, 1886: 94 .

Type material examined:

Lectotype ♂, present designation: "Omessa / cornuta Fvl. / Type / Coll R. I. Sc. N. B. / Lectotypus ♂ Aleochara cornuta Fauvel , desig. V. Assing 2009 / Aleochara cornuta Fauvel , det. V. Assing 2009" ( IRSNB).

Additional material examined:

Morocco: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Haut Atlas , NE Tizi-n-Test, 30°55'N, 08°17'W, 1540 m, near stream, 29.XII.2002, leg. Assing & Wunderle (cAss) ; 1 ♀, Moyen Atlas , road 3390/3395, ca. 20 km SE Ain-Leuh, ca. 1800 m, 13.V.1995, leg. Assmuth et al. (cWun) .

France: Corse: 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Haute-Corse , col de Vizzavona, 1200 m, beech litter, 22.V.1972, leg. Tronquet (cTro, cAss) ; 2 ♀♀, Corse-du Sud , Evisa, 1000 m, car-net, 24.V.1972, leg. Tronquet (cTro) ; 1 ♀, Corse-du- Sud , Tula, 11.VII.1980, leg. Tronquet (cTro) ; 1 ♀, S. Cozzano , 800 m, 8.V.2001, leg. Wolf (cSch) .

Comment:

The original description is based on an unspecified number of type specimens from " O. Daya (Bedel)" and " Corse (Omessa)" ( FAUVEL 1886). The syntype from Omessa, a male, was located in the Fauvel collection and is designated as the lectotype. An examination of material previously identified as A. cornuta from various localities in the Western Mediterranean revealed that two species have been confounded under this name .

Redescription:

Body length: 4.5-7.5 mm. Elytra uniformly black. Metatarsomere I at most as long as the combined length of II-IV. Other external characters as in A. maculata .

♂: tergite VIII as in Fig. 159; posterior margin of sternite VIII distinctly produced in the middle ( Fig. 160); median lobe of aedeagus 0.70-0.80 mm long, similar to that of A. maculata , but ventral process less strongly arched, apically shorter, less slender, and less acute in lateral view ( Figs 155-157); apical sclerotised internal structures of different shape ( Fig. 158); apical lobe of paramere of similar shape as in A. maculata .

♀: posterior margin of sternite VIII broadly convex; spermatheca shaped as in Fig. 161.

Comparative notes:

The species is distinguished from other species of the A. maculata group by the morphology of the median lobe of the aedeagus and, except for A. cristata , by the uniformly black coloration of the elytra. For characters separating it from the externally similar A. cristata see the following section.

Distribution and bionomics:

The species has been reported from Northwest Africa ( Morocco, Algeria), Spain, and southern France, including Corsica ( SMETANA 2004; TRONQUET 2006). However, since A. cornuta of previous authors is in fact represented by two distinct species, the distribution of the true A. cornuta requires revision. At present, confirmed records are known only from Corsica and Morocco ( Map 6).

Some of the specimens examined were sifted from leaf litter near a stream and in a beech forest. One specimen was caught with a car-net in May. BERNHAUER (1901) exclusively knew records from human faeces. The altitudes range from 800 to 1800 m.