Tychobythinus antojandro, Hernando & Pérez, 2023

Hernando, Carles & Pérez, Toni, 2023, Tychobythinus antojandro sp. nov., a new troglobitic species of Pselaphinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from Andalusia, Spain, Zootaxa 5258 (2), pp. 239-244 : 240-242

Tychobythinus antojandro sp. nov.

( Figs 1–9 )

Type locality. Cueva GEV-2 (GEV-2 cave), 38° 01′ 51.42″ N, 2° 59′ 30.47″ W, 1092 m a.s.l., Sierra de Cazorla , Santo Tomé, Jaén, Andalusia, Spain.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: SPAIN: ♂: “SPAIN, Jaén, Santo Tomé / Sa. de Cazorla, Cueva GEV-2 / 38° 01′ 51.42″ N 2° 59′ 30.47″ W / 16-10-2022, T. Pérez leg.”, plus red holotype label, ( MCNB) . PARATYPES: SPAIN: 4 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀: same data as holotype, plus red paratypes labels, ( CHC: 7, PHC: 2); 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀: “ SPAIN, Jaén, Santo Tomé / Sa. de Cazorla, Cueva GEV-2 / 38° 01′ 51.42″ N 2° 59′ 30.47″ W / 2-10-2021, T. Pérez leg.”, plus red paratype label, ( CHC) ; 2 ♀♀: “ SPAIN, Jaén, Santo Tomé / Sa. de Cazorla, Cueva GEV-2 / 38° 01′ 51.42″ N 2° 59′ 30.47″ W / 10-5-2019, T. Pérez leg.”, plus red paratype label, ( CHC) .

Diagnosis. Apterous and microphthalmic, with only 3 ommatidia, depigmented (reddish brown). Antennae and legs long and slender. Morphology of the aedeagus characteristic, with the endophallus composed of three structures: (1) two very long, stout, inwardly curved lateral spines (2) central, slightly sclerotised, Y-shaped piece (3) cluster of variably sized stout spines, running along central part of the basal bulb.

Description. Male. Body ( Fig 1 ) entirely reddish brown, maxillary palps, antennae and legs lighter; body length: 1.2–1.36 mm. Dorsal surface of body covered with long golden semi-erect setae, except disc of head and pronotum which are glabrous with some longer setae on lateral margins of head and pronotum. Head sub-triangular with tempora rounded, wider than long (0.25–0.26/ 0.21–0.23 mm), covered with dense, semierect setae. Frontal rostrum distinctly wider than long (0.1–0.12/ 0.07–0.08 mm); antennal tubercles well-developed, median depression narrow and shallow. Vertex convex, with distinct median ridge. Eyes very small (microphthalmic), with only three ommatidia. Maxillary palpi ( Fig.1 ) short; palpomeres II and III with protruding tubercles; palpomere segment IV 0.19 mm long, pedunculate at base, widest in middle and narrowed to apex with dense, short, recumbent setae ( Fig. 2 ). Antennae ( Fig. 4 ) 0.66 mm long; scapes much longer than wide (0.19/ 0.04 mm), cylindrical in shape, slightly curved at base and gradually widening towards apex; pedicel globular, longer than wide (0.07/ 0.04 mm); antennomere 3 slightly longer than wide (0.04/ 0.03 mm); antennomeres 4–8 spherical, (diameter 0.03mm); antennomeres 9 slightly wider than long (0.04/ 0.03 mm); antennomere 10 slightly wider than long (0.05/ 0.04 mm); terminal antennomere longer than wide (0.13/ 0.08 mm) and pointed at apex. Pronotum as long as wide, or longer than wide (0.28–0.3/ 0.25–0.3mm), about one and a half times as long as head and about the same width, or somewhat wider, maximum width at the middle; median antebasal fovea absent; lateral antebasal foveae well-defined, connected by well-defined, curved antebasal sulcus. Elytra almost equal in length and width (0.49-0.51/ 0.51-0.55 mm), slightly widened from anterior to posterior margin, twice longer (at suture) than pronotum; each elytron with two basal foveae; sutural striae entire, well-defined; discal striae absent. Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra; first two visible tergites (IV–V) equal in length. Legs long and slender; all tibiae simple; hind tibiae slightly curved in apical third; base of the profemora with a short series of tubercles on their internal margin ( Fig. 6 ). Aedeagus ( Fig. 7 ) elongate, symmetrical; parameres long, narrow and sharply pointed at apex, with three preapical setae of different lengths ( Fig. 7a ); endophallus rather complex and consisting of following structures: (1) two very long, stout, inwardly curved lateral spines ( Fig. 7b ); (2) central, slightly sclerotised, Y-shaped structure, with both ends lobed and broadly paddle-shaped ( Fig. 7c ); (3) cluster of variably sized stout spines, running along central part of the basal bulb to apical end of two lateral spines ( Fig. 7d ). Aedeagus with evaginated internal sac has very different appearance ( Figs 8–9 ), parameres folded inwards, practically touching both apices ( Fig. 8a ), all structures of the internal sac projecting outwards, with the two large lateral spines perpendicular to the basal lobe ( Fig. 8b–9b ), the Y-shaped piece projecting completely forward, remaining as the most apical part of the aedeagus ( Fig. 9c ) and the central spine cluster folded downwards ( Fig. 9d ).

Female. Similar to males but with wider antennal pedicel ( Fig. 5 ); with palpomere IV larger, distinctly longer and asymmetrical ( Fig. 3 ).

Differential diagnosis. By the morphology of the aedeagus, with the internal sac composed of three groups of symmetrical structures: the two very long and slender lateral spines, the Y-shaped central piece and the cluster of robust central spines, T. antojandro nov. sp. is comparable to the species of the Tychobythinus urgellesi group (sensu Besuchet, 1974). Further, this group is characterized by the dorsally flattened head, the relatively large frontal rostrum with the shallow median depression. The group is composed of three troglobitic and microphthalmic species: T. urgellesi , T. espanoli and T. muntani , all of them distributed and known from few caves in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula ( Bellés, 1984; Outerelo & Gamarra, 2006; Pallisé, 2021). T. antojandro sp. nov. is distinguished from all of these by the aedeagus with parameres longer and more acuminate, and by the different structure of the endophallus ( Figs. 7–9 ). For illustrations of aedeagi of T. urgellesi , T. espanoli and T. muntani , see Besuchet (1974).

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to the kids and brothers Antonio and Alejandro Pérez, sons of the junior author (TP), who actively participated in the discovery and capture of this new species. The specific epithet was proposed by them and is composed by the combination of both first names forming the acronym “antojandro”; noun in apposition.

Habitat. The species was discovered in the G.E.V.-2 cave, with a total length of only 50 m and a maximum slope of 15 m. However, this small cave harbours a large terrestrial subterranean arthropod community, with 23 species recorded so far ( Pérez et al. 2020). These species include mainly troglophilic elements and few troglobitic species or species closely linked to the subterranean habitat. Probable cave specialist would include the cricket Petaloptila (Zapetaloptila) mogon Barranco, 2004 (Orthoptera) , known only from six caves in the province of Jaén ( Barranco, 2013), and the ant Aphaenogaster cardenai Espadaler, 1981 , ( Hymenoptera ) much more widely distributed in southern Spain, but, for the moment, only found in caves and shallow subterranean habitats ( Ortuño et al. 2014). Recently, a single specimen of this ant has been found in an epigean habitat, but this seems to be an incidental finding ( Rodríguez, 2022).All the specimens of the new species were captured under stones or wandering around a large column located in the central sector of the cave ( Figs 10–11 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Tychobythinus antojandro sp. nov.; 1. Male habitus, dorsal view. 2. Maxillary palpus of male. 3. Maxillary palpus of female. 4. Male antenna. 5. Female antenna. 6. male profemur in lateral view.

FIGURES 7–9. Tychobythinus antojandro sp. nov. 7. Aedeagus in dorsal view. 8. Aedeagus with evaginated internal sac in dorsal view. 9. Aedeagus with evaginated internal sac in lateral view; a) Parameres; b) Lateral spines of the internal sac; c) Yshaped structure of the internal sac; d) Cluster of spines of the internal sac.

FIGURES 10–11. 10. Topography of the GEV-2 cave. The red cercle indicate the sampling area were T. antojandro sp. nov. was collected. 11. Area where T. antojandro sp. nov. was collected. In the picture two of the children who have taken part in the Speleology School, an educational project that the Grupo Espeleológico de Villacarrillo has been organizing for the last 20 years.