Octavius curtissimus, Assing, 2012

Assing, V., 2012, On the Staphylinidae of Socotra Island, Yemen (Insecta: Coleoptera), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (2), pp. 973-986 : 977

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.10107390

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D687DF-E14A-FF9A-E7C9-D614FD63A9D4

treatment provided by

Carolina

scientific name

Octavius curtissimus
status

sp. nov.

Octavius curtissimus View in CoL nov.sp. ( Figs 1-4 View Figs 1-9 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " Yemen, Sokotra , Al Haghier Mts., Scant Mt. env., 12°35'N, 54°02'E, 1450 m, sifted, 12.-13.XI.2010, leg. Hlaváč / Holotypus Octavius curtissimus sp. n. det. V. Assing 2012" ( NMNHP) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: 16, 18: same data as holotype ( MNHUB, OÖLL, cAss, cPut) GoogleMaps ; 1 ex.: same data, but leg. Hájek ( NMNHP) GoogleMaps .

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (superlative of the Latin adjective curtus: short) refers to the conspicuously short elytra.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 1.6-1.9 mm; length of forebody 0.8-0.9 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 View Figs 1-9 . Coloration: forebody dark-reddish, often with the elytra slightly paler; abdomen with the base (segments III-V) blackish-brown to blackish and the apex more or less extensively reddish to reddish-brown; legs dark-brown with yellow tarsi, tibiae often yellowish-brown; antennae yellowish.

Head transversely wedge-shaped; punctation coarse, dense, rugose, and largely confluent ( Fig. 2 View Figs 1-9 ). Eyes slightly shorter than postocular region in dorsal view. Antennae short, not reaching posterior margin of head.

Pronotum strongly transverse, approximately 1.5 times as broad as long and 1.2 times as broad as head; posterior margin convexly produced in the middle; on either side of middle with narrow longitudinal impression posteriorly forming an oval pit; lateral portion separated from median portion by extensive impression; punctation coarse, rugose, and largely confluent ( Fig. 2 View Figs 1-9 ); dorsal surface almost matt.

Elytra extremely short, less than half as long as pronotum; each elytron with three folds and laterally sharply edged; punctation somewhat rugose and weakly defined ( Fig. 3 View Figs 1-9 ). Hind wings completely reduced.

Abdomen approximately as broad as elytra; punctation moderately dense and granulose; interstices with shallow, but distinct microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe.

: sternite VIII with moderately deep, broadly V-shaped posterior excision; aedeagus approximately 0.33 mm long and apically very acute in ventral view ( Fig. 4 View Figs 1-9 ).

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: AccordingtoPUTHZ (pers. comm.), the new species is allied to O. flavescens (KISTNER 1961) and related species. It is distinguished from the Afrotropical representatives of this group by the shorter elytra and by the morphology of the aedeagus.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: The species is currently known only from one locality in the Haghier mountain range, Socotra, where it is probably endemic, as is suggested by the extremely reduced elytra and hind wings. The specimens were sifted from leaf litter and soil at an altitude of 1450 m, together with two undescribed species of Edaphus MOTSCHULSKY 1856 .

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Staphylinidae

Genus

Octavius

Darwin Core Archive (for parent article) View in SIBiLS Plain XML RDF