Leptobium korbi ( EPPELSHEIM 1891)

Assing, V., 2010, A revision of Leptobium CASEY. VI. A revalidation, a new synonymy, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 42 (1), pp. 499-506 : 503-505

Leptobium korbi ( EPPELSHEIM 1891) ( Figs 1 -10)

Dolicaon korbi EPPELSHEIM 1891: 225 f.

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Spain:A n d a l u c í a:29, 26: Cádiz , 20 km N Tarifa, 36°10'N, 5°38'W, 110 m, shore of reservoir, loamy pasture after heavy rainfall, 31.XII.2009, leg. Assing & Wunderle (cAss, cWun) ; 1 [recorded as L. korbi in ASSING (2005)], Cádiz , W Tarifa, Tahivilla, 18.XII.1995, leg. Poot (cWun) ; 1 [recorded as L. korbi in ASSING (2005)]: Algeciras env., Sierra de Luna, 24.III.1974 (cAss) .

C o m m e n t: The original description is based on "3 oder 4 Exemplaren" from Medina Sidonia (Cádiz) ( EPPELSHEIM 1891), two of which, both females, were located and examined earlier; one of them was designated as the lectotype ( ASSING 2005). Since the new material revealed that two species of highly similar external appearance are present in Cádiz province, the lectotype was re-examined and dissected. In size and head shape, it is more similar to L. tronqueti , but the female secondary sexual characters seem to rule out the possibility that both species are conspecific. The female sternite IX of the material listed above is similar to that of the lectotype. However, the shapes of the female tergite and sternite VIII are not identical and the body is slightly larger. At present, it is unclear if these differences are an expression of intraspecific variation, or if L. korbi , as interpreted here, is still a complex of two species. Nevertheless, until new material proving otherwise becomes available, the above specimens are referred to L. korbi . Since neither the male nor the female sexual characters of the true L. korbi were previously known and since the description of L. korbi in ASSING (2005) refers to L. tronqueti , the species is redescribed below.

R e d e s c r i p t i o n: Body length with abdomen fully extended: 6.5-8.0 mm; habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: body uniformly reddish-brown, with the abdomen (especially segments V-VI) often weakly infuscate; legs and antennae reddish.

Head approximately as wide as long; weakly oblong; macropunctation coarse, moderately sparse, with interspersed micropunctation. Eyes weakly projecting from lateral

contours of head and relatively small, approximately half the length of postocular region in dorsal view or slightly longer ( Fig. 2 ).

Pronotum approximately as wide as head and about 1.15 times as long as broad; lateral margins weakly convex in dorsal view; punctation on average somewhat less coarse than that of head ( Fig. 2 ).

Elytra short, 0.65-0.70 times as long as pronotum ( Fig. 2 ). Hind wings absent.

Abdomen approximately 1.05-1.10 times as wide as elytra at posterior margin; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe.

: pubescence of sternite VII not distinctly modified ( Fig. 3 ); posterior incision of sternite VIII distinctly less than half the length of sternite ( Fig. 4 ); aedeagus approximately 1.2 mm long; dorsal plate symmetric, apically acute, and with weakly pronounced pair of dorsal carinae; ventral process strongly asymmetric ( Figs 5-8 ).

: sternite VIII moderately oblong, posterior margin obtusely angled (Fig. 9); sternite IX posteriorly extensively sclerotised, antero-lateral projections short (Fig. 10).

Figs 9-12: Leptobium korbi (EPPELSHEIM) (9-10) and L. tronqueti LECOQ (11-12): (9, 11) female sternite VIII; (10, 12) female sternite IX. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: The species is characterised particularly by the combination of the uniformly reddish-brown coloration and the morphology of the aedeagus. From other species distributed in southern Spain, except L. tronqueti , it is separated by the coloration alone. In external morphology it is practically indistinguishable from L. tronqueti (except for slightly smaller average body size and slightly different head shape), but the aedeagus is of completely different morphology ( L. tronqueti : apex of dorsal plate conspicuously acute in ventral view and distinctly curved in lateral view, ventral process apically rounded and almost symmetric in ventral view), the pubescence of the male sternite VII ( L. tronqueti : middle without pubescence), the less deep posterior incision of the male sternite VIII, the shape of the female sternite VIII ( L. tronqueti : more oblong and more strongly produced posteriorly, see Fig. 11), and the morphology of the female sternite IX ( L. tronqueti : apically much less extensively sclerotised, anterolateral projections longer, see Fig. 12). For illustrations of the sexual characters of L. tronqueti (as L. korbi ) see ASSING (2005 a) and Figs 11-12.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s The species is currently known only from the type locality ( Medina Sidonia ), from two localities in the Sierra de Luna and one locality to the west of Tarifa. The recently collected material listed above, in total 55 specimens, were collected in a stony pasture near the shore of a reservoir after very heavy rainfall, together with only two specimens of L. tronqueti . Remarkably, in nearby pastures close to the same reservoir, only L. tronqueti was collected under similar circumstances.

Figures

Figs 1-8: Leptobium korbi (EPPELSHEIM): (1) habitus; (2) forebody; (3) male sternite VII; (4) male sternite VIII; (5) aedeagus in lateral view; (6-8) aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bars: 1: 2.0 mm; 2: 1.0 mm; 3-8: 0.5 mm.