Forficula iberica, Steinmann, 1981

García-París, Mario, Jurado-Angulo, Pilar, Martínez-Pérez, Sandra & Micó, Estefanía, 2021, Rediscovery of Forficula iberica Steinmann, 1981 (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), Zootaxa 5039 (2), pp. 241-251 : 245-246

Diagnosis of Forficula iberica

We used the specimens mentioned above to supplement the diagnosis provided by Steinamann (1981) as follows.

Male (11–12 mm long including cerci) yellowish to reddish brown ( Figs. 2a , 3 ); head ochreous, shining; pronotum yellowish, almost transparent or testaceous along the margins, with a central broad, sub-quadrangular dark brown spot, wider at the anterior edge, narrower posteriorly, usually not reaching the posterior margin; tegmina, antennae and legs yellowish to light brown; abdomen reddish brown, anterior segments lighter. Cerci reddish, with the inner basal edge and the terminal section darker, blackish ( Figs. 2a , 3 ). Head broad, post-frontal sutures and coronal suture present. Eyes moderately small, shorter than genae. Antennae 12-segmented. Pronotum almost as long as broad; lateral margins parallel-sided, posterior angles rounded; posterior margin broadly rounded; median longitudinal furrow present. Tegmina short, a little longer than pronotum, with posterior margins almost straight ( Fig. 4a ). Wings vestigial. Abdomen slightly depressed, with maximum width at abdominal segments 4 and 5; lateral glandular folds visible, with a darker coloration on the second and third tergites; last tergite broad, without lateral processes. Cerci elongated, narrowly expanded in the basal third, progressively narrowed, cylindrical apically; inner margins with basal irregular broad denticles, and a large process-like tooth, directed posteriorly and downwards, at the middle ( Fig. 5 , 6a ). Variability in cerci shape quite large; most males with large cerci with a broad curvature along the terminal half; other specimens, present smaller cerci less curved on the terminal third, including the specimen figured by Steinmann (1981); intermediate specimens between these extreme shapes also occurring ( Fig. 5 ). Male genitalia described and figured by Steinmann (1981) as follows: “Genitalia with paramere narrow, elongate, genital lobe well developed; virga within genital lobe long, not of Forficula type, with supplementary sack basally. External paramere moderately short, shorter than virga.” In the specimens studied parameres very elongated and relatively robust, especially at the terminal third, with their apex almost rounded, the external margin smoothly arcuate, and the internal margin straight; long virga, longer than the parameres, with the basal vesicle long and robust, kidney-shaped, quite similar to that described for G. obtusangula (Krauss, 1904) in Maccagno (1933).

Female (11.5– 13 mm long including cerci) similar to male, with slightly darker coloration in the frontal area of the head; pronotum with dark spot less marked; abdominal segments wider, especially 5th and 6th; cerci simple, contiguous, almost straight with the distal point curved inwards ( Fig. 2b ).

Late nymphal stages ( Fig. 2c ) honey-brownish, shiny; head dark brown, blackish; thoracic segments yellowish, darker dorsally; abdominal segments honey coloured, darkening posteriorly, especially at the lateral sides; last abdominal segment darker, black-reddish. Cerci relatively long, black-reddish, similarly shaped to those of adult females, but thinner and longer ( Fig. 2c ).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Live specimens of Forficula iberica Steinmann, 1981 from Sierra de Guadarrama (Madrid) and typical habitat. A. Adult male from near El Escorial (Madrid, Spain). B. Adult female from El Ventorrillo Biological Station, Cercedilla. C. Late instar nymph from El Ventorrillo Biological Station, Cercedilla (Madrid, Spain). D. Typical pastures in clearings of montane pine-oak forests (Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pyrenaica) where F. iberica is located. Photographs by M. G-P.

FIGURE 3. Male paratype of Forficula iberica Steinmann, 1981 labelled as: Spanien “Boria” bei Zaragoza // Meiner // Paratypus Forficula iberica sp. nov. Dr. H. Steinmann // Dt 2334 [HNHM], probably from the Moncayo mountains near Borja (Zaragoza).

FIGURE 4. Comparative photographs of the tegmina and pronotum of: (A) Forficula iberica Steinmann, 1981, from El Escorial (Madrid, Spain) (MNCN_Ent 155168), note the truncate posterior edge of the tegmina, almost parallel to the edge of the abdominal segments; (B) Guanchia pubescens (Gené, 1837), from Valls (Tarragona, Spain)(MNCN_Ent 155176), note the obliquely truncate posterior edge of the tegminae; and (C) Forficula lesnei Finot, 1887, from Monteagudo (Navarra, Spain)(MNCN_Ent 155131), with the truncate posterior edge of the tegmina parallel to the edge of the abdominal segments.

FIGURE 5. Cerci variation in Forficula iberica Steinmann, 1981 males. Specimens from: (A) El Ventorillo (Madrid, Spain) (MNCN_Ent 155251); (B) El Paular (Madrid, Spain) (MNCN_Ent 155204); (C) El Ventorillo (Madrid, Spain) (MNCN_Ent 155249); (D) El Ventorillo (Madrid, Spain) (MNCN_Ent 154146). Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 6. Comparative illustration of typical male cerci of: (A) Forficula iberica Steinmann, 1981, from El Ventorillo (Madrid, Spain) (MNCN_Ent 155252), note the long laminar basis, with progressively convergent sides until almost the middle of the cerci, where a prominent acute inner tooth is well marked; (B) Guanchia pubescens (Gené, 1837), from Valls (Tarragona, Spain) (MNCN_Ent 155176), note the long laminar basis, with progressively convergent sides until almost the end of the second third, where a prominent robust inner tooth is well marked; and (C) Forficula lesnei Finot, 1887, from Monteagudo (Navarra, Spain) (MNCN_Ent 155155), note the elongated laminar basis, with almost parallel sides until the middle, without a prominent inner tooth. Drawings by P. Chamorro.