Mannerheimia obscura Coiffait, 1982

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2024, On some Himalayan species of the genus Mannerheimia Mäklin, 1880 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Anthophagini), Zootaxa 5474 (5), pp. 584-592 : 589-591

Mannerheimia obscura Coiffait, 1982

( Figs 4 , 12)

Mannerheimia obscura Coiffait, 1982: 148 ; Coiffait 1983: 274, Shavrin 2021: 307 , 324, 2022: 4

Type material examined. Holotype ( Fig. 4 ; dissected prior to the present study: the aedeagus and the apical genital segment are glued on the same card with the specimen): ‘Kashmir,Chandanwari | b. Pahalgam, 2800-3100m | lg.H.Franz, Okt.1977 ’ <printed>, ‘TYPE’ <red, printed>, ‘ Mannerheimia | obscura | H. COIFFAIT det. 19[printed]79’ <handwritten in black> ( NMW). Paratypes: 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀: the first label as that in the holotype ( NMW); 4 ♂♂ (one specimen dissected), 1 ♀: ‘Kashmir,Zagipal b. | Pahalgam, 3500-3600m | lg. H.Franz, Okt.1977 ’ <printed> ( NMW); 1 ♂, 1 ♀: ‘Kashmir, Pahalgam | lg.H.Franz, Okt.1977 ’ <printed> ( NMW); 1 ♀: ‘Kashmir, Aru | lg.H.Franz, Okt. 1977 ’ <printed> ( NMW). All paratypes with additional red printed label: ‘PARATYPE’. All types with additional printed label: ‘ Mannerheimia | obscura Coiffait, 1982 | Shavrin A. V. det. 2024’.

Additional material examined. INDIA: KASHMIR: 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀: ‘ Kashmir, Pahalgam lg. H. Franz, Okt. 1977 ’ ( NMW) ; HIMACHAL PRADESH: 16 ♂♂, 16 ♀♀: ‘ Rohtangpass S-Hang 2500-3500 m Himachal-Pradesh Indien , lg. H.Franz’ (cSh, NMW) ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀: ‘ Umg. Katrain b. Kulu Himachal-Pradesh Indien , lg. H. Franz’ ( NMW) ; NEPAL: 1 ♂: ‘ Godawari b. Kathmandu, Nepal , lg. Franz’ ( NMW) .

Redescription. Measurements (n=90): HW: 0.53–0.60; HL: 0.30–0.39; OL: 0.15–0.17; AL (holotype): 1.07; PL: 0.48–0.54; PW: 0.83–0.90; ESL: 0.95–0.97; EW: 0.98–1.17; MTbL (holotype): 0.57; MTrL (holotype): 0.31 (MTrL 1–4: 0.19; MTrL 5: 0.12); AW: 1.05–1.25; AedL: 0.66–0.72; BL: 2.55–3.40 (holotype: 3.37).

Body convex, elongate ( Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 in Shavrin (2021)). Body yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, with distinctly darker head (lateral and basal portions of pronotum, laterobasal and apical portions of elytra, and paratergites usually paler); antennomeres 4–11 or 5–11 brown; mouthparts, antennomeres 1–3 or 1–4 and legs yellow. Body without microsculpture except for abdomen with very fine transverse or isodiametric dense microreticulation. Head with irregular and sparse, moderately fine punctation; punctation of pronotum realtively dense, slightly larger and deeper than that in middle portion of head, sparser and finer in middle, sometimes with impunctate portions in middle or in mediobasal third; scutellum with several very fine punctures in middle or without them; punctation of elytra about as that on pronotum, but slightly larger and deeper, sometimes finer along suture, punctures in middle of each elytron forming five to six vague and tangled rows of serial punctures, indistinct in some specimens.

Head 1.7 times as broad as long, with very short and indistinct anteocellar foveae about as long as diameter of ocellus. Antennomere 3 distinctly longer and narrower than 2, 4 about twice shorter and slightly broader than 3, 5–6 slightly longer and distinctly broader than 4, 7–9 slightly longer and broader than 6, 10 slightly shorter than 9, apical antennomere slightly shorter than two preceding antennomeres.

Pronotum 1.6–1.7 times as broad as long, 1.5 times as broad as head, widest in middle, sometimes with slightly sinuate laterobasal margins.

Elytra slightly or strongly widened apicad, 1.7–1.9 times as long as pronotum. Surface of elytra in middle with irregular longitudinal elevations in some specimens.

Male. Apical margins of abdominal tergite VIII and sternite VIII widely concave. Aedeagus with wide basal portion, gradually narrowed apically toward widely rounded apex; parameres wide, significantly exceeding apex of median lobe, widened apically, with row of small distinct thorns along inner margins of apical lobes; internal sac moderately wide and long (Fig. 61 in Shavrin (2021)). Lateral aspect of aedeagus as in Fig. 62 in Shavrin (2021).

Female. Apical margin of abdominal tergite VIII straight. Apical margin of abdominal sternite VIII rounded.

Comparative notes. Mannerheimia obscura can be easily distinguished from the remaining species of the genus by the completely different external morphology of the aedeagus, with widely rounded apex of the median lobe (somewhat resembles some specimens of widespread M. brevipennis (Motschulsky, 1860)) , and the shape of the apical portion of the parameres with the presence of small thorns along each latero-apical margin (unique feature).

Distribution. Mannerheimia obscura is distributed from Pakistan and Kashmir to Himachal Pradesh ( India) and Nepal ( Fig. 11 ).

Bionomics. Specimens were collected at altitudes from 2100 to 3600 m a.s.l. ( Shavrin 2021, the present study). One specimen from Kashmir was sifted from moss ( Shavrin 2021).

Remarks. Mannerheimia obscura based on several specimens was originally described from Kashmir, India. Coiffait (1983) recorded it from “Pahalgam, Shashnag, 3000 m ” (Kashmir). Shavrin (2021) recorded it from Pakistan and Kashmir, provided the photograph of the habitus ( Shavrin 2021: Fig. 6 ) and figures of the aedeagus ( Shavrin 2021: Figs. 61–62), and included this species to the key of the genus. Later, the same author recorded additional material from Pakistan ( Shavrin 2022). Mannerheimia obscura is the most widely distributed species of the genus in the Himalayan Region ( Fig. 11 ). It is here recorded from Himachal Pradesh ( India) and Nepal for the first time.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Distribution of Mannerheimia obscura in the Himalayan Region.

FIGURES 1–5. Habitus of Mannerheimia (holotypes): 1–M. cachemirica, 2–M. vicina, 3–M. emodensa, 4–M. obscura, 5–M. scutellata, Scale bar: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 6–10. Aedeagus of Mannerheimia (Figs 6–7: M. cachemirica (holotype); Fig. 8: M. vicina (holotype); Figs. 9–10: M. emodensa (Nepal: Maharigaon): 6, 8–9–parameral view, 7, 10–lateral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.