Xantholinus (Typhlolinus) gridellii Coiffait, 1956

Assing, Volker, 2007, On the Xantholinini of Turkey and adjacent regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Zootaxa 1474, pp. 1-54 : 13-15

Xantholinus (Typhlolinus) gridellii Coiffait, 1956 a

( Figs. 16–21 )

Type material examined. Holotype: ɗ, " Liban, Saida, H. Coiffait, 9.XI.51 / Holotype / Museum Paris" ( MNHNP). Paratypes: 1ɗ, " Liban, Nahr es Safa, H. Coiffait, 12.X.51 / Paratype " ( MNHNP); 1ɗ, "Ephesi [?] / Paratype " ( MNHNP).

Additional material examined. TURKEY: Gaziantep: 3 exs., 40 km W Kilis, 26.V.1987, leg. Schönmann & Schillhammer ( NHMW). ISRAEL: 1 ex., Golan Heights, W env. Har Shifon, 33°05'N, 35°46'E, 852 m, slopes of stony grassland, 30.IV.2006, leg. Wrase (cAss); 1ex., Lower Galilee, ca. 4 km W Tamra (route 70), 32°52'N, 35°10'E, loamy field edge, 25 m, 25.IV.2006, leg. Wrase (cSch); 1 ex.: Upper Galilee, Akzhiv N Nahariya, 33°03'N, 35°06'E, 9 m, open coastal zone, under shrubs, sand, 1.V.2006, leg. Wrase (cSch); 2 exs., Upper Galilee, Ha Khula Valley, Ma'agar Einan lake, 33°05'N, 35°35'E, 73 m, in moist loamy soil, 1./ 2.V.2006, leg. Wrase (cSch, cAss); 1 ex., Galilee, Hula, 25.IV.1982, leg. Besuchet & Löbl (cAss); 2 exs., Galilee, Montfort, 19. IV.1982, leg. Besuchet & Löbl (cAss); 1 ex., Galilee, Ohalo, Jordan, 200 m, 27. IV.1982, leg. Besuchet & Löbl (cAss); 2 exs., Maagan Mikhael, 16.IV.1982, leg. Besuchet & Löbl (cAss); 1 ex., Mt. Carmel, 100 m, 17.IV.1982, leg. Besuchet & Löbl (cAss); 6 exs., Jordan delta, Beit Tseida reserve, 19.IV.2005, leg. Aßmann (cFel); 1 ex. [det. Feldmann], Afikim, 5.III.2006, leg. Vonshak & Chikatunov ( TAU).

Redescription. Habitus as in Fig. 16 . 7.0–10.0 mm; length from apex of mandibles to posterior margin of elytra: 4.0– 4.8 mm. Coloration: head, pronotum, and abdomen blackish; elytra paler reddish brown to blackish brown, with the humeral angles and the narrow posterior margins usually paler, yellowish brown; legs yellowish brown to reddish brown; antennae reddish, with antennomeres IV–X brown.

Head approximately 1.25 times as long as wide, weakly widened posteriad; dorsal surface glossy, with a mixture of rather sparse finer and slightly coarser punctures; with or without traces of microsculpture; frontal furrows distinct, parallel, not reaching pair of frontal punctures; eyes moderately large and weakly prominent, approximately 1/3 the length of postocular region in dorsal view ( Fig. 17 ).

Pronotum about 1.4 times as long as wide and approximately as wide as head, widest at anterior angles and moderately tapering posteriad; dorsal series composed of 10–15 punctures; disc without microsculpture ( Fig. 17 ).

Elytra at suture approximately 0.75 times as long as pronotum; puncturation moderately coarse and rather dense, interstices on average as wide as or slightly wider than diameter of punctures; without distinct microsculpture ( Fig. 17 ). Hind wings apparently fully developed.

Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra, widest at segment VI; puncturation fine and moderately dense; all tergites with shallow transverse microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

ɗ: posterior margin of tergite VIII weakly concave in the middle ( Fig. 18 ); sternite VIII posteriorly with membranous margin and broadly concave ( Fig. 19 ); internal sac of aedeagus with long and weakly sclerotised tube, distally with several short series of sclerotised spines ( Figs. 20–21 ).

Distribution and bionomics. Xantholinus gridellii has been recorded from various countries in the Middle East ( Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus) ( Coiffait 1956a, 1972, Herman 2001, Smetana 2004). The species has also been reported from Algeria ( Bordoni 1976a, Herman 2001, Smetana 2004), but this record seems doubtful and requires confirmation. The specimens from Gaziantep represent the first record of this species from Turkey; X. gridellii carius Coiffait, 1972 , which was described from southwestern Turkey, was recently synonymised with X. graecus Kraatz, 1858 ( Assing 2006a) . All the additional material listed above was found at lower altitudes, at least partly in unforested habitats.

Figures

FIGURES 14 – 21. Vulda ottomana (Cameron) (14 – 15; holotype of Xantholinus anatolicus Coiffait) and Xantholinus gridellii Coiffait (16 – 21; 20: paratype): 14, 20 – 21 — aedeagus; 15 — internal structures of aedeagus; 16 — habitus; 17 — forebody; 18 — male tergite VIII; 19 — male sternite VIII. Scale bars: 16 – 17: 1.0 mm; 18 – 21: 0.5 mm; 14: 0.2 mm; 15: 0.1 mm.