Boreophilia beringi Klimaszewski & Brunke

Klimaszewski, Jan, Sikes, Derek S., Brunke, Adam & Bourdon, Caroline, 2019, Species review of the genus Boreophilia Benick from North America (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae, Athetini): Systematics, habitat, and distribution, ZooKeys 848, pp. 57-102 : 57

10. Boreophilia beringi Klimaszewski & Brunke sp. n. Figs 84-91

Holotype (male).

USA, Alaska, Bering Land Bridge N. Pk., 413 m el, 65.83713N, 164.58995W, +/- 30 m snowfield, tundra, under rocks, on moss, 9.VII.2016, DS Sikes et al., UAM100418913 (UAM).

Paratypes.

all labelled the same except: UAM100418886 (UAM) 1 male, UAM100418887 (UAM) 1 female, UAM100418892 (UAM) 1 female, UAM100418905 (UAM) 1 male, UAM100418912 (UAM) 1 female, UAM100418905 (UAM) 1 male.

Etymology.

Named after Danish explorer Vitus Bering, whose name is shared with the species’ type locality, Bering Land Bridge National Park, and ‘Beringia’, the area of adjacent Russia and Alaska that were previously connected multiple times during the past 1 million years.

Diagnosis.

Body narrow, subparallel, glossy, abdomen slightly more so; microsculpture of forebody strong (Fig. 84); length 2.2-2.4 mm; head, head, pronotum and abdomen dark brown, elytra with reddish brown tinge, legs paler, yellowish brown; antennomeres VIII–X subquadrate; pronotum slightly longer than elytra at suture, maximum width of pronotum ca. the same as maximum width of elytra. Male. Tubus of median lobe of aedeagus straight basally and produced ventrad apically in lateral view, apex triangular in shape, distinctly pointed ventrad (Fig. 85), bulbus broad in dorsal view and with two elongate sclerites, strongly narrowed at one end as illustrated (Fig. 86); tergite VIII broadly arcuate apically (Fig. 87); sternite VIII elongate, narrowly rounded apically (Fig. 88). Female. Spermatheca: capsule club-shaped, moderately long and rounded apically, with small apical invagination; stem sinuate and coiled posteriorly (Fig. 91); tergite VIII arcuate apically (Fig. 89); sternite VIII broadly rounded apically, antecostal suture strongly sinuate medially (Fig. 90).

Distribution.

Nearctic, USA: AK.

Collection data.

Habitat: snowfield, tundra, under rocks, on moss. Collecting methods: aspirating from moss. Collecting period: July.

Comments.

We here compared Palaearctic Boreostiba piligera (J. Sahlberg), two males from Finland (ZMUO, NHMD), with our new species from Alaska. The two species are very similar externally but may be distinguished by the different morphology of the median lobe of aedeagus. In B. piligera , the apical part of the tubus is more weakly deflexed ventrad and distinctly more elongate. The sclerites of the internal sac are also more elongate and quite differently shaped (less like a talon and more even in thickness along their length). Therefore we conclude that these two populations represent sibling species.