Ochthephilus aureus ( Fauvel, 1871 )

Makranczy, György, 2014, Revision of the genus Ochthephilus Mulsant & Rey, 1856 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Oxytelinae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 121 (4), pp. 457-694 : 516-520

Ochthephilus aureus ( Fauvel, 1871) Figs 106-110, 173, 522, 575

Ancyrophorus aureus Fauvel, 1871: 168 [=1872: 142]. – Ganglbauer, 1895: 669. – Jeannel &

Jarrige, 1949: 325. – Scheerpeltz, 1950: 58. – Fagel, 1951b: 7 – Smetana, 1967: 385. Ochthephilus aureus (Fauvel) . – Mulsant & Rey, 1878: 802. – Herman, 1970: 384. – Bourne,

1975: 233. – Pope, 1977: 24. – Makranczy, 2001: 178. – Bruge, 2007: 94. – Lott, 2008:

18. Ochthephilus oblitus Mulsant & Rey, 1878: 704 . Ancyrophorus aureus var. ruficornis Reitter, 1909: 175 . Ancyrophorus lucifugus Fagel, 1951a: 2 .

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED: Ancyrophorus aureus – LECTOTYPE (here designated): “ Corse \ Fauvel Type [printed, probably curator label] \ aureus \ G. Fagel det., 1962; Ancyrophorus ; aureus Fauv. \ Lectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; aureus Fauvel ; [on the back] des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; aureus Fauvel ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( ISNB). – PARALECTOTYPE (1): “ Corse (grayish, probably faded disc) \ Fauvel (dark greenish disc) \ 4450 (white disc) \ P. de Borre. \ Paralectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; aureus Fauvel ; [on the back] des. Makranczy, 1999 / FIGS 194-200

(194-196) Ochthephiluscalifornicus sp. n.; headandpronotum (194), elytron (195), antenna (196). (197-200) O. laevis (Watanabe & Shibata) ; headandpronotum (197), elytron (198), antenna (199), protarsus (200). All SEM, dorsal views. Scale bar = 0.35 mm for 194, 0.42 mm for 195-196, 200, 0.5 mmfor 197-198, 0.6 mmfor 199.

Ochthephilus ; aureus Fauvel ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( MHNG, 1). Ancyrophorus aureus var. ruficornis – SYNTYPE: “Görz. [Gorízia] \ coll. Reitter \ aureus; v. ruficornis [in Reitter's handwriting] \ Ancyrophorus ; v. ruficornis Rtt. ; det. Székessy \ Holotypus; Ancyrophorus aureus ; v. ruficornis Reitter \ Syntypus; Ancyrophorus aureus ; var. ruficornis Reitter \ Ochthephilus ; aureus Fauvel ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( HNHM, 1). – SYNTYPE: “Görz. [Gorízia] \ Paratypus; Ancyrophorus aureus ; v. ruficornis Reitter \ Syntypus; Ancyrophorus aureus ; var. ruficornis Reitter \ Ochthephilus ; aureus Fauvel ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( HNHM, 1). Ancyrophorus lucifugus – HOLOTYPE: “ Belgique, vallée de la Lesse, grotte de Han, VIII.1945., leg. N. Leleup” ( ISNB). – PARATYPE (3): same data as holotype ( ISNB). Ochthephilus oblitus – LECTOTYPE (here designated): “[little green disc] \ "3" \ Bugey (Ain) \ Lectotypus; Ochthephilus ; oblitus Mulsant & Rey ; [on the back] des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; aureus Fauvel ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( MHNL).

OTHER MATERIAL: see Appendix.

REDESCRIPTION: Forebody as in Fig. 522. Measurements (n=10): HW = 0.62 (0.57-0.65); TW = 0.56 (0.51-0.59); PW = 0.71 (0.65-0.76); SW = 0.90 (0.81-0.97); AW = 0.97 (0.87-1.17); HL = 0.47 (0.43-0.50); EL = 0.20 (0.19-0.22); TL = 0.10 (0.09- 0.12); PL = 0.57 (0.53-0.60); SL = 1.14 (1.02-1.25); SC = 1.05 (0.93-1.13); FB = 2.23 (2.04-2.36); BL = 4.02 (3.41-4.35) mm. Head and pronotum blackish dark brown with occasional reddish tint, pronotum reddish dark brown, elytra reddish medium to dark brown, scutellar area to shoulders darker, blackish. Legs reddish medium to dark brown, mouthparts and antennae reddish dark brown. Body with greasy lustre mostly due to elytral setation plus forebody punctation and microsculpture. Pubescence rather fine and moderately dense, shorter and stronger (regularly spaced) on elytra, abdominal tergites with finer and longer setae, especially adjacent to laterosternites. Head anteriad eyes and near inner posterior margin of eye with stronger and darker bristles, as well as pronotal margin and middle of tibiae. Elytral apex with at least two rather long setae near sutural corners. Last tarsomere with a few setae only.

Forebody. Antenna as in Fig. 575. Clypeus sparsely punctate (colliculate microsculptured), trapezoid, corners rounded, anterior edge arched; separated by slightly impressed transversal line (frontoclypeal suture) across a shinier area. Supraantennal prominences well developed, separated from clypeus/vertex by longitudinal impressions. Vertex with small but deep impressions in middle almost joining in V-shape. Temples bulging, evenly curved, about as long as half of eye length. Neck separated by an impressed transversal groove, microsculpture much stronger and less fine than on head, with transverse cells, no setation. Pronotum with a narrow marginal bead, fully visible in anterior corners. Posterior pronotal angles well-formed, just slightly obtuse-angled, sides in the posterior 2/3 very gently concave/bisinuate. 'Anchor' fully formed, longitudinal midline as a slightly elevated, impunctate, weakly microsculptured line, parallel to this line two gentle, semi-longitudinal elongate elevations in anterior half of disc. In corners of anchor feeble, oblique impressions directed outwards, in middle at sides of midline two smaller impressions. Elytra slightly broadening posteriorly, sutural corners narrowly rounded; apical sides slightly oblique and in inner halves more or less straight. Elytral surface with two shallow, oval impressions behind scutellum and slightly impressed anterior disc. Head with fine coriaceous/colliculate microsculpture (isodiametric cells), fading on elevated parts, stronger in impressions, on pronotum microsculpture somewhat stronger. Punctation on head generally sparse, from fine to rather coarse and deep, much stronger at sides

FIGS 201-206

Tergites VIII; Ochthephilus laevis (Watanabe & Shibata) (201), O. tatricus (Smetana) (202), O. brachypterus (Jeannel & Jarrige) (203), O. legrosi (Jarrige) (204), O. biimpressus (Mäklin) (205), O. flexuosus Mulsant & Rey (206). Scale bar = 0.11 mm for 203, 0.115 mm for 201, 204. and in impressions, on pronotum more evenly spaced, average interspaces somewhat larger than puncture diameters; elytral punctation more coarse and regularly spaced, average interspaces (with indistinct coriaceous microsculpture) about as puncture diameters, punctures sometimes slightly confluent.

Abdomen. Compared to forebody, abdomen with much more sparse, finer, less distinct punctation, microsculpture on tergal apices fine coriaceous with moderately transverse cells. Tergite VII posterior margin with palisade fringe unmodified in middle (nearly uniform breadth). Tergite VIII (Fig. 173) basal edge evenly arched, but straight at a short distance in middle of basal sclerotized band; apical edge with strongly protruding corners formed as rather sharp spikes, with a broad and deep emargination in between. Sternite VIII with rounded apical corners, apex in males quite truncate (straight or very slighly arched, concave); in females with a tiny sinuate (convex) part in middle. Tergite X unmodified, apex very slightly wider in males than in females. Aedeagus as in Fig. 106, inner sclerites as in Figs 107-108. Female ringstructures as in Figs 109-110.

COMPARATIVE NOTES: By the unique formation of tergite VIII this species is only similar to the New World O. californicus , but the spiky posterior corners of tergite VIII are more distant from each other and the emargination in between more shallow, as a consequence the spikes appear somewhat shorter.

DISTRIBUTION: Known from Northern Africa (Atlas Mountains), from Western

Europe through the Balkans to Turkey.

BIONOMICS: This species is very frequently found near or in caves, even in the dark zone; also deep, dark ravines. Collected from bank of lake, under or near waterfall, streambank sand and gravel, both from clay on bank of smaller rivers and larger rivers with fine sandy banks, vegetable debris on streambank, leafpacks at streams, flood debris, under wet stones at water and also captured by car-net.