Vulda substricta, Assing, 2016

Assing, Volker, 2016, On the Staphylinidae of Turkey XI. Two new species, new synonymies, and additional records (Insecta: Coleoptera), Linzer biologische Beiträge 48 (1), pp. 269-280 : 277-278

Vulda substricta nov.sp. ( Figs 12-15 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3: "TR, Sinop, Erfelek env., 10.-28.VII.2014, ~ 250 m, pitfall, leg. C. Reuter / Holotypus 3 Vulda substricta sp. n. det. V. Assing 2016" (cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: slender, narrow) alludes to the slender habitus, which at once distinguishes this species from the geographically close V. cangalica ASSING, 2007 .

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 8.2 mm; length of forebody 5.1 mm. Coloration: head black; pronotum brown; elytra dark-yellowish; abdomen brown; legs pale-brown; antennae dark-reddish.

Head ( Figs 12-13 ) very slender, 1.38 times as long as broad, 1.0 mm broad, broadest across eyes, weakly tapering posteriorly; punctation rather fine and moderately dense, sparse in antero-median portion, with interspersed micropunctures; interstices without microsculpture. Eyes moderately convex, slightly more than one-third as long as postocular region. Antenna 2.3 mm long and shaped as in Fig. 14 .

Pronotum ( Fig. 12 ) slender, nearly 1.7 times as long as broad and approximately 0.8 times as broad as long, broadest anteriorly; dorsal series composed of 9-11 rather fine punctures; lateral portion with sparse and fine punctation; interstices without microsculpture, but with very fine micropunctation.

Elytra ( Fig. 12 ) 0.9 times as long as pronotum; punctation rather fine and dense. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen distinctly narrower than elytra, with shallow, but distinct microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

3: aedeagus ( Fig. 15 ) 0.83 mm long and 0.35 mm broad; internal tube distally weakly sclerotized, long, slender, and coiled; proximal portion of internal tube broader and more sclerotized, but without spines.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: In external characters (coloration; head shape; slender pronotum), V. substricta somewhat resembles the macropterous morph of V. ottomana (CAMERON, 1912) , whose known distribution is confined to northwestern Turkey from Istanbul to Bolu. Both species, however, are readily distinguished by the size of the aedeagus ( V. ottomana : 0.65 mm long and <0.2 mm broad) and the different internal structures of the aedeagus, which are much shorter in V. ottomana . Regarding the shape of the internal structure of the aedeagus, V. substricta is similar to the geographically close V. cangalica ASSING, 2007 (known distribution confined to Çangal Dağı, Sinop), from which it differs by smaller body size, a more slender and posteriorly tapering head ( V. cangalica : head 1.2 mm long and weakly dilated posteriorly), larger and more convex eyes, less numerous punctures in the dorsal series of the pronotum, much longer elytra, fully developed hind wings (completely reduced in V. cangalica ), the presence of a palisade fringe at the posterior margin of tergite VII, and particularly by the much smaller aedeagus with an internal structure of different shape ( V. cangalica : aedeagus 1.4 mm long and 0.68 mm broad; internal structure much broader, larger, and darker). Vulda substricta is distinguished from V. brignolii BORDONI, 1973 (Amasya) by the absence of large internal spines in the aedeagus and from V. vignai BORDONI, 1973 (Bolu) , a species unfortunately described based on a unique female, by much smaller body size alone ( V. vignai : body length 13 mm; length of forebody 6.8 mm).

D i s t r i b u t i o n: The type locality is situated in Sinop province, northern Anatolia, at an altitude of approximately 250 m.

Figures

Figs 9-16: Liogluta nigrobusta nov.sp. (9-11), Vulda substricta nov.sp. (12-15), and Aleochara sp. (16): (9) female tergite VIII; (10) female sternite VIII; (11, 16) spermatheca; (12) forebody; (13) head; (14) antenna; (15) aedeagus. Scale bars: 12-14: 1.0 mm; 9-10, 15: 0.5 mm; 11, 16: 0.1 mm.