Geostiba (Sibiota) carinipennis, Assing, 2009

Assing, V., 2009, A revision of Geostiba of the Western Palaearctic region. XIX. New species from Turkey and Iran and additional records, with an updated key and a catalogue of the species of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, and adjacent regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2), pp. 1191-1246 : 1210-1212

Geostiba (Sibiota) carinipennis nov.sp. ( Figs 53-61 )

Holotype Ƌ: "N 36°03'30 E 036°08'36, TR Hatay Senköy , 730 m, 13.4.2009, Brachat & Meybohm (8) / Holotypus Ƌ Geostiba carinipennis sp. n. det. V. Assing 2009" (cAss) . Paratypes: 2♀♀: same data as holotype (cAss) ; 1Ƌ: "N 36°01'43 E 036°07'16, TR Hatay Senköy , 900 m, 13.4.2009, Brachat & Meybohm (9)" (cAss) .

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 2.2-2.6 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 53 . Coloration: whole body uniformly reddish-yellow; legs yellowish.

Head approximately as long as wide ( Fig. 54 ); punctation extremely fine, barely noticeable; surface with very shallow microreticulation. Eyes extremely reduced, rudiments barely visible, subequal to protarsomere IV in cross-section or even smaller. Antennae distinctly incrassate apically ( Fig. 55 ).

Pronotum weakly transverse, approximately 1.05 times as wide as long and 1.1 times as wide as head ( Fig. 54 ); punctation extremely fine, barely noticeable; microreticulation slightly more distinct than that of head.

Elytra with distinct sexual dimorphism, 0.55-0.60 times as long as pronotum ( Fig. 54 ). Hind wings completely reduced.

Abdomen slightly wider than elytra ( Fig. 53 ); punctation sparse and very fine; microsculpture shallow, but distinct; tergite VII with sexual dimorphism; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe.

Ƌ (with fully developed secondary sexual characters): elytra with rather pronounced sutural carinae extending from apex of scutellum to posterior elytral margin, punctation somewhat granulose ( Fig. 54 ); tergite VII posteriorly with pair of weakly pronounced carinae of almost 2/5 the length of tergite ( Fig. 56 ); posterior margin of tergite VIII weakly concave in the middle; posterior margin of sternite VIII convex; median lobe of aedeagus approximately 0.26 mm long (measured from apex of ventral process to base) ( Fig. 59 ); apical lobe of paramere as in Fig. 60 .

♀: elytra unmodified, with very fine punctation; tergite VIII with weakly convex poste-

rior margin ( Fig. 58 ); posterior margin of sternite VIII broadly convex ( Fig. 57 ); spermatheca as in Fig. 61.

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective) alludes to the presence of pronounced sutural carinae on the male elytra.

I n t r a s p e c i f i c v a r i a t i o n: In the male paratype, the sutural carinae are very weakly pronounced and the carinae on the abdominal tergite VII are practically obsolete.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s a n d s y s t e m a t i c s: Basedonthesimilarmorphology of the aedeagus and the spermatheca, as well as on the similar external characters, G. carinipennis is evidently closely related to G. seleucica , which was collected in localities very close to the type locality of G. carinipennis . The new species is distinguished from G. seleucica by the even smaller eye rudiments ( G. seleucica : larger than protarsomere IV in cross-section), the pronounced modifications of the male elytra ( G. seleucica : unmodified), the presence of a pair of carinae on the male tergite VII (absent in G. seleucica ), and the larger median lobe of the aedeagus ( G. seleucica : 0.30-0.32 mm). For illustrations of G. seleucica see PACE (1983b) and ASSING (2004a).

The presence of carinae on the male abdominal tergite VII of G. carinipennis and its evidently close relationship to G. seleucica once again confirms that the absence of such carinae in the latter is in fact a reduction. Based on the similar morphology of the primary sexual characters, G. scheerpeltziana (FAGEL 1966) , too, is closely related to G. carinipennis and G. seleucica and should likewise be attributed to the subgenus Sibiota CASEY 1906 .

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: This species is known only from two localities in southern Hatay (=Antakya) province, central southern Anatolia. The type specimens were collected by sifting leaf litter and grass beneath shrubs at altitudes of 730 and 900 m (MEYBOHM pers. comm.).

Figures

Figs 53-61: Geostiba carinipennis nov.sp.: (53) male habitus; (54) male forebody; (55) antenna; (56) male abdomen; (57) female sternite VIII; (58) female tergite VIII; (59) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (60) apical portion of paramere; (61) spermatheca. Scale bars: 53: 1.0 mm; 54-58: 0.2 mm; 59-61: 0.1 mm.