Quedius (Microsaurus) solskyi Luze, 1904

Salnitska, Maria & Solodovnikov, Alexey, 2018, Revision of the Quedius fauna of Middle Asia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 65 (2), pp. 117-159 : 126

Quedius (Microsaurus) solskyi Luze, 1904 Figs 9, 10

Quedius asiaticus Bernhauer, 1918, syn. n.

Quedius solskyi Luze, 1904, 99 (original description); Gridelli 1924, 72 (characteres, notes);

Quedius asiaticus Bernhauer, 1918, 92 (original desription); Gridelli 1924, 57 (characters); Coiffait 1978, 183 (characters); Kascheev 2002, 181 (distribution records).

Material examined.

Type material: Quedius solskyi: Tajikistan: Lectotype (here designated): ♂, "♂/ Trkst. Jagnob Schach-Sara, Glasunov 1892 [printed]/ Type solskyi Luze [handwritten]/ ex. coll. Luze/ ex. coll. Scheerpeltz [printed]/ Typus Quedius solskyi Luze [pre-printed] " (Fig. 9E) (NMW);

Quedius asiaticus: Tajikistan or Uzbekistan: Lectotype (here designated): ♂ "Ost. Buchara Rickmers. [handwritten] / Mus. Bremen [handwritten]/ asiaticus Bernh. Typus [handwritten]/ Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection [printed] ’’; paralectotype: 1 ♂ "abietum [illegible word] [handwritten]/ asiaticus Bernh. Cotypus. [handwritten]/ Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection [printed] ’’ (Fig. 10G, H) (FMHN),

Additional material.

Tajikistan: 1 ♂, Ramid [Ramit], Kafirnigan River, 27.VII.1939, A. Romanov leg. (ZMMU).

Comments on taxonomy, lectotype designation and new synonymy.

In the original description of Q. solskyi , Luze (1904) did not specify the number of specimens he studied, but provided characters for both sexes and the locality "Jagnob: Kol, Schach-Sara’’ [Tajikistan, Yaghnob river, Sughd Distr.]. Therefore, a male from NMW with the locality label ’’ Trkst. Jagnob Schach-Sara’’ is considered a syntype. We could not locate other syntypes. Gridelli (1924), similarly to the case with Q. fusicornis , based his notes about Q. solskyi only on Luze’s description, without checking type material. And as with other species of Quedius described by Luze (1904), Q. solskyi is missing in the monograph of Coiffait (1978). Under the circumstances of uncertain identity of other syntypes, we designate the only available male syntype as a lectotype to unambigiously fix the identity of Q. solskyi .

Bernhauer (1918) described Q. asiaticus from ‘’ Ost. Buchara’’ and compared it with Q. abietum distributed in southern Europe. Bernhauer (1918) did not even mention Luze’s Q. solskyi , even though his description matches the latter species. Both examined syntypes of Q. asiaticus are clearly conspecific in morphology. In order to fix the identity of the species, we designate here one better preserved male syntype (Fig. 10A, B) with the locality label "Ost. Buchara" exactly matching the data from the original description and the identification label " asiaticus Bernh. Typus" hand written by Bernhauer as a lectotype.

Our examination of the mentioned types of both Q. solskyi and Q. asiaticus undoubtedly reveal they are conspecific. Thus we place Q. asiaticus Bernhauer, 1918 in synonymy with Q. solskyi Luze, 1904 and provide a redescription with the first illustration of the aedeagus of this poorly known species.

Redescription.

Measurements and ratios (arithmetic mean = 4): HL: 1.4-1.6 (1.5); HW: 1.7-1.9 (1.9); PL: 1.6-1.8 (1.7); PW: 1.9-2.1 (2.1); EL: 2.0-2.2 (2.1); EW: 1.9-2.1 (2.0); FB: 5.1-5.6 (5.3); TL: 8.1-9.7 (9.1); HL/HW: 0.7-0.8 (0.8); PL/PW: 0.8-0.9 (0.9); EL/EW: 1.0-1.1 (1.1).

Body dark brown to brown; apical margin of abdominal tergites vaguely paler; elytra reddish; maxillary and labial palpi, as well as antennae dark-brownish; body glossy (Figs 9A, 10 A–B).

Head wider than long HL/HW: 0.7-0.8 (0.8), eyes very small, not convex; temples more than two times as long as longitudinal diameter of eye; posterior frontal puncture in the middle between anterior puncture and posterior margin of head; temporal puncture closer to posterior margin of head than to posterior margin of eye; two vertical punctures arranged in almost straight line between posterior frontal puncture and neck; microsculpture with transverse waves. Antennae long: antennal segments: 3rd longer than 2nd; 4th-10th slightly widening towards apex of antenna.

Pronotum slightly wider than long PL/PW: 0.8-0.9 (0.9), widest at its middle, slightly narrowing anteriad; hind angles rounded, barely distinct; dorsal and sublateral rows each with three punctures; microsculpture with transverse waves similar to that on posterior part of head. Scutellum impunctate, with microsculpture as on pronotum. Elytra parallel-sided, as long as or longer than wide, narrower and longer than pronotum; punctation dense, setation brownish, interspaces shiny and with distinct minute irregularities.

Abdomen: punctation fine and moderately dense; interspaces with vaguely distinct minute irregularities; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

Male: head wider than long, larger than in females and with longer temples ( Luze 1904). Aedeagus (Figs 9 B–D, 10C, D, E, F): Median lobe (in parameral view) parallel-sided along most of its length with obtusely pointed apex, with tooth located near apex (Figs 9B, 10C, E). Paramere parallel-sided, its apex almost reaching apex of median lobe; with two pairs of apical setae and two pairs of lateral setae below apex; underside with pair of peg setae close to apical margin on each side of medial emargination (Figs 9C, 10D, F).

Comparison.

Quedius solskyi is similar to Q. fusicornis and Q. ochripennis , but it can be externally distinguished from both by the larger body size, distinctly elongated elytra and smaller eyes with their diameter two times as short as tempora. In the structure of the aedeagus Q. solskyi is more similar to Q. fusicornis but differs from the latter by the paramere with incised apex and two pairs of sensory peg setae. The aedeagi of Q. solskyi and Q. ochripennis differ in many ways.

Distribution.

Vaguely recorded type localities for Q. solskyi and Q. asiaticus are located somewhere in northern Tajikistan and in eastern Uzbekistan or western Tajikistan. The only additional and better georeferenced specimen examined here comes from western Tajikistan: Ramid, Kafirnigan River.

Bionomics.

Unknown.