Dropephylla loebli, Shavrin, 2024

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2024, A new species of Dropephylla Mulsant & Rey, 1880 from northeastern Türkiye, and faunistic records of some species of Omaliini from Western Palaearctic Region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae), Zootaxa 5543 (4), pp. 591-596 : 592-593

Dropephylla loebli sp. nov.

( Figs 1–2 )

Type material examined. Holotype ♂ (dissected; abdominal tergite VII damaged; a plastic plate with the aedeagus in Canada balsam was pinned under the card with the beetle): ‘ TURQUIE: Kars | Kars | 1750 m | 17.VI.1986 ’ <printed>, ‘Besuchet-Löbl | Burckhardt’ <printed>, ‘HOLOTYPE | Dropephylla | loebli sp.n. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2024’ <red, printed> ( MHNG) .

Description. Measurements: maximum width of head including eyes: 0.41; length of head (from base of labrum to posterior constriction along head midline): 0.22; ocular length (longitudinal): 0.11; length of temple: 0.04; length of antenna: 0.74; length of pronotum: 0.37; maximum width of pronotum: 0.51; sutural length of elytra (length of elytra from apex of scutellum to posterior margin of sutural angle): 0.68; maximum width of elytra: 0.70; maximum width of abdomen: 0.72; length of aedeagus (from base of median lobe to apex of parameres): 0.30; total length of body (from anterior margin of clypeus to apex of abdomen): 2.56.

Body dark brown, with slightly paler middle part of elytra; antennae brown; mouthparts, legs and intersegmental membranes of abdomen yellowish (femora slightly darker). Head with transverse microreticulation on clypeus, indistinct transverse meshes in middle and longitudinal microsculpture on infraorbital portions; neck with dense isodiametric sculpture; pronotum without visible microsculpture except of mediobasal part of pronotum with indistinct transverse meshes; scutellum with indisinct transverse microreticulation; elytra without sculpture; abdomen with dense isodiametric sculpture. Head with moderately fine and dense punctation, denser in middle, and finer on infraorbital portions; neck and scutellum without punctures; pronotum with relatively regular punctation, slightly larger and deeper than that in middle part of head, slightly sparser in mediobasal portion; punctation of elytra about as that on pronotum, but slightly larger and deeper in middle, sparser along suture; abdominal tergites without visible punctation.

Head transverse, 1.8 times as broad as long, evenly elevated in mediobasal portion, with wide shallow anteriomedian depressions; postocular carina present, obtuse. Apical maxillary palpomere significantly broadened, almost about twice broader and about three times as long as preceeding segment, from middle gradually narrowed toward subacute apex. Antenna reaching basal margin of pronotum when reclined; basal antennomere robust, about twice as long as broad, antennomere 2 indistinctly longer than broad, slightly narrower and distinctly shorter than basal antennomere, 3 about twice narrower than 2, 4 small, about as long as broad and twice shorter than 3, 5 slightly broader than 4, 6 distinctly longer and broader than 5, 7–10 transverse, distinctly longer and broader than 6, apical antennomere 1.4 times as long as 10, from about middle strongly narrowed toward subacute apex.

Pronotum evenly convex, 1.3 times as broad as long, 1.2 times as broad as head, widest in middle, slightly more narrowed posteriad than anteriad; apical and hind angles widely rounded; laterobasal impressions moderately wide and deep.

Elytra slightly broader than long, 1.8 times as long as pronotum, somewhat parallel-sided; posterior margins slightly rounded; median surface of each elytron with indistinct longitudinal elevations between punctures.

Abdomen (abdominal tergites IV–VI) indisinctly broader than elytra, with two small round tomentose spots in middle of abdominal tergite IV; apical margin of abdominal tergite VII with narrow palisade fringe.

Male. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII slightly concave. Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII truncate. Aedeagus with moderately small oval basal portion, gradually narrowed toward long and narrow median lobe with small rounded apex; parameres wide, not reaching apex of median lobe, with narrowed apical portions, each with two short apical and two preapical setae; internal sac narrow and moderately short ( Fig. 1 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Fig. 2 .

Female unknown.

Comparative notes. Based on morphological features of the body and aedeagus, D. loebli sp. nov. belongs to the Caucasica group established by Jászay & Hlaváč (2006). In general body shape and coloration, it resembles D. caucasica (Kolenati, 1846) , but can be distinguished by its slightly smaller body, slightly more transverse antennomeres 8–10, and distinctly broader parameres. Dropephylla loebli sp. nov. is further differentiated from all species of the Caucasica group by its narrower and longer median lobe of the aedeagus.

Distribution. Dropephylla loebli sp. nov. is known only from the type locality in Kars, northeastern Türkiye.

Etymology. Patronymic, the species is named to honour my colleague Ivan Löbl (Genève, Switzerland), one of the collectors of the type material.

Bionomics. The specimen was collected at an elevation 1750 m a.s.l. Detailed bionomical data for this species are currently unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 1–3. Aedeagus of Dropephylla (Figs 1–2: D. loebli (holotype); Fig. 3: D. cretica (Türkiye, Isparta)): 1, 3—parameral view, 2—lateral view. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.