Medon solitarius, Assing, 2009

Assing, V., 2009, A revision of Western Palaearctic Medon. VII. A new species from southern Turkey and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2), pp. 1253-1268 : 1266

Medon solitarius nov.sp. ( Figs 1-9 , Map 3 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3: "N37°19'31,5", E36°42'17,5 / TR - Kahramanmaraş (26), sw Türkoğlu, Str. Imalı- Bahçe, 1050-1100 m, 21.IV.2009, leg. Meybohm & Brachat / Holotypus 3 Medon solitarius sp.n. det. V. Assing 2009" (cAss). Paratype ♀: "N 37°28'55 E 36°38'10 (30), TR Kahramanmaras, Cimen Dagi, Büyüksir, 750-800 m, Brachat & Meybohm, 1.5.2007 " (cAss).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 5.2-6.0 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: forebody dark reddish; abdomen reddish-brown with paler apex (segments VII/VIII-X); legs and antennae reddish to reddish-brown.

Head weakly oblong, 1.02-1.06 times as long as wide; punctation very dense, fine, and shallow; interstices very narrow, much narrower than diameter of punctures; surface almost matt ( Fig. 2 ); eyes moderately small ( Fig. 3 ), weakly projecting from contours of head, approximately 0.4 times as long as postocular region in dorsal view. Antennae long (1.9-2.0 mm) and slender; antennomere III approximately 3 times as long as wide, X as wide as long or weakly oblong.

Pronotum approximately as wide as long; surface, except for a weakly shiny longitudinal rudiment in posterior half of midline, matt due to very coarse microsculpture; punctation dense, fine, and shallow, barely visible in the microsculpture ( Fig. 2 ).

Elytra 1.03-1.06 times as long as pronotum ( Fig. 2 ); punctation conspicuously dense, fine, and weakly defined; surface with subdued shine, but somewhat more glossy than head and pronotum. Hind wings fully developed. Legs slender, metatibia approximately as long as elytra.

Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra; punctation fine and dense; interstices with distinct microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with pronounced palisade fringe.

3: posterior excavation of sternite VII deep and of broadly trapezoid shape, on either side without distinct clusters of thin long setae, and with lateral combs each composed of 9-10 palisade setae ( Fig. 4 ); posterior excision of sternite VIII deeply concave ( Fig. 5 ); aedeagus with apex of highly distinctive shape ( Figs 6-9 ).

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Based on the male primary and secondary sexual characters, the new species belongs to the M. fusculus group. The similar shape of the ventral process of the aedeagus suggests that it is most closely related to M. lamellatus ASSING 2004 from central southern Anatolia. The apex of the ventral process also somewhat resembles that of M. meybohmi (known only from Adana province). Medon solitarius is readily distinguished from all other representatives of the M. fusculus group particularly by its large size, the comparatively large and slender head, the long and slender antennae, the conspicuously fine and dense punctation of the forebody, the almost completely matt head and abdomen, as well as by the distinctive morphology of the aedeagus. For illustrations of the male primary and secondary sexual characters of other species of the M. fusculus group see ASSING (2004a, 2004b, 2005a, 2006, 2007b, 2007c).

E t y m o l o g y: The name (Latin, adjective) refers to the fact that, unlike most other Medon species , M. solitarius has been collected only in single specimens.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: The species is known only from two localities in Kahramanmaraş province, central southern Anatolia ( Map 3 ). Its morphology (large size, slender appendages, reddish coloration, relatively small eyes), as well as the fact that only two specimens have been collected in an area repeatedly studied by several colleagues suggest that M. solitarius apparently lives in a cryptic subterranean habitat (mammal nests?). The holotype was discovered under a stone (BRACHAT pers. comm.).

Figures

Map 3: Distributions of Medon abantensis BORDONI (filled circles), M. solitarius nov.sp. (open circles), and M. meybohmi ASSING (squares), based on revised records.

Figs 1-9: Medon solitarius nov.sp.: (1) habitus; (2) forebody; (3) head and pronotum in lateral view; (4) male sternite VII; (5) male sternite VIII; (6-7) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (8) apical portion of aedeagus in lateral view; (9) apical portion of aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bars: 1-2: 1.0 mm; 3-5: 0.5 mm; 6-9: 0.2 mm.