Duvalius (Biharotrechus) semecensis semecensis Winkler, 1926

Curcic, Srecko, Vesovic, Nikola, Kuraica, Milos, Bosco, Fabrizio, Curcic, Nina B. & Vrbica, Maja, 2022, A new subspecies of the genus Duvalius Delarouzee, 1859 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechini) from western Serbia, with a key and an annotated catalogue of Serbian Biharotrechus and Duvalius s. str. taxa, Subterranean Biology 43, pp. 73-95 : 73

Duvalius (Biharotrechus) semecensis semecensis Winkler, 1926

Figs 10 , 11

Type material.

Holotype (by monotypy): male (NHMV) labeled as follows: „Höhle a. d. Semeč plan., Weirather", with no date provided (white label, handwritten) / " Duvalius semecensis Wnl." (white label, handwritten) / "Holotypus Duvalius (Biharotrechus) semecensis Winkler, 1926 Ćurčić det. 2021" (red label, printed) (Fig. 10 ).

Remarks.

For the purpose of comparisons, we studied one male specimen of D. (B.) semecensis borrowed from the NHMV, labeled as „Höhle a. d. Semeč plan. Weirather / Duvalius semecensis Wnl." (Figs 10-13 ), but with no red type label added. The handwriting on both white labels appears to be that of Albert Winkler (Figs 12 , 13 ). According to the available data (H. Schillhammer, pers. comm.), all red type labels in the collection of Albert Winkler that belong to the NHMV have been added subsequently. It seems that Winkler didn’t add red type labels for his type specimens. In the original description of D. (B.) semecensis , it was indicated that Augusta Weirather collected one male specimen in an unnamed cave on Mt. Sjemeć in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Winkler 1926). As the type series consists of only one male specimen with the same locality data, we designate the male specimen from the NHMV as the HT by monotypy of D. (B.) semecensis . According to Pretner (2011), who decoded the list of the cave and above-ground collecting sites visited by Weirather, the right name of the type locality of this taxon is the Vrteljka Cave, which is situated in the village of Đipi (43°44'35"N, 19°11'2"E) on Mt. Sjemeć, near the town of Višegrad, eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. As we noted certain morphological intraspecific differences between the HT of D. (B.) semecensis from the NHMV and D. (B.) semecensis tarensis ssp. nov., the need of establishing nominotypical subspecies [ D. (B.) semecensis semecensis ] of D. (B.) semecensis has arisen.

After reading both the original description of D. (B.) semecensis by Winkler (1926) and its subsequent description by Jeannel (1928) and a careful examination of the HT of D. (B.) semecensis , we realized that some data on the morphology of the specimen listed in the previous literature do not correspond with the features of the observed male specimen. Namely, Jeannel (1928) reported that the head of D. (B.) semecensis semecensis is remarkably narrow, longer than wide, while Winkler (1926) didn’t mention this in the description. The former author claimed that its pronotum is narrow, not wider than long, while the second author wrote that its pronotum is slightly wider than long. Both authors said that both discal setae are situated in fourth elytral intervals. Additionally, Jeannel’s drawing of the specimen ( Jeannel 1928) is not perfect as it doesn’t reflect its true shape (especially the head). Indeed, in the studied HT male, both head and pronotum are transverse, and the second discal seta is in the third stria (as was drawn by Jeannel 1928) (Table 1 , Fig. 10 ). For these reasons, we decided to redescribe the HT of D. (B.) semecensis semecensis and to add here additional data on its morphology.

Redescription.

Medium-sized. TL 4.17 mm, L 4.40 mm.

Habitus: Body elongate. Colour reddish-brown. Legs and palpi paler.

Integument: Smooth, lustrous, head with a distinct isodiametric microsculpture, while microsculpture of both pronotum and elytra possesses both transverse and isodiametric meshes.

Head: Relatively large, around as long as 1/6 of TL, rounded (Fig. 10 ), narrower than pronotum, glabrous. Genae are rounded. Neck well-developed. HL 0.67 mm, HW 0.79 mm, HL/HW 0.85. Frontal furrows complete, deep, reaching neck constriction. Two pairs of supraorbital setae present, the anterior pair situated at the level of reduced eyes, while the posterior pair is near frontal furrows. Mandibles are thin, relatively long, sharply pointed, right one with a retinaculum. Labrum is deeply emarginate, with three pairs of setae. Clypeus is with two pairs of setae. Eyes are strongly reduced, oval, whitish, darkly bordered (Fig. 11 ), composed of 1-2 ommatidia. Antennae thin, long, haired, reaching almost half of elytral length when stretched backward. Antennomere 11 longest, followed by equally long antennomeres 1 and 3, antennomere 2 shortest (A2L/A2W 1.89), antennomeres 4 and 6-10 of similar length, antennomere 5 somewhat longer, A10L/A10W 2.60.

Thorax: Pronotum glabrous, transverse, cordiform (Fig. 10 ), slightly wider than long, with maximum width slightly before anterior third, at anterior margin wider than at pronotal base. PL 0.83 mm, PW 1.00 mm, PL/PW 0.83. Lateral margins rounded anteriorly, sinuated before hind angles. Anterior angles are rounded and obtuse. Posterior angles are sharp and pointed. Lateral furrows are relatively narrow and shallow, with two pairs of setae. Anterolateral pair of setae situated slightly before the anterior third of pronotal length, basolateral pair of setae before hind angles. Median furrow is well-developed, deep and long. Disc weakly convex.

Elytra: Elongate, sub-ovate, glabrous, with maximum width slightly after middle, apically rounded (Fig. 10 ). EL 2.56 mm, EW 1.55 mm, EL/EW 1.65. Elytral base oblique. Shoulders are somewhat prominent, obtuse and sloped. Scutellum is small, sub-triangular, with one pair of scutellar setae. Elytral striae 1-5 well-developed, deep, outer striae reduced to rows of foveae. Punctuation on striae dense and deep. First discal seta is in fourth interval, second discal seta is in third stria, while apical seta is positioned at place where second and third striae coalesce, slightly below the level of second humeral seta. First discal seta slightly before the level of third humeral seta. Second discal seta after the middle of elytra. Intervals are slightly convex (inner intervals more than outer ones). Disc relatively convex. The umbilicate series consists of eight setae on each elytron (four humeral, two median and two apical), while the humeral group of umbilicate pores is aggregated.

Legs: Elongate, thin, densely pubescent (Fig. 10 ), each protibia dorsally has a deep longitudinal fissure. The first two protarsomeres in the male are distinctly dilated and toothed at the internal margin. The first male protarsomere is longer than wide. Tarsal claws are long, thin, pointed apically.

Abdomen: Ventrites 4-6 and anal ventrite are glabrous, each with one pair of setae posteriorly. Male abdominal sternite IX (urite) missing, previously extracted from the male specimen.

Male genitalia: Aedeagus missing, previously extracted from the male specimen.

Female genitalia: Unknown.

Geographic distribution.

So far known from its type locality (Vrteljka Cave) situated on Mt. Sjemeć. Eric Quéinnec (pers. comm.) collected specimens of the same taxon in MSS in the surroundings of the type locality, at both sides of the Drina River, close to the town of Višegrad in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Figures

Figures 10 - 13. Duvalius (Biharotrechus) semecensis semecensis from the Vrteljka Cave, village of Đipi, near the town of Visegrad, Mt. Sjemec, eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 HT male, habitus, dorsal aspect 11 HT male, head, lateral aspect 12 locality data label of HT male 13 taxonomic name label of HT male. Scale bars: 2 mm (10); 0.5 mm (11).