Geostiba (Tropogastrosipalia) fodens, Assing, 2011

Assing, V., 2011, A revision of Geostiba of the West Palaearctic region. XXI. Eight new species from Turkey and the Caucasus, a new synonymy, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 43 (2), pp. 1135-1158 : 1139-1141

Geostiba (Tropogastrosipalia) fodens nov.sp. ( Figs 9-13 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: "TR [17a] - Isparta, 15 km SW Eğirdir, Davraz Tepe , 37°47'29''N, 30°45'24''E, 1680 m, under stones, 28.IV.2011, V. Assing / Holotypus Geostiba fodens sp. n. det. V. Assing 2011" (cAss) . Paratypes: 7, 9: same data as holotype (cAss) ; 9 exs.: same data, but leg. Wunderle (cWun) ; 5, 13: same data as holotype, but "[17] ... 23.IV.2011 " (cAss, OÖLL) ; 3 exs.: same data, but leg. Wunderle (cWun) ; 6 exs.: "TR [18] - Isparta, 15 km SW Eğirdir, Davraz Tepe , 37°47'03''N, 30°44'56''E, 1780 m, under stones, 23.IV.2011, P. Wunderle " (cWun) ; 1: "N 37°47'00 E 30°44'55, TR Isparta; Davraz Tepe, Skizentrum; 1700-2000 m, 17.IV.2008, leg. Meybohm & Brachat " (cAss) .

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 2.5-3.2 mm. Coloration: head blackish-brown to black; pronotum brown to dark-brown; elytra yellowish-brown to reddish-brown; abdomen blackish-brown to blackish, with the anterior segments occasionally slightly paler; legs yellowish; antennae yellowish-brown, with the basal antennomere(s) yellowish.

Head approximately as wide as long; punctation extremely fine, barely noticeable; surface with shallow microreticulation. Eyes moderately convex, approximately half as long as postocular region in dorsal view ( Fig. 9 ).

Pronotum with moderate sexual dimorphism; punctation extremely fine, barely noticeable; microreticulation usually slightly more pronounced than that of head.

Elytra with moderately pronounced sexual dimorphism, approximately half as long as pronotum ( Fig. 9 ); microsculpture indistinct, interstices glossy. Hind wings absent.

Abdomen slightly broader than elytra; punctation very fine and sparse; microreticulation distinct; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe; tergites III-IV without sexual dimorphism; posterior margin of tergite VIII convex in both sexes.

(with fully developed secondary sexual characters): pronotum approximately 1.15 times as long as broad, moderately elongated posteriad, posterior margin strongly convex in the middle; elytra more or less extensively and rather shallowly impressed, with granulose punctation, and moderately pronounced, very narrow sutural carinae extending along anterior 3/5-2/3 of suture ( Fig. 9 ); anterior tergites unmodified; process of tergite VII short and apically acute, in lateral view suberect and stout ( Fig. 10 ), in antero-dorsal view narrow; median lobe of aedeagus approximately 0.28 mm long, with very fine cristal process ( Fig. 11 ).

: pronotum approximately as wide as long, posterior margin broadly and weakly convex; elytra without impression and with fine, non-granulose punctation; proximal portion of spermatheca twisted ( Fig. 12 ).

I n t r a s p e c i f i c v a r i a t i o n: As in other species of the subgenus Tropogastrosipalia , the male secondary sexual characters may be nearly or completely absent in small males.

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet is the present participle of the Latin verb fodere (to pierce) and alludes to the spine-like shape of the cristal process of the aedeagus.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: UsingthekeyinASSING (2009), the species would key out at couplet 107. For a supplement to this key see the comparative notes in the section on G. pungens .

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: Geostiba fodens was discovered in the Davraz Tepe, a mountain range to the southwest of Eğirdir, where the species is probably endemic. The specimens were collected from under stones on a sparsely vegetated slope ( Fig. 13 ) at an altitude of nearly 1700 m, and by breaking porose calcareous stones below a snowfield at an altitude of 1780 m.

Figures

Figs 9-12: Geostiba fodens nov.sp.: (9) male forebody (holotype); (10) male abdominal tergite VII in lateral view; (11) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (12) spermatheca. Scale bars: 9: 0.5 mm; 10-12: 0.1 mm.

Fig. 13: Type locality of Geostiba fodens nov.sp. (photo: P. Wunderle).