Typhloreicheia ilianae, Casale, Achille & Marcia, Paolo, 2011

Casale, Achille & Marcia, Paolo, 2011, Two new Typhloreicheia species from Sardinia and their biogeographical significance (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Scaritinae), ZooKeys 134, pp. 15-31 : 18-21

Typhloreicheia ilianae sp. n.

Type locality.

Italy, Central-Eastern Sardinia: Oliena (Nuoro province), Corrasi Mt.: Nurra 'e Pradu cave (speleological inventory number: 3083 Sa/NU), 1220 m a.s.l., 40°15'27.0"N, 009°25'45.3"E

Type material.

Holotype male with the following data: I - Sardegna, Oliena (NU), M. Corrasi 26.I.2008 P. Marcia", "Gr. Nurra 'e Pradu" (CCa).

Etymology.

The name derives from the Oliena village at the base of the Corrasi mountain in which this new species, and many other hypogean organisms were discovered. An ancient legend says that the inhabitants (Ilienses in Latin) of Troy (Ilios in ancient Greek), after the fall of the town to the Greeks, reached Sardinia and founded a village named Iliana, which subsequently became Oliena.

Diagnosis.

Typhloreicheia ilianae is the largest in size among the Sardinian congeners known so far, with its TL: 3.64 and L: 4.05 (male holotype). It is evidently related to Typhloreicheia henroti Jeannel, 1957 (see features of the median lobes of aedeagus in respective species: Figures 5-6), but can be distinguished from the latter mainly by its larger size (TL: 3.10 - 3.65, L: 3.40 - 3.86 in Typhloreicheia henroti ); by wider and more robust head, with supra-antennal plates more prominent laterally, by more convex genae markedly constricted to the neck, by antennomeres 3-11 more thickened, and by anterior angles of both clypeus and labrum more acutely prominent; and by the different shape of the median lobe of aedeagus (Figures 5-6).

Description.

A large sized Typhloreicheia species (TL: 3.64; L: 4.05 mm, in male holotype).

Body elongate but robust, convex (Figure 2). Colour testaceous reddish, antennae and mouthparts slightly paler.

Integument shiny, highly polished; microsculpure with fine, hardly visible microlines in form of isodiametric mesh pattern on head and elytra, almost vanished on pronotum.

Head robust, with ocular part of genae markedly convex, constricted toward the neck. Eyes absent. Anterior angles of clypeus acutely prominent. Supra-antennal plates prominent laterally, with outer margin beaded, separated from genae by deep and broad furrow; frontal furrows very deep, with shallow wrinkles in the posterior tract; vertex with an evident, convex tubercle in the middle; antennae elongate (AL: 1.58 mm in male holotype) but robust, thickened; antennomeres 6-10 slightly longer than wide.

Pronotum markedly convex, relatively wide (PL/PW: 0.95), with its maximum width at the basal third; sides moderately rounded, slightly narrowed in front, markedly constricted to the basal peduncle; anterior angles acutely prominent; median furrow very shallow; lateral furrows very narrow and superficial.

Elytraelongate-ovate (EL/EW: 1.62), distinctly wider than pronotum (EW/PW: 1.24), convex, with their maximum width in the middle; humeri broadly rounded; lateral furrows wide, flattened, not narrowed at apex; lateral margin reflexed, elytra with lateral margins with numerous (24) prominent marginal teeth; striae deep, deeply punctuate, all evident, gradually disappearing et apex; elytral intervals convex, intervals 2-7 each bearing a series of short, erected setae; umbilicate series of 16-19 punctures along stria 8.

Male genitalia as in Figure 5. Median lobe of aedeagus markedly curved, with long apical lamina, which is widened, hatched-like distally. Endophallus with a reduced, inconspicuous apical copulatory piece and an elongate packet of serrate scales in the middle. Parameres each with two apical setae.

Female genitalia: unknown.

Distribution and habitat.

Typhloreicheia ilianae sp. n. is known only from the type locality. The holotype was sampled in wet soil under big stones in a small pit (- 3.7 m), which represents the entrance of a large hypogean system, reaching the depth of 101 m. The associated subterranean fauna includes some of the most specialised troglomorphic endemic Sardinian elements, such as Sardaphaenops supramontanus supramontanus Cerruti & Henrot, 1956 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechini) and Patriziella sardoa Jeannel, 1956 (Coleoptera, Cholevidae, Leptodirini), both described from a nearby cave Nurra 'e Sas Palumbas. The Nurra 'e Pradu cave is also one of the few localities of Sardinia from which the large sized, trogloxenic centipede Plutonium zwierleini Cavanna, 1881 is reported ( Zapparoli 2009). We sampled in this cave the following taxa, all endemic to central-eastern Sardinia and representing new faunal records: the orthopteran Acroneuroptila cf. sardoa Baccetti, 1960, the sphodrine carabid beetle Laemostenus pippiai (G. Fiori, 1961) (A. Casale det.), the cholevid beetle Ovobathysciola majori (Reitter, 1885) (A. Casale det.), and the terrestrial snail Tacheocampylaea carotii (Paulucci, 1882) (S. Birindelli det.). Subsequent trapping in this cave using pitfall traps, did not produce additional individuals of Typhloreicheia ilianae .

Relationships.

Typhloreicheia ilianae is the largest among the Sardinian species known so far, exceeding the large size of Typhloreicheia kraussei (Reitter, 1914), a typical endogean, not hypogean species reaching 3.69 mm in length ( Leo et al. 2005). Nevertheless, any relationship of Typhloreicheia ilianae sp. n. with Typhloreicheia kraussei (Reitter, 1914) and its adelphotaxon Typhloreicheia manto (Holdhaus, 1924), both typically endogean, not hypogean species, are highly unlikely. Both latter species have elytral setiferous pores present in intervals 2, 3, 5 and 7 only, and the lateral margins serrate only in the basal half. Furthermore, in these taxa the features of the median lobe of aedeagus are markedly dissimilar to those of Typhloreicheia ilianae sp. n., and the apical copulatory piece in endophallus is lacking in Typhloreicheia kraussei ( Leo et al. 2005).

The new taxon appears related to Typhloreicheia henroti Jeannel, 1957, known from the Gurennoro cave (= Pisanu cave, 215 Sa/NU, near Dorgali). Both species are similar in having large-sized body and elytral lateral margins bearing numerous (21-24) teeth extending all the way from the humeral angle to elytral apex. Also both species share the peculiar shape of the median lobe of aedeagus, which is unique among the Sardinian species (Figures 5-6). These species form a pair of adelphotaxa very isolated from the rest of species known so far on the island, here indicated as henroti species group, excluding the other specialised hypogean species of Sardinia known so far ( Typhloreicheia elegans , Typhloreicheia onnisi , and Typhloreicheia monacha sp. n.) treated above aselegans species group in the narrow sense.

The following operative and provisional key is provided to distinguish the cave dweller (deep hypogean, or troglophilic) Typhloreicheia species known so far in Central Eastern Sardinia: