Quedius (Microsaurus) morulus, Assing, 2019

Assing, Volker, 2019, On the taxonomy oI some West Palaearctic Quedius species, with descriptions oI new species and new synonymies (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (1), pp. 189-201 : 196-199

Quedius (Microsaurus) morulus nov.sp. ( Figs 11-12 , 16-18)

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype ♁: ̎ IRAN - Mazandaran, 36.297°N, 53.453°E, 1140 m, window trap, 5.IX.2017, Barimani / Holotypus ♁ Quedius morulus sp. n., det. V. Assing 2019̎ (cAss) . Paratypes: 1♁ [aedeagus missing]: ̎ IRAN - Mazandaran, 36.296°N, 53.447°E, 1230 m, window trap, 29.VII.2017, Barimani ̎ (cAss) ; 1♀: ̎ IRAN - Mazandaran, 36.292°N, 53.437°E, 1285 m, window trap, 22. V.2017, Barimani ̎ (cAss) ; 1♁: ̎ IRAN - Mazandaran, 6 km W Part Kola , 2050 m, 36.14°N, 53.41°E, Fagus orientalis trap, 3, V.2015, leg. Barimani ̎ (cAss) .

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: black) alludes to the uniformly blackish coloration of the body.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 11.5-13.5 mm; length of forebody 6.0-7.0 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 12 . Coloration: body (including appendages) black, except for the reddish-brown tarsomeres V.

Head ( Fig. 12 ) 1.16-1.28 times as broad as long, on average larger and more transverse in male than in female; punctation fine, shallow, and rather dense; one macropuncture near middle of dorsal margin of eye, one near posterior margin of eye, one approximately halfway between posterior margin of eye and posterior constriction of head, and two near posterior constriction of head; interstices with fine, very shallow to distinct transverse microreticulation; frons with shallow impression, this impression with vortexlike arrangement of microsculpture. Eyes approximately as long as postocular region. Antenna with antennomeres IV-V approximately as long as broad and VI-X very weakly transverse.

Pronotum ( Fig. 12 ) 1.08-1.11 times as broad as long and 1.22-1.31 times as broad as head; dorsal series each composed of 1+2 macropunctures; usually with 1-3 smaller sublateral punctures behind level of posterior pair of dorsal punctures; disc with very fine and shallow microsculpture composed of transverse or oblique striae.

Elytra ( Fig. 12 ) 0.67-0.71 times as long as pronotum; punctation dense and distinct; interstices on average slightly broader than diameter of punctures, without microreticulation. Scutellum with fine transverse microreticulation and fine non-setiferous micropunctation. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen with dense and distinct punctation, that of posterior tergites less dense than that of anterior tergites; pubescence long and suberect, greyish to blackish; interstices with extremely fine transverse microsculpture visible only at high magnification (100 x); posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

♁: sternite VIII with shallowly concave posterior excision; aedeagus 1.5-1.6 mm long and shaped as in Figs 16-18 .

♀: sternite VIII with weakly convex posterior margin, pubescence unmodified.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Based on external (habitus, size, punctation pattern, etc.), Q. morulus is similar to the widespread Q. truncicola FAIRMAIRE & LABOULBÊNE, 1856. It is distinguished from this species by the black abdomen and by the morphology of the aedeagus (median lobe and paramere longer; median lobe apically of different morphology; paramere with subparallel lateral margins). For illustrations of the aedeagus of Q. truncicola see, e.g., COIFFAIT (1978) and SOLODOVNIKOV (2012).

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: The type specimens were collected in four geographically close localities in Mazandaran province, North Iran, all of them with window traps in forest habitats at altitudes of 1140-2050 m.

Figures

Figs 11-15: Quedius morulus (11-12) and Q. limans (13-15): (11, 13) male habitus; (12, 14) male forebody; (15) head and pronotum in dorso-lateral view. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

Figs 16-23: Quedius morulus (16-18) and Q. limans (19-23): (16, 19-20) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (17) median lobe in lateral view; (18, 23) paramere; (21-22) apical portion of median lobe in lateral and in ventral view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.