Ochthebius attritus LeConte, 1878

DELER-HERNÁNDEZ, ALBERT & DELGADO, JUAN A., 2012, The Hydraenidae of Cuba (Insecta: Coleoptera) I: Contribution to the fauna of eastern Cuba, Zootaxa 3478 (1), pp. 213-238 : 222

Ochthebius attritus LeConte, 1878

( Figs. 3 , 9 , 17, 18 , 40–42, 47 , 56 , 64 )

Ochthebius attritus LeConte, 1878: 380 .— Leng & Mutchler, 1917: 100.— Orchymont, 1943: 47. – Young, 1954: 206.— Perkins, 1980: 346.— Spangler, 1981: 164.— Peck, 2005: 55.— Pérez-Gelabert, 2008: 85.— Turnbow & Thomas, 2008: 40.— Epler, 2010: 10.7.— Valladares & Short, 2011: 67 .

Ochthebius symplex LeConte, 1878: 380 . Synonymy: Horn, 1890: 23.— Young, 1954: 206.

Ochthebius schubarti Orchymont, 1943: 47 . Synonymy: Perkins, 1980: 346.

Diagnosis: Habitus as in Fig. 40. Male terminalia: Ventrite VII ( Fig. 9 ) triangular; spiculum gastrale long and slightly sinuose, flexibly attached to ventrite; terminal tergite ( Fig. 3 ) subtriangular. Female terminalia: Gonocoxite ( Fig. 17 ) symmetrical, with a distal row of stout setae. Last tergite rounded, as in Fig. 18 . Male genitalia as in Figs. 41–42 . Spermatheca: Short, subcylindical ( Fig. 47 ); spermathecal duct short. For a detailed external description see Perkins (1980: 346).

Material examined: Santiago de Cuba: 1 male, 8 females (in alcohol) ( BSC-E) ; 5 males, 5 females (drymounted) ( CUMS): “CUBA: Santiago de Cuba / Carretera Hotel Bucanero, Juraguá / 19º56’30,8’’N 75º40’21,3’’W, 22 m / 29-VII-2008, coll.: A. Deler- / Hernández & F. Cala-Riquelme ”, “temporay pool, clean salty water / 20 m from sea shore” . 3 males, 11 females (in alcohol) ( BSC-E) ; 10 males, 4 females (dry mounted) ( CUMS): “CUBA: Santiago de Cuba, Río Cobre / Humedal San Miguel de Parada / 20º11’2,50’’N 75º46’17,7’’W, 1 m / 29/ 30-V-2009, laguna temporal [temporary pool] / coll.: A. Deler-Hernández ” . 4 males, 1 female (drymounted) ( CUMS): Same locality, 6-VIII-2009 . 2 males, 4 females (dry-mounted) ( CUMS): Same locality, 25-IX- 2009 . 9 females (in alcohol) ( BSC-E): Same locality, 31-X-2009 ”.

Distribution: USA, México, Colombia, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Brazil and Cuba ( Perkins 1980; Valladares & Short 2011). Currently known from eastern Cuba ( Fig. 56 ).

Habitat: A typical species of brackish waters, basically restricted to lowlands and coastal habitats in eastern Cuba. It has been collected in temporary lentic habitats, along the shoreline of saline coastal lagoons and in a temporary pool. Our collecting data suggests that it prefers habitats with clear waters, abundant particulate organic detritus on the bottom and associated aquatic riparian vegetation. In San Miguel de Parada wetland, O. attritus is frequently collected among emerged or submerged plants like Sesuvium portulacastrum L. and Rhizophora mangle L. ( Fig. 64 ). The role played by temporary pools of coastal habitats as breeding sites for this species is being currently assessed.

Figures

FIGURES 2–7. Terminal male tergite. 2, Gymnochthebius fossatus. 3, Ochthebius attritus. 4, Hydraena decui. 5, H. perkinsi. 6, H. guadelupensis. 7, H. franklyni. Scale = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 8–13. Male ventrite VII and speculum gastrale. 8, Gymnochthebius fossatus. 9, Ochthebius attritus. 10, Hydraena decui. 11, H. franklyni. 12, H. guadelupensis. 13, H. perkinsi. Scale = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 15–20. Gonocoxite and last female tergite. 15, gonocoxite of Gymnochthebius fossatus. 16, last female tergite of G. fossatus. 17, gonocoxite of Ochthebius attritus. 18, last female tergite of O. attritus. 19, gonocoxite of Hydraena decui. 20, last female tergite of H. decui. Scale = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 45–55. Spermathecae. 45, G.fossatus(lateral view). 46, G. fossatus (ventral view). 47, O. attritus (ventral view). 48, H. decui (lateral view). 49, H. decui (ventral view). 50, H. franklyni (lateral view). 51, H. franklyni (ventral view). 52, H. guadelupensis (lateral view). 53, H. guadelupensis (ventral view). 54, H. perkinsi (lateral view). 55, H. perkinsi (ventral view). Scale = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 56–58. Distribution maps for all species of Hydraenidae in eastern Cuba. 56, squares = G. fossatus, circles = O. attritus. 57, squares = H. franklyni, circles = H. guadelupensis. 58, squares = H. decui, circles = H. perkinsi.

FIGURES 62–64. Habitat of Hydraenidae species. 62, habitat of H. guadelupensis. Stream, protected area “Loma del Gato”, Santiago de Cuba (Photo by J. Lastre, 27-I-2011). 63, habitat of G. fossatus and H. perkinsi. Sevilla River, La Redonda, Santiago de Cuba (Photo by A. Deler-Hernández, 20-VII-2011). 64, habitat of O. attritus. Temporary pool, Humedal San Miguel de Parada, Santiago de Cuba (Photo by F. Cala-Riquelme, 15-VI-2009).

FIGURES 41–44. Male genitalia. 41, Ochthebius attritus (lateral view). 42, O. attritus (ventral view). 43, Gymnochthebius fossatus (lateral view). 44, G. fossatus (ventral view). Scale = 0.1 mm.