Quedius (Raphirus) hermonensis, Coiffait, 1963

Assing, Volker, 2018, On the taxonomy and zoogeography of some West Palaearctic Quedius species, with a focus on the East Mediterranean and the species allied to Quedius umbrinus and Q. nivicola (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1), pp. 149-182 : 154-157

Quedius (Raphirus) hermonensis COIFFAIT, 1963 ( Figs 1-14 , Map 1 )

Quedius hermonensis COIFFAIT, 1963: 417 f.

Quedius coiffaitianus FAGEL, 1968a: 11 ff.; nov.syn.

Quedius rugosipennis FAGEL, 1969: 115 ff.; nov.syn.

T y p e m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Q. coiffaitianus: Paratypes: 15 exs.: " LIBAN: Nabeh Safa, mousses gorges d'eau [1 specimen: "bois marécageux"], 1000 m, V.1966 G. Fagel / G. Fagel det., coiffaitianus n.sp. / Paratype / Quedius hermonensis Coiffait , det. V. Assing 2018 " (IRSNB).

Q. rugosipennis: Holotype ♂ [dissected prior to present study; aedeagus missing]: " Anatolie mér., Antalya, V.1968 G. Fagel / G. Fagel det., rugosipennis n.sp. / Type / Quedius hermonensis Coiffait , det. V. Assing 2018 " ( IRSNB) . Paratypes: 1♂, 3♀♀: same data as holotype (IRSNB).

A d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Turkey: 2♂♂ [1teneral], Antalya, Anamur- Gazipaşa, Kalandere, 36°07'N, 32°34'E, 40 m, 24.IV.2008, leg. Brachat & Meybohm (cAss). Cyprus: 1♂, Troodos , 34°55'N, 32°52'E, 1550 m, 9.IV.2008, leg. Lompe (cAss). Israel: 1♂, Sea of Galilee , Beit Tsaida Reserve , 32°53'N, 35°38'E, 0 m, 19.IV.2005, leg. Assmann (cFel) ; 1♀, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum , bank of Jordan river, 26.III.2008, leg. Assmann (cFel) ; 1♂, Hula N. R., 33°04'N, 35°36'E, 65 m, shore of pond, 13.XI.2010, leg. Drees (cFel) ; 1♀, S Ashdod, Nitzanim , 31°45'N, 34°37'E, sand dunes, pond shore, 12.IV.2013, leg. Buse (cFel) ; 1♀, Sea Genezareth, Jordan River , 32°54'N, 35°37'E, - 215 m, 19.III.2011, leg. Meybohm (cAss) .

C o m m e n t: The original description of Q. hermonensis is based on a male holotype and a female paratype from " Liban: Hasbaya" and one female paratype from "Nahr es Safa" ( COIFFAIT 1963), that of Q. coiffaitianus on a male holotype and 27 paratypes from "Nabeh Safa" ( FAGEL 1968a) (i.e., from the same locality as that of one of the paratypes of Q. hermonensis ), and that of Q. rugosipennis on a male holotype and four paratypes (one male and three females) from "Anatolie méridionale: Antalya, route de Lara" ( FAGEL 1969). An examination of the type material of Q. coiffaitianus and Q. rugosipennis, as well as of additional material from various regions revealed that in both external and the male sexual characters they are within the range of intraspecific variation of Q. hermonensis by COIFFAIT (1963). Hence the synonymy proposed above.

Based on similar external characters (coloration, punctation, habitus, etc.), on the similar general morphology of the aedeagus, and a similar ecology, Q. hermonensis is closely allied to Q. umbrinus , not to Q. nigriceps KRAATZ, 1857 as suggested by COIFFAIT (1978a). Like Q. umbrinus , Q. hermonensis is subject to pronounced variation of coloration and of the shape of the aedeagus ( Figs 1-14 ). The colour of the forebody ranges from brown to black, often with the anterior and posterior margins of the elytra narrowly yellowish to reddish (especially in material from Cyprus). The length of the aedeagus ranges from 1.0- 1.3 mm. The width of the paramere is rather variable, too; in material from Cyprus it is more slender and basally sometimes slightly constricted, whereas in material seen from other regions it is less slender and basally not constricted.

The habitat is similar to that of Q. umbrinus . The examined specimens were primarily collected in moist substrates: in moist leaf litter, swamps, on the shores of lakes and ponds, and on the banks of rivers and streams.

The revised distribution ( Map 1 ) ranges from the Aegean Island Samos in the west across Turkey and Cyprus to the Middle East ( Lebanon, Israel). While the species is fairly common in Cyprus (ASSING & WUNDERLE 2001), it appears to be rather rare elsewhere. For previous records from Cyprus (as Q. rugosipennis), Samos (as Q. rugosipennis), and Israel see ASSING & WUNDERLE (2001), ASSING (2015), SMETANA (1978), and ASSING (2014), respectively. A previous record of Q. hermonensis from Iraq ( ASSING 2014), however, which was overlooked by SCHÜLKE & SMETANA (2015), refers to Q. microcapillatus (see below).

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of Quedius hermonensis (black circles), Q. microcapillatus (white circles), and Q. orientalis (black star), based on revised records.

Figs 1-12: Quedius hermonensis from Samos (1-3), Israel (4-6), and Cyprus (7-12): (1, 4, 7, 10) aedeagus in lateral view; (2, 5, 8, 11) median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (3, 6, 9, 12) paramere. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figs 13-24: Quedius hermonensis from Cyprus (13-14), Q. orientalis (15-17), and Q. microcapillatus (18-24) from Iraq (18-20), Turkey (21), and Iran (22-24): (13, 15, 22) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (14, 17, 20, 24) paramere; (16, 19, 23) median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (18, 21) aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.