Alevonota (Alevonota) elegantula ( BRISOUT DE BARNEVILLE, 1863)

Wunderle, Volker Assing Paul, 2008, On the Alevonota species of the Western Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Athetini), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 58 (5), pp. 145-189 : 155-156

Alevonota (Alevonota) elegantula ( BRISOUT DE BARNEVILLE, 1863) , revalidated ( Figs 20-29 , Map 2 )

Homalota elegantula BRISOUT DE BARNEVILLE 1863: 23 f.

Type material examined:

Syntype : " S. Germain / elegantula" ( MNHNP) .

Comments:

The original description is based on an unspecified number of syntypes from "Forêt de Saint- Germain" ( BRISOUT DE BARNEVILLE 1863). The name remained valid until FAUVEL (1895, 1897, 1902) placed both A. elegantula and A. rufotestacea in the synonymy of A. atricapilla ( MULSANT & REY, 1852) , which was later discovered to represent a junior primary homonym. REITTER (1909) and BERNHAUER & SCHEERPELTZ (1926) synonymised both A. atricapilla and A. elegantula with A. rufotestacea ; this synonymy has remained unquestioned ever since ( SMETANA 2004). The present revision of the type and additional material, however, revealed that A. elegantula represents a distinct species, so that the name is here revalidated.

Additional material examined:

Spain: Aragón: 1 ex., 20 km SE Teruel, La Puebla de Valverde , 40°13'N, 00°57'W, 1100 m, sifted, 14.IV.2003, leg. Assing (cAss) . Valencia: 1 ex., Alicante, Sierra d'Aitana, NW Sella , Port de Tudons , 38°39'N, 00°20'W, 1030 m, sifted, 28.III.2007, leg. Assing (cAss) . Andalucía: 1 ex., Córdoba, Posadas , 18.IV.1925 ( NHMW) ; 1 ex., Granada , Puerto de la Ragna, 2000-2100 m, 14.V.1960, leg. Besuchet ( MHNG). Locality not specified : 1 ex., " Castilien ", 9.IV.1887, leg. Korb ( NHMW) .

France: Bretagne: 1 ex., Morlaix ( DEI) ; 1 ex., Morlaix, leg. Hervé ( NHMW) . Île-de-France: 1 ex., Paris, leg. Fauvel ( NHMW) .

Italy: Lazio: A , Lago di Bracciano, Monti Sabatini, Monte Guerrano , 500 m, 7.V.1998, leg. Wolf (cSch) .

Germany: Nordrhein-Westfalen: 1 ex., Köln-Flittard , 15.V.1979, leg. Boness (cRen) ; 7 exs., Hürth , car-net, 1.V.1989, leg. Köhler, Wunderle (cWun) ; 14 exs., Köln env., Brühl, Staatsforst Ville , car-net, 3.V.1989, leg. Köhler (cKöh, cAss) ; 2 exs., same data, but 24.IV.1989 (cKöh, cAss) ; 1 ex., same data, but 2.V.1989 (cKöh) ; 1 ex., same data, but 18.V.1989 (cKöh) ; 1 ex., same data, but 11.VI.1989 (cKöh) ; 2 exs., same data, but 14.VI.1989 (cKöh) ; 1 ex., same data, but 29.VI.1989 (cKöh) ; 1 ex., Haustenbeck, Senne , 2.V.1995, leg. Renner (cRen) . Hessen: 1 ex., Fulda, Blankenau , car-net, 1.V.1988, leg. Wunderle (cWun) . Niedersachsen: 1 ex., Hannover, Eilenriede , car-net, 11.IV.1991, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., same data, but 29.V.1991 (cAss) ; 1 ex., Nienburg, Lichtenmoor , car-net, 4.V.2006, leg. Lompe (cAss) . Brandenburg: 1 ex., Spreewald, Burg [51°49'N, 14°09'E], window trap, 20.IV.-6.V.2000, leg. Pütz (cAss) .

Poland: 1 ex., Legnica ["Liegnitz"], leg. Letzner ( DEI) .

Diagnosis:

For a colour image of the habitus see the photo of " A. rufotestacea " in TRONQUET (2006). In external appearance similar to A. rufotestacea , also rather variable, but distinguished as follows:

Size on average larger, 3.5-4.4 mm (abdomen extended); RL: 1.4-1.9 mm. Coloration on average darker; pronotum usually brown to dark brown; antennae often dark reddish to dark reddish brown; abdomen often almost completely dark.

Forebody as in Fig. 20 . Head usually weakly transverse, HW/HL: 1.00-1.07; puncturation on average more distinct ( Fig. 21 ). Eyes larger and more prominent, approximately as long as postocular region in dorsal view; EyL/PoL: 0.68-0.85 ( Fig. 22 ).

Pronotum on average more transverse, PW/PL: 1.07-1.13; puncturation denser and usually distinct; midline with more pronounced furrow ( Fig. 21 ).

Elytra usually slightly longer than pronotum, EL/PL: 1.00-1.08 ( Fig. 20 ).

: median lobe of aedeagus larger, ML: 0.36-0.41 mm; ventral process more strongly curved and with more acute apex in lateral view ( Figs 25-27 ).

: tergite VIII ( Fig. 23 ), sternite VIII ( Fig. 24 ), and spermatheca ( Figs 28-29 ) of similar shape as in A. rufotestacea .

Distribution and bionomics:

Alevonota elegantula has become known from Spain, France, Germany, and Poland, suggesting an expansive Atlanto-Mediterranean distribution ( Map 2 ). The record from Lazio ( Italy) should be considered tentative, since it is based only on a female. The records of A. rufotestacea from the Pyrenées-Orientales by TRONQUET (2006) apparently refer to A. elegantula , as can be inferred from the photograph on plate 19.

Except for two sifted specimens from Spain, all the recently collected specimens were recorded on the wing with car-nets and a window-trap, almost exclusively in forests. The highest record is from 2000-2100 m. The reproduction habitat is unknown. All the known specimens were collected end of March (1 specimen /1 record), April (6/5), May (35/12), and June (4/3), evidently the dispersal period of this species.

Figures

Map 2: Distributions of Alevonota elegantula (BRISOUT DE BARNEVILLE) (open circles;?: tentative record based on female only) and A. libanotica (FAGEL) (filled circles), based on examined records.

Figs 20-29: Alevonota elegantula (BRISOUT DE BARNEVILLE): forebody (20); head and pronotum (21); head in lateral view (22); female tergite VIII (23); female sternite VIII (24); median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view of males from Germany (25) and southern Spain (26); ventral process of median lobe in ventral view (27); spermathecae of females from Germany (28) and Spain (29). Scale bars: 20: 1.0 mm; 21-24: 0.5 mm; 25-29: 0.1 mm.