Arianops unicoi Barr, 1974

Carlton, Christopher E., 2008, Eight New Species ofArianopsBrendel from the Southeastern United States with an Updated Key and Notes on Additional Species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae), The Coleopterists Bulletin 62 (2), pp. 297-323 : 297-323

Arianops unicoi Barr

Material examined (n 5 4). / U.S.A.: NC: Swain Co.: GSMNP, Twentymile

Trail, Proctor Field Gap, 740 m, 35 ° 29.1 9 N 83 ° 50.3 9 W. / Litter sample. 9 May

320 2004, W. Merritt /. 1 Oi. U.S.A.: TN: Blount Co.: GSMNP, Gregory Ridge Trail above Forge Creek Campground , 830 m, 35 ° 32.85 9 N 83 ° 50.15 9 W. / Litter sample. 12 Apr. 2006, A. K. Tishechkin /. 1 Oi. U.S.A.: TN: Blount Co. GSMNP upper Long Hungry Ridge Tr. at 35 ° 30.89 9 N 83 ° 51.00’ W 1390 m, litter sifting, 12 Apr. 2006 /, A. K. Tishechkin. 1 ♀. U.S.A.: NC: Graham Co. Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, loop trail, base of huge boulder, primary tulip tree, hemlock forest, 2 Mar. 1997, M. A. Muegge. 1 ♀. All deposited LSAM .

Comments. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park specimens extend the range of A. unicoi approximately 25 km to the northeast. This distance does not seem great, but it represents a substantial range extension given that the species was known previously only from the type locality ( Barr 1974). Also, these records extend the range across the valley of the Little Tennessee River, currently dammed to form Tellico and Fontana Lakes, and across the main divide of the Smoky Mountains . The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest locality is within ten km of the type locality .

Notes on Undetermined Specimens

Arianops sp. undetermined from Henry Co., Virginia. Material examined (n 5 1). / U.S.A.:VA : Henry Co.: S. side Turkeycock Mtn. Rt. 619, XII-24-1994 R. L. Hoffman, berlese oak-kalmia litter/. 1 ♀. Deposited Field Museum of Natural History , Chicago, IL .

Comments. This medium sized (3.2 mm) specimen keys to couplet 35 within the amplyoponica group, and its shorter, more rounded pronotum separates it from the nantahala group members at couplet 7. The combination of characters places it near A. nodosa Barr , but the knobs adjacent to the median pronotal fovea are small (prominent in A. nodosa ) and unspined (other members of the amplyoponica group). Antennal segment 9 is expanded slightly on the ventral face, giving the segment a noticeably asymmetrical appearance. This character is shared by females of at least some other members of the amplyoponica group (e.g., A. sandersoni ).

The collecting locality is approximately 250 km from the range of A. nodosa . This relatively great separation (for the genus) and the poor fit of characters with A. nodosa suggest that the specimen represents an undescribed species, but males are necessary for confirmation.

Arianops sp. undetermined from Union Co., North Carolina. Material

examined (n 5 1). / U.S.A.: NC: Union Co.: 3 mi. W. Monroe, stump hole debris, 1 Apr. 1981, J. F. Cornell. 981-IV-1-1/. 1 ♀. J. F. Cornell personal collection .

Comments. This large (3.7 mm) specimen keys to couplet 32 within the nantahala group, though other members of the group are at most 3.3 mm in maximum length. The combination of characters does not fit A. carteri or A. digitata . The knobs adjacent to the median pronotal fovea are poorly developed and scarcely visible. The specimen likely represents an undescribed species, but a male is needed for confirmation.

The collector, James Cornell (pers. comm.), provided the following supplementary information from his field notes: ‘‘JFC981-IV-1-1. N.C. Union Co. 3 mi W Monroe April l 1981, berlesed sifted litter and soil from a pine stumphole about 12–16 0 wide and about 24–30 inches deep in a mixed hardwood forest on a small stream floodplain.’’

Arianops sp. undetermined from Orange Co., North Carolina. Material

examined (n 5 1). / U.S.A.: NC: Orange Co.: New Hope Cr. 5 mi. N. Chapel Hill, stump hole debris, 22 Nov. 1982, J. F. Cornell. 982-XI-22-1/. 1 ♀. J. F. Cornell personal collection .

Comments. This medium sized (3.0 mm) specimen keys to couplet 34 within the nantahala group. This is a terminal couplet for the two subspecies A. nantahala nantahala Barr and A. nantahala joanna Barr. Female characters of the specimen are consistent with this species, particularly the well-developed lateral vertexal carina and arrangement of foveae and knobs of the pronotum. However, the locality is almost 400 km east of the known distributions of these two subspecies. It is in the Piedmont physiographic region of North Carolina, which is a totally different terrain from the rugged Nantahala Mountains of the southern Appalachian region. This specimen probably represents an undescribed species, but a male is necessary for confirmation.

Arianops spp. undetermined cavernensis group specimens from Alabama.

Material examined (n 5 4). / ALA: Jackson Co., nr. Princeton , nr. Horseshoe Cave Sep. 18, 1975 / under rocks leg. T. King /. 1 ♀. /ALA: Jackson Co. , Princeton , Horseshoe Cave Aug. 7 1976 T. King /. 1 ♀. /ALA: St. Clair Co. , Springville (4 mi. N) Oct. 25, 1975 /. 1 ♀. / USA: Al., Jefferson Co. , Vestavia ? Dec 4, 1983 / under rocks leg. T. King /. 1 ♀. Deposited Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL .

Comments. The first two specimens in this mixed species series of females are from the type locality of both A. extera and A. steevesi . They represent different species, but neither seems to fit A. extera (see comments above for that species). Possibly a third, as yet unidentified, species occurs at that locality. The other two specimens are unidentifiable females from previously undocumented localities for the genus.