Oxypoda (Sphenoma) robustior, Assing, 2009

Assing, V., 2009, On some Oxypoda species of the subgenus Sphenoma MANNERHEIM (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2), pp. 1307-1315 : 1308-1312

Oxypoda (Sphenoma) robustior nov.sp. ( Figs 1-4 , 13-14 , 20 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3: " Iran, Semnan province, Shahrud-Mojen road: 2 km SE Tash, 2190 m, N 36°33'44", E 054°40'06", 24.05.2006, lg. Frisch & Serri / Holotypus 3 Oxypoda robustior sp. n. det. V. Assing 2009" (MNHUB). Paratypes: 13, 2♀♀, 1 sex?: same data as holotype (MNHUB, cAss).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Body length: 3.8-4.7 mm. Coloration: head dark-brown to blackish-brown; pronotum reddish-brown with paler margins; elytra yellowish to yellowish-brown, with the scutellar region and the suture weakly infuscate; abdomen dark-brown to blackish-brown, with the posterior margins of segments III-VI, the posterior half of segment VII, and segments VIII-X dark-yellowish to reddish; legs yellowish-brown to reddish; antennae dark-brown, with the basal three antennomeres paler yellowish to reddish.

Head approximately as long as wide or indistinctly oblong, widest behind eyes; punctation extremely fine, barely noticeable in the pronounced microreticulation. Eyes weakly convex, not distinctly projecting from lateral contours of head, approximately as long as postocular region in dorsal view ( Fig. 2 ). Antennae weakly incrassate apically; antennomere IV approximately as long as wide or weakly oblong; V-X weakly transverse and gradually increasing in width; X less than 1.5 times as wide as long ( Fig. 3 ). Maxillary palpus slender, palpomere III approximately 4 times as long as wide.

Pronotum 1.26-1.35 times as wide as long and 1.6-1.7 times as wide as head, widest in posterior half; punctation dense, but extremely fine and barely noticeable; surface with pronounced microreticulation ( Fig. 2 ).

Elytra approximately 0.85 times as long as pronotum; punctation fine and dense; surface with distinct microsculpture ( Fig. 2 ). Hind wings fully developed. Legs slender; metatarsomere I elongated, distinctly longer than the combined length of II-IV.

Abdomen widest at base, gradually tapering posteriad; punctation fine and very dense, as dense on tergite VII as on tergite III ( Fig. 4 ); interstices with distinct microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with distinct palisade fringe; posterior margin of tergite VIII strongly convex in both sexes.

3: posterior margin of sternite VIII obtusely pointed; median lobe of aedeagus approximately 0.55 mm long, shaped as in Figs 13-14 ; apical lobe of paramere very long and slender, similar to that of O. abdominalis .

♀: posterior margin of sternite VIII broadly convex; spermatheca as in Fig. 20 , distal portion of capsule with large cuticular invagination.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Based on the primary and secondary sexual characters, as well as external characters (habitus, punctation, microsculpture), O. robustior is undoubtedly closely related to O. abdominalis . It is distinguished from this species by somewhat larger size and more robust habitus, the darker coloration particularly of the head and pronotum, the longer antennae with less transverse antennomeres V-X, as well as by the larger size and different shape of the median lobe of the aedeagus, the differently shaped internal structures of the aedeagus, and the morphology of the spermatheca. For illustrations of the primary sexual characters of O. abdominalis see Figs 10 , 17, 24 . Aside from O. abdominalis , the only other species currently attributed to the subgenus Sphenoma and reported from Middle Asia is O. aulica PACE, 1984 which was originally described from the Karakorum range, and subsequently reported also from Nepal, Kashmir, and Kazakhstan ( SMETANA 2004). From this species, O. robustior is distinguished by larger size ( O. aulica : approximately 3 mm), darker coloration of the head and pronotum, and the primary sexual characters. For illustrations of O. aulica see PACE (1984).

E t y m o l o g y: The name (Latin, comparative of the adjective robustus: robust) refers to the shape of the body, one of the characters separating O. robustior from the similar O. abdominalis .

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: ThetypelocalityissituatedinSemnan province, Elburz mountain range, northeastern Iran. The specimens were collected at an altitude of approximately 2200 m.

Figures

Figs 1-9: Oxypoda robustior nov.sp. (1-4), O. kirghisica nov.sp. (5-6), and O. barbarica nov.sp. (7-9): (1, 5, 7) habitus; (2, 6, 8) forebody; (3, 9) antenna; (4) abdomen. Scale bars: 1-2, 4-8: 1.0 mm; 3, 9: 0.5 mm.

Figs 10-16: Oxypoda abdominalis (MANNERHEIM) (10), O. kirghisica nov.sp. (11-12), O. robustior nov.sp. (13-14), and O. barbarica nov.sp. (15-16): (10-11, 13, 15-16) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (12, 14) ventral process of median lobe in ventral view. Scale bar: 0.2 mm.

Figs 17-25: Oxypoda abdominalis (MANNERHEIM) (17, 24), O. kirghisica nov.sp. (18-19), O. robustior nov.sp. (20), and O. barbarica nov.sp. (21-23, 25; 21-22: Morocco; 23: S-Spain): (17-23) spermatheca; (24-25) ventral process of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bar: 0.2 mm.