Cypha spathulata ASSING , 2007

Assing, V., 2014, Three new species, redescriptions, a new synonymy, and additional records of Cypha from the West Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 46 (2), pp. 1167-1178 : 1168

Cypha spathulata ASSING, 2007

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Italy: 1, Abruzzo, Palena (CH), Valico Forchetta , 1270 m, beech forest, 1.VIII.2002, leg. Angelini (cAss) ; 1, Basilicata, Pignola , Ris. WWF L. Pignola ( PZ), 700 m, 27.X.1995, leg. Angelini (cAss) ; 1, Calabria, Aspromonte, San Luca ( RC), 200 m, grassland, 28.IV.2002, leg. Angelini (cAss) .

C o m m e n t: Cypha spathulata was previously known from Turkey, Spain, and Portugal ( ASSING 2007). The possibility that the name is synonymic with C. lindbergi (PALM, 1935) , which was originally described from Morocco, cannot be ruled out with certainty. The illustrations of the aedeagus of C. lindbergi provided in the original description, particularly that of the median lobe of the aedeagus in lateral view, are too poor for a reliable identification. A revision of the type material is required to clarify the identity of C. lindbergi . The above males are distinguished from material seen from other regions by slight differences in the shape of the ventral process of the aedeagus (subapically more slender, apex shorter and more transverse in ventral view). In the three Italian males, the shape of the aedeagus is constant. Nevertheless, until more material suggesting otherwise is available, the observed differences are attributed to intraspecific variation.