Saprinus (Saprinus) tyrrhenus Blackburn, 1903

Lackner, Tomas & Leschen, Richard A. B., 2017, A monograph of the Australopacific Saprininae (Coleoptera, Histeridae), ZooKeys 689, pp. 1-263 : 158-163

Saprinus (Saprinus) tyrrhenus Blackburn, 1903 stat. n. Figs 565, 566-577, 578-584, 764

Saprinus tyrrhenus Blackburn, 1903: 106.

Type locality.

Australia: New South Wales: Tolarno.

Type material examined.

Saprinus tyrrhenus Blackburn, 1903: Lectotype, present designation: ♂, with genitalia extracted and glued to the same mounting card as the specimen, basal piece of aedeagus missing, left mesotarsus and right metatarsus missing, with the following labels: "T / 7131 / TORY" (written-printed, possibly this is the original mounting card of the specimen); followed by: "Type / H.T." (red-margined, round, printed label); followed by: "Australia. / Blackburn Coll. / B.M. 1910-236" (printed); followed by: " Saprinus / tyrrhenus , Blackb." (written); followed by: "str. of prost. much nearer / each other than in 1229, but not / close as in 1647. Space btw. / them nitid, impunct. & much more conv. & more pointed in fr. No" (hand-written); followed by: " Saprinus tyrrhenus / Blackburn, 1903 / LECTOTYPE / Des. T. Lackner & R. Leschen 2014" (red label, written) (BMNH). This species has been described from uknown number of specimens and the lectotype designation fixes the identity of the species. Blackburn (1903) mentions the type locality as New South Wales, Tolarno (shown on Fig. 764). Although the lectotype labels do not mention this, we chose to depict the species distribution on the map showing Blackburn’s original type locality as we believe that the type specimen originated from there.

Additional material examined.

AUSTRALIA. New South Wales: 1 ♂, Broken Hill, A.H. Elston Collection (MAMU). South Australia: 1 ♂, side-mounted with terminalia extracted and glued to the same mounting card as the specimen, Millers CK, F. Wood Jones (SAMA).

Biology.

Unknown, presumably similar to congeners.

Distribution.

Known only from three male specimens collected in New South Wales and South Australia, respectively (Fig. 764).

Diagnosis.

This species is generally similar to S. laetus , differing from it by smaller body size, generally finer and sparser punctation of dorsum. The male genitalia of both species are likewise similar, differing chiefly in the shape of spiculum gastrale (compare Figs 473 and 581); the space between the separated parameres of aedeagus is wider in S. laetus than in S. tyrrhenus (compare Figs 475 and 583). Mazur (1997) synonymized this species with S. pseudocyaneus (= S. laetus ) without having examined the type specimens of each species (Mazur, pers. comm. 2013). A very rare species, known only from three specimens hitherto.

Re-description.

Body length: PEL: 2.60-2.75 mm; EL: 1.625-1.75 mm; APW: 1.40-1.50 mm; PPW: 2.00-2.15 mm; EW: 2.325-2.45 mm.

Body (Fig. 565) round, convex, elytra dark brown, shining, with dark blue to violet metallic luster, pronotum darker, piceous black, with deep green metallic luster; legs, mouthparts and antennae (except for antennal club) light to castaneous brown; antennal club lighter.

Antennal scape (Fig. 566) slightly thickened, finely punctate, with several setae of uneven length; antennal club round (Figs 567-568) covered with moderately dense short sensilla intermingled with sparse longer erect setae; sensory structures of antennal club (Fig. 568) in a form of one oval sensory patch situated on internal distal part of the antennal club; vesicle(s) not examined.

Mandibles dorso-laterally finely punctate, rounded, outer margin carinate; labrum convex, with deep median depression; labral pits present, each with a single labral seta; other mouthparts not examined.

Clypeus (Fig. 566) with slight median depression, anterior margin slightly elevated, finely punctate; frontal and supraorbital striae complete; frontal disc (Fig. 566) finely and sparsely punctate, punctures separated several times their diameter; eyes convex, well visible from above.

Pronotal sides (Fig. 565) moderately narrowing anteriorly, apical angles prominent, pronotal depressions very shallow but present, anterior incision for head deep, semicircular; marginal pronotal stria complete, carinate, visible along its entire length from dorsal view; pronotal disc laterally with a band of deep dense elongate punctures originating approximately in pronotal depressions, but not reaching basal angles of pronotum, between it and pronotal margin a narrow smooth band present; rest of the pronotal disc with only scattered microscopic punctation; double row of fine ovoid punctures present along pronotal base not reaching ante-scutellar area; pronotal hypomeron with short sparse setae; scutellum small, visible.

Elytral epipleura almost glabrous; marginal epipleural stria complete; marginal elytral stria well impressed and slightly carinate, continued as complete apical elytral stria. Humeral elytral stria well impressed on basal third; inner subhumeral stria present as a short median fragment; four dorsal elytral striae 1-4 well impressed, in fine punctures, first, second and in the paratype also third dorsal elytral striae apically ending short of elytral half (in the case of holotype third elytral stria shortened basally), fourth dorsal elytral stria shortened, present as a short basal fragment (in the case of paratype present as an intermittent somewhat longer stria), basally not connected with sutural elytral stria; sutural elytral stria well-impressed, in fine punctures, abbreviated on basal third, apically connected with apical elytral stria; elytral disc on apical half (roughly) punctate, punctures fine, sparse, separated by several times their diameter; punctures becoming finer and sparser apically, rest of elytral disc (including elytral flanks) glabrous.

Propygidium (Fig. 569) on basal half glabrous, on apical half punctate, punctures separated by their own to twice their own diameter; pygidium (Fig. 569) with similar, if somewhat sparser punctation, becoming even sparser apically.

Anterior margin of median portion of prosternum (Fig. 570) rounded; marginal prosternal stria present laterally and also as short medial fragment; prosternal process between carinal prosternal striae slightly convex, sparsely and finely punctate; carinal prosternal striae carinate, bisinuate, not united in front (Fig. 570); lateral prosternal striae carinate, rather short, apically attaining carinal prosternal striae at about two-thirds of their length.

Discal marginal mesoventral stria (Fig. 571) well impressed, carinate, inwardly arcuate anteriorly; disc with sparse microscopic punctation; meso-metaventral sutural stria indicated by a row of large punctures; intercoxal disc of metaventrite flattened, with slight longitudinal median depression; disc of metaventrite for the most part almost glabrous, only with scattered microscopic punctation, behind metacoxa several larger punctures appear; lateral metaventral stria (Fig. 572) well impressed, carinate, almost straight, shortened, not reaching metacoxa; lateral disc of metaventrite (Fig. 572) slightly concave, with dense shallow large setigerous punctures; metepisternum (Fig. 572) similar, but with deeper and larger punctures almost without setae, on fused metepimeron punctures becoming much sparser, almost absent; metepisternal stria absent.

Intercoxal disc of first abdominal ventrite completely striate laterally; disc near metacoxa with several shallow punctures of various sizes; rest of sternite with scattered microscopic punctation, almost glabrous.

Protibia (Fig. 573) slightly dilated, outer margin with four rather large triangular teeth topped by large denticle, teeth and denticles diminishing in size proximally, followed by two minute denticles; setae of outer row regularly spaced, rather long; protarsal groove deep; anterior protibial stria present on basal two-thirds, next obliterated; setae of median row shorter and sparser than those of outer row; two tarsal denticles present near tarsal insertion; protibial spur large, bent, growing out from apical margin of protibia; apical margin of protibia ventrally with three minuscule denticles; outer part of posterior surface (Fig. 574) slightly obscurely variolate, separated from glabrous and narrow median part of posterior surface by a ridge-like stria bearing a row of well-sclerotized rather long setae; posterior protibial stria complete, bearing almost along its entire length a sparse row of setae becoming thicker apically; inner row of setae double and dense.

Mesotibia (Fig. 575) rather slender, outer margin with six denticles situated on low teeth, another row of six shorter denticles positioned on knobs situated on anterior surface of mesotibia; setae of outer row regular, sparse, strongly sclerotized, almost as long as (or even longer than) denticles themselves; setae of median row shorter and finer; posterior mesotibial stria shortened apically, almost complete; anterior surface of mesotibia (Fig. 576) sparsely punctate; anterior mesotibial stria almost complete; mesotibial spur stout, short; apical margin of mesotibia anteriorly with several short, closely-set denticles; inner margin of mesotibia with sparse row of short setae; claws of apical tarsomere bent, longer than half its length; metatibia (Fig. 577) slenderer and longer than mesotibia, in all aspects similar to it, but denticles on outer margin even sparser and knobs on which they are positioned even lower; setae of outer row longer than those of mesotibia.

Male genitalia. Eighth sternite (Figs 578-579) fused medially, apically with several short setae, vela present, asetose; eighth tergite and eighth sternite fused laterally (Fig. 580). Ninth tergite (Figs 581-582) typical for the subfamily; tenth tergite basally inwardly arcuate; spiculum gastrale (Fig. 581) gradually dilated on most of its apical half; apex medially with deep emargination, apices connected by sclerotized ‘bridge’; basal end outwardly arcuate. Aedeagus (Figs 583-584) on basal half (roughly) parallel-sided, parameres fused along their basal half (roughly), thence widely separated, apices of separated parameres with microscopic setae mesally; aedeagus medially somewhat thickened; basal piece of aedeagus short, ratio of its length: length of parameres 1: 4.5; aedeagus curved from lateral view (Fig. 584).