Pelioptera Kraatz, 1857

Gusarov, Vladimir I., 2002, A revision of Nearctic species of the genus Tropimenelytron Pace, 1983 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), a new genus for North America, Zootaxa 114, pp. 1-24 : 19-20

Pelioptera Kraatz, 1857 ( Figs. 22­34 )

Pelioptera Kraatz, 1857: 55 (Type species P. m i c a n s Kraatz, 1857, by subsequent designation by Fenyes (1918)).

Termitopora Motschulsky, 1859: 91 (Type species Termitopora adustipennis Motschulsky, 1859 , by monotypy).

Discussion. The species currently included in Pelioptera ( Sawada 1980, 1982, 1987, 1989; Pace 1985b, 1986, 1987b, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996) often have very different structures of internal sac. As currently defined ( Sawada 1980; Pace 1991), Pelioptera appears to be an artificial group which includes the athetines with widely separated mesocoxae and broad ligula split into two lobes. A thorough revision of Pelioptera is required. The differences between the type species of Pelioptera and the genus Tropimenelytron are listed in the diagnosis of the latter.

Pelioptera micans and P. testaceipennis ( Motschulsky, 1858) share short and broadly truncate mesosternal process, broad and long metasternal process ( Figs. 24­25 ), and long flagellum­like copulatory piece of internal sac ( Figs. 29, 34 ). These characters may be autapomorphies of Pelioptera . However, the two species differ in the number of asetose pores of prementum ( Figs. 22­23 ). Among the species of Pelioptera illustrated by Sawada and Pace only two species have similar flagellum­like copulatory piece: P. baliensis Pace, 1987 b from Bali, Indonesia and P. dimidiata Pace, 1995 from Rwanda.

Pelioptera exasperata ( Kraatz, 1859) differs from P. m i c a n s in having narrower mesosternal and metasternal processes ( Figs. 26, 24 ), and short apical process of the copulatory piece ( Figs. 32, 29 ). Pelioptera exasperata and closely related P. opaca Kraatz, 1857 probably do not belong to Pelioptera .

According to published descriptions and illustrations, the diagnostic characters of Tropimenelytron are displayed by the following two species placed in Pelioptera by Sawada (1980): P. peguana ( Bernhauer, 1915) from Burma ( Fig. 14 in Sawada 1980) and P. unica ( Bernhauer, 1907) from Japan ( Fig. 15 in Sawada 1977). These two species are similar to other species of Tropimenelytron in the shape of ligula, the distribution of pores on the prementum, the shape of the median lobe of aedeagus, the copulatory piece and the medial lamellae of internal sac, and male secondary sexual characters (longitudinal carina on each elytron, medial tubercles or carinae on abdominal terga 3­4 and 7). I transfer these two species to Tropimenelytron , and the new combinations are T. peguanum and T. unicum .

A list of examined specimens of P. m i c a n s, P. testaceipennis and P. exasperata and known synonyms of these names are given below.

Figures

FIGURES 22 ­ 26. Details of Pelioptera testaceipennis (Motschulsky) (syntype of P. longicornis Cameron from Sumatra, Indonesia (22, 25 )), P. m i c a n s Kraatz (Sri Lanka (23 ­ 24 )) and P. exasperata (Kraatz) (Dehra Dun, India (26 )). 22 ­ 23 – prementum, ventral view; 24 ­ 26 – mesometathorax, ventral view. Scale bar 0.15 mm (23), 0.2 mm (22), 0.4 mm (24, 26), 0.8 mm (25).

FIGURES 27 ­ 34. Male genitalia of Pelioptera micans Kraatz (syntype from Sri Lanka (27 ­ 29 )), P. exasperata (Kraatz) (Dehra Dun, India (30 ­ 32 )) and P. testaceipennis (Motschulsky) (Java, Indonesia (33 ­ 34 )). 27, 30, 33 – median lobe of aedeagus, parameral view; 28 – apex of median lobe, parameral view; 29 – copulatory piece of internal sac, lateral view; 31, 34 – median lobe of aedeagus, lateral view; 32 – copulatory piece of internal sac, parameral view. Scale bar 0.2 mm (28 ­ 29, 32), 0.4 mm (27, 30 ­ 31, 33 ­ 34).

FIGURES 12 ­ 15. Details of Tropimenelytron americanum Gusarov, sp. n. (paratype from Eau Claire, Wisconsin). 12 – pronotum; 13 – mesometathorax, ventral view; 14 – right antenna; 15 – right metatarsus. Scale bar 0.4 mm (12 ­ 14), 0.2 mm (15).