Sunius bohaci, Assing & A, 2008

Assing, V. & A, North, 2008, A revision of the Sunius species of the Western Palaearctic region and Middle Asia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 40 (1), pp. 5-135 : 111-113

4.68. Sunius bohaci nov.sp. ( Figs 193-197 , Map 23 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3: "USSR - Tajikistan, Kara-tau Mt. , pr. Nurek, 1600 m, Boháč lgt., 23.4.83 / Holotypus 3 Sunius bohaci sp. n. det. V. Assing 2007" (cAss) . Paratypes: 8 exs.: same data as holotype (cBoh, cAss) ; 1 ex.: same data, but "24.4.83" (cAss) .

Head usually weakly oblong, 1.02-1.05 times as long as wide; puncturation in anterior half of dorsal surface coarse and rather sparse; posterior half of dorsal surface with sparser puncturation, sometimes almost impunctate; microsculpture absent. Eyes approximately 1/3 the length of postocular region in dorsal view ( Fig. 193 ).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Small species, 2.4-2.8 mm. Coloration: forebody brown to dark brown, with the pronotum often somewhat paler; abdomen blackish, except for the slightly paler apex (segmentsVIII-X); legs and antennae yellowish brown.

Pronotum slender and small in relation to head, approximately 1.1 times as long as wide and 0.85-0.90 times as wide as head; puncturation coarser and denser than that of head ( Fig. 193 ).

Elytra short, approximately 0.75-0.85 times as long and about as broad as pronotum; humeral angles practically obsolete ( Fig. 193 ); puncturation finer and less defined than that of pronotum; interstices with or without shallow microsculpture.

Abdomen approximately 1.15 times as wide as elytra; puncturation fine and moderately dense; microsculpture shallow; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe.

3: sternite VII with posterior margin indistinctly concave, pubescence in posterior median area directed diagonally postero-mediad ( Fig. 196 ); sternite VIII with posterior excision moderately deep and broadly V-shaped ( Fig. 197 ); aedeagus 0.39 mm long, in lateral view with apically acute and subapically moderately angled ventral process; internal sac with two rows of relatively long and slender spines ( Figs 194-195 ).

E t y m o l o g y: The species is dedicated to Jaroslav Boháč, who collected the types of this and the following species.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: From all other species occurring in Middle Asia, except for the two following species, S. bohaci is readily separated by external characters alone, especially the much smaller size, shorter and more slender elytra without humeral angles, as well as by the absence of a palisade fringe at the posterior margin of tergite VII. For characters distinguishing it from S. inflexus and S. pennatus see the following sections.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: The type specimens were collected in one locality near Nurek, Tajikistan ( Map 23 ), at an altitude of 1600 m. Additional bionomic data are not available.

Figures

Map 23: Distributions of species of the S. viator group in Tajikistan, based on examined records: Sunius wrasei (SCHÜLKE) (filled square), S. inflexus nov.sp. (open circle), S. bohaci nov.sp. (filled circle), and S. pennatus nov.sp. (open square). The territory of Tajikistan is highlighted to facilitate geographic recognition.

Figs 193-197: Sunius bohaci nov.sp.: (193) forebody; (194) aedeagus in lateral view; (195) internal structures of aedeagus in lateral view; (196) male sternite VII; (197) male sternite VIII. Scale bars: 193, 196-197: 0.2 mm; 194-195: 0.1 mm.