Trichodromeus ottoi, Shavrin, 2025

Shavrin, Alexey V., 2025, A new species of Trichodromeus Luze, 1903 from Afghanistan, and a new combination (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Anthophagini), Zootaxa 5566 (1), pp. 197-200 : 197-199

Trichodromeus ottoi sp. nov.

( Figs 1–3 )

Type material examined. Holotype ♂: ‘ ♂ ’ <printed>, ‘ J. Klapperich | Anjuman-Pass | 4000 m Anjuman .’ <printed>, ‘Geb., Badakschan | 11.8.[19]52, NO. Afghan.’ <printed>, ‘TYPUS | Geodromicus [handwritten in black] | badagschanensis [handwritten in black] | O. Scheerpeltz’ <red, printed>, ‘ Geodromicus | badagschanensis | n. sp.’ <handwritten in black>, ‘HOLOTYPE | Trichodromeus | ottoi sp.n. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2024’ <red, printed> ( NMW).

Paratypes: 10 ♀♀: ‘ ♀ ’ <printed>, ‘ J. Klapperich | Anjuman-Pass | 4000 m Anjuman .’ <printed>, ‘Geb., Badakschan | 11.8.[19]52, NO. Afghan.’ <printed>, ‘TYPUS | Geodromicus [handwritten in black] | badagschanensis [handwritten in black] | O. Scheerpeltz’ <red printed label> (1 ♀: cSh; 9 ♀♀: NMW); 15 ♂♂ (two specimens dissected): same four labels as in the holotype (1 ♂: cSh; 14 ♂♂: NMW); 5 ♂♂ (two specimens dissected): ‘♂’ <printed>, ‘ J. Klapperich | Anjuman-Pass | 4000 m Anjuman .’ <printed>, ‘Geb., Badakschan | 11.8.[19]52, NO. Afghan .’ <printed>, ‘ ex coll. | Scheerpeltz’ <blue, printed>, ‘TYPUS | Geodromicus [handwritten in black] | badagschanensis [handwritten in black] | O. Scheerpeltz’ <red, printed>, ‘ Geodromicus | badagschanensis | n. sp.’ <handwritten in black> ( NMW); 4 ♀♀: ‘♀’ <printed>, other labels as the previous ( NMW). All paratypes with additional red printed label: ‘PARATYPE | Trichodromeus | ottoi sp.n. | Shavrin A.V. des. 2024’.

Description. Measurements (n=37): maximum width of head including eyes: 0.69–0.76; length of head (from base of labrum to posterior constriction along head midline): 0.49–0.56; ocular length (longitudinal): 0.18–0.22; length of temple: 0.12–0.15; length of antenna (holotype): 2.11; length of pronotum: 0.69–0.75; maximum width of pronotum: 0.85–0.96; minimum width of pronotum: 0.71–0.74; sutural length of elytra (length of elytra from apex of scutellum to posterior margin of sutural angle): 1.29–1.38; maximum width of elytra: 1.34–1.41; length of metatibia (holotype): 1.00; length of metatrsus (holotype): 0.39 (metatarsomeres 1–4: 0.27; metatarsomere 5: 0.12); maximum width of abdomen: 1.34–1.38; length of aedeagus (from base of median lobe to apex of parameres): 0.68–0.82; total length of body (from anterior margin of clypeus to apex of abdomen): 4.00–5.34 (holotype: 4.15).

Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Body brown to reddish-brown, with yellow-brown to brown elytra, usually with distinctly darkened mediobasal and median portions; mouthparts, antenna and legs yellowish to yellow-brown (antenna sometimes darker); apical maxillary palpomere and tarsi yellow. Head with distinct and irregular microsculpture: dense, fine and transverse on clypeus, isodiametric in portions between anteriomedian depression and eyes, with dense and coarse transverse meshes in middle and dense isodiametric microreticulation on infraorbital portions; neck with dense and coarse isodiametric microsculpture; pronotum with dense isodiametric sculpture, finer and sometimes indistinct in mediobasal portion; scutellum with dense transverse microreticulation; elytra without meshes; abdominal tergites with dense transverse microsculpture, sometimes finer on abdominal tergite VII. Pubescence of forebody moderately dense, somewhat longer in frontal part of head; pubescence of abdomen dense and fine, longer and and sometimes denser in middle of abdominal tergites IV–VI.

Head 1.3–1.4 times as broad as long, with strongly elevated supra-antennal prominences and infraorbital portions; anteriomedian depression wide and deep, strongly narrowed basad; interocellar depression subrectangular, deep, narrow or moderately wide; anteocellar foveae indistinct or distinct, deep and long, strongly convergent latero-anteriad toward level of middle or anterior third of eyes (some paratypes without distinct anteocellar foveae); temples convex, moderately long, 1.4–1.5 times as long as longitudinal length of eyes if seen dorsally. Ocelli small, but well visible, located at level or slightly below level of posterior margins of eyes; distance between ocelli 1.3–1.6 times as long as distance between ocellus and posterior margin of eye. Eyes moderately large, convex. Punctation irregular and fine, usually denser, larger and deeper on infraorbital portions, but some paratypes with finer and sparser punctation in these parts, median portion in front of interocellar depression without or with several fine punctures; neck without punctures.Apical maxillary palpomere slightly shorter than preceding segment, from widest basal portion strongly narrowed toward acute apex. Antenna reaching basal part of elytra when reclined, with slightly elongate antennomeres 3–10; basal antennomere wide, about two and a half times as long as broad, antennomere 2 distinctly shorter and narrower than basal antennomere, 3 distinctly longer and slightly broader (in apical part) than 3, 4–5 distinctly shorter than 3, 6–10 slightly longer and indistinctly broader than 5, apical antennomere 1.3–1.4 times as long as 10, from about middle gradually narrowed toward acute apex.

Pronotum convex, 1.2 times as broad as long, 1.2 times as broad as head, from widest anterior part strongly narrowed posteriad toward rounded hind angles; frontal part slightly protruded apicad, with widely rounded apical margin, about as long as straight or slightly concaved posterior margin; laterobasal margins somewhat subparallel or indistinctly concave in some paratypes; middle potion with indistinct or distinct longitudinal depression (some paratypes without it); mediobasal portion without depression, but sometimes indistinctly impressed in some specimens; lateral margins narrowly bordered; laterobasal portions widely depressed. Punctation dense, moderately large and deep, finer and sparser in middle and mediobasal portions; interstices between punctures in middle about as long as diameters of two-three nearest punctures. Scutellum without or with several fine punctures.

Elytra somewhat flattened, slightly broader than long and slightly broadened posteriad, 1.8 times as long as pronotum; lateral margins narrowly impressed and sometimes indistinctly reflexed; hind margins widely rounded. Punctation dense, slightly larger and deeper than that on pronotum, finer, denser and coarser around scutellum, finer and sparser along suture. Hind wings fully developed.

Metatarsus more than twice shorter than metatibia; apical metatarsomere more than twice shorter than preceding four segments.

Abdomen about as broad as elytra; middle portions of abdominal tergites IV with two transverse and moderately large tomentose spots; middle portion of abdominal tergite V with two indistinct or distinct oval tomentose spots, smaller than these in tergite IV.

Male. Profemora and protarsomeres 1–4 wide. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII somewhat rounded. Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII widely concave. Aedeagus with broad basal part, gradually narrowed toward wide median lobe; median lobe narrowed in preapical part, gradually narrowed toward subacute apex; parameres short and very narrow, not reaching preapical part of median lobe, without apical setae; dorsal lobes strongly sclerotized, curved in preapical portion; internal sac moderately short and wide, with two fields of short sclerotized spines and long flagellum between them, spirally folded in basal part; preapical part of flagellum widely broadened ( Fig. 2 ). Lateral aspect of the aedeagus as in Fig. 3 .

Female. Profemora and protarsomeres 1–4 narrow. Posterior margins of abdominal tergite VIII somewhat rounded. Posterior margin of abdominal sternite VIII truncate or rounded.

Comparative notes. Based on the general shapes of the body, antennomeres and narrow shortened parameres, T. ottoi sp. nov. is similar to T. salangensis , also described from Hindu Kush Mts. (see below). The new species can be distinguished from the latter species by the slightly narrower pronotum, broader elytra and median lobe, broader and shorter apical part of the aedeagus, and the shape of strongly sclerotized dorsal lobes in apical portion of the median lobe. Besides that, based on the general shape and coloration of the body, and the general shape of the median lobe, T. ottoi sp. nov. is somewhat similar to the Middle Asian T. ketmeniensis (A. Bordoni, 1985) , known from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan ( Shavrin 2024), but differs from it by the smaller body, significantly shorter antennomeres 3–10, longer temples, slightly narrower and longer elytra, significantly shorter and narrower parameres, and details of the morphology of the aedeagus.

Distribution. Trichodromeus ottoi sp. nov. is known only from the type locality in Anjuman (=Anjoman) Pass, Hindu Kush Mts., north-eastern Afghanistan.

Etymology. Patronymic, the species is dedicated to the memory of Otto Scheerpeltz (1888–1975), who marked the studied specimens as a new species but not described it.

Bionomics. Specimens were collected at elevation 4000 m a.s.l. Detailed bionomical data are unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 1–3. Trichodromeus ottoi: 1–habitus (paratype), 2–aedeagus, parameral view, 3–aedeagus, lateral view. Scale bars: 1.0 mm (Fig. 1), 0.1 mm (Figs 2–3).