Bryaxis biokovensis, Bekchiev, Rostislav & Hlaváč, Peter, 2016

Bekchiev, Rostislav & Hlaváč, Peter, 2016, New and interesting species of the genus Bryaxis Kugelann, 1794 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae) from Croatia, Zootaxa 4144 (1), pp. 109-116 : 113

Bryaxis biokovensis sp. nov.

( Fig. 3 )

Material examined. Holotype: Croatia: 1 Ƌ: Croatia, Biokovo, near špilja Ledenica, sifting in forest close to cave entrance, 11.10.2014, leg. P. Hlaváč ( PCPH) .

Description. Body ( Fig. 3 a) pale reddish-brown, antennae, maxillary palpi and legs slightly lighter, length 1.56 mm, max width 0.62 mm. Pubescence on head, pronotum and elytra gold, short, dense, and suberected. Head 0.8 times as long as wide. Frons with, shallow, triangular impression between antennal tubercles; rostrum oval anteriorly. Vertex flat, with thin median longitudinal carina, reaching frontal triangular impression; frontal fovea absent, vertexal foveae very small, their diameter smaller than the distance between them. Eyes with medium size, with about 15 facets each. Maxillary palpi normally developed, with small, sparse tubercles on external part of apex of palpomeres II and III, terminal palpomere 0.20 mm long, about 0.33 times as long as wide. Gular region flat, without modifications. Antennae about 0.63 mm long, scape ( Fig. 3 b) with very small, flat tubercle on the apex, 2.40–2.80 times as long as pedicel; pedicel simple ( Fig. 3 b), 1.5 times as long as wide; antennomeres III–VII elongate, III 1.6 times as long as IV, IV–V subequal in length, slightly longer than subequal antennomeres VI and VII, VIII smallest, as long as wide, IX quadrate, about 1.25 times as wide as VIII, X 0.7 times as long as wide and 1.25 times as long as IX, terminal antennomere largest, fusiform, about twice as long as wide. Pronotum 0.9 as long as wide and 1.35 times as long as head, widest in anterior third, with thin antebasal sulcus connecting large lateral foveae, median fovea absent. Elytra 1.06 times as wide as long, slightly convex, with two basal foveae and entire sutural striae, discal striae absent. Legs slender, tibia I with shalow preapical indentation on inner margin, II simple, III with small internal apical spur. Aedeagus ( Fig. 3 c–d) elongate, 0.39 mm long, 2,80 times as long as wide, strongly narrowed to apex of apical lobe, with three short preapical setae, endophallus with two thin, separated, equal, apically sharply pointed sclerotized pieces.

Sexual dimorphism. Females unknown.

Differential diagnosis. Bryaxis biokovensis is very distinctive in the shape of the scape, gular region and the aedeagus, and at present cannot be clearly assigned to any other known species.

Biology. Found from leaf litter samples in forest litter near the entrance of cave Ledenica.

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Biokovo Mountain, where the species was discovered.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Bryaxis biokovensis sp. nov. a. Habitus, male (scale bar— 1 mm). b. scape and pedicel, dorsal view (scale bar— 0.1 mm). c, d. Aedeagus, ventral (c) and lateral (d) view (scale bar— 0.2 mm).