Rhopalocerina clavigera ( SCRIBA 1859)

Assing, V., 2012, On the genus Rhopalocerina REITTER (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (2), pp. 1005-1010 : 1006-1007

Rhopalocerina clavigera ( SCRIBA 1859) ( Figs 8 , 13-16 )

Homalota clavigera SCRIBA 1859: 414 .

Gyrophaena clavicornis EPPELSHEIM 1878: 40 .

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Germany: 1 ex., Niedersachen, Hannover, Eilenriede , mixed forest, car-net, 3.VII.1991, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., same data, but 8.VII.1991 (cAss) ; 1 ex., same data, but 15. V.1992 (cAss) ; 1 ex., Niedersachsen, Osnabrück, Sedanstrasse , pitfall trap, IX.1993, leg. Kache (cFel) ; 1 ex., Nordrhein-Westfalen, Porta Westfalica, Wittekindsberg , car-net, 10. VI.1993, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., Nordrhein-Westfalen, Menden, Hönnetal, Klusenstein , sifted, 29.IV.1995, leg. Feldmann (cFel) ; 1 ex., Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Benrath, Schlosspark , mixed forest, pitfall trap, 17.VII.2004, leg. Wenzel (cFel) ; 1 ex., Nordrhein-Westfalen, Wahner Heider, Troisdorf , car-net, IV.1987, leg. Wunderle (cWun) ; 1 ex., Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düren, road Gürzenich to Schevenhütte , car-net, 26. V.1989, leg. Wunderle (cWun). Italy: 1 ex., Lombardia, Bergamo , Val Brembana , Mezzoldo , 46°00'N, 9°40'E, 800 m, 11.VII.2002, leg. Lompe (cAss) ; 2 exs., Liguria, Montoggio, Sanguineto , chestnut litter sifted, 30.IX.1989, leg. Wunderle (cWun) ; 2 exs., Liguria, NW Finale Ligure, Colle de Melogno, 1010 m, beech litter sifted, 12.IX.2001, leg. Wunderle (cWun) ; 1 ex., Veneto, Monte Baldo, Monte Altissimo , 1950 m, shrub litter sifted, 4.X.1996, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., Veneto, Monti Lessini ( VR), E Mga. Campogrosso, 27. V.1996, leg. Schuh & Lang (cAss) ; 12 exs., Campania, Lago Matese ( CE), 1100 m, beech forest, 17. V.2001, leg. Angelini (cAss) ; 3 exs., Toscana, Vallombrosa , 43°43'N, 11°33'E, 1150 m, 17.IX.2002, leg. Meybohm (cAss) ; 1 ex., Umbria, SE Terni, 10 km S Leonetta, Monti Reatini , 1400 m, beech litter sifted, 3. VI.2000, leg. Wunderle (cWun) ; 4 exs., Calabria, Monti Orsomarso, Grisolia, Pantanelli ( CS), 670 m, beech forest, 4.VIII.1989, leg. Angelini (cAss). Serbia: 1 ex., Gramada planina, S Sastav Reka, 29.IV.2007, leg. Stévanović (cAss). Macedonia: 1 ex., Šar planina, Popova shapka, 5.-11.VI.1955, leg. Schubert (cAss). Greece: 1 ex., Ioánnina, Oros Mitsikéli, road Dikórifo to Manassís, 970 m, subterranean trap, leg. Giachino & Vailati (cAss) ; 1 ex., Fthiotis, Parnassos Oros, ski resort, 38°33'N, 22°35'E, 1760 m, Abies forest , litter sifted, 15.IV.2000, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 2 exs., Parnassos , road to ski resort, 38°34'N, 22°34'E, 1700 m, fir litter near snow sifted, 15.IV.2000, leg. Wunderle (cWun) ; 1 ex., Fthiotis, 40 km W Lamía, bank of Sperchios river , 38°56'N, 21°59'E, floodplain forest, 16.IV.2000, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 2 exs., Pelopónnisos, Erimanthos, above Kalentzi, 37°57'N, 21°47'E, 1200 m, Abies forest , sifted, 1.IV.1997, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., Pelopónnisos, Parnon Oros , 1100-1450 m, pine and fir litter sifted, 13. VI.1996, leg. Wunderle (cWun). Turkey: see ASSING (2007) .

C o m m e n t: The original description of Homalota clavigera is based on two syntypes from Germany ( SCRIBA 1859). An exact locality is not specified, but it can be assumed that they were collected in Hessen, where the author lived. Gyrophaena

clavicornis was described from "Siebenbürgen" (today in Romania), based on "2 oder 3 Ex. " ( EPPELSHEIM 1878), and subsequently synonymized with R. clavigera .

D i a g n o s i s: The species is readily distinguished from other West Palaearctic Homalotini by the following character combination: body small (body length: 1.7-2.5 mm; length of forebody: 0.9-1.2 mm); head approximately as long as broad, widest anteriorly (across eyes); antennae conspicuously incrassate apically, clavate (antennomeres IV-X strongly transverse, at least twice as wide as long); forebody with pronounced microreticulation; punctation of forebody extremely fine, barely noticeable in the microsculpture; elytra much broader than pronotum and posteriorly widened; abdomen broad, widest at segments V or VI, almost as broad as elytra; punctation of abdomen conspicuously sparse and fine, barely noticeable in the microreticulation; median lobe of aedeagus small and with deeply bifid ventral process ( Figs 13-15 ); spermatheca ( Fig. 8 ) with long and fully developed proximal portion, resembling that of many Athetini. The four-jointed mesotarsus is illustrated in Fig. 16.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: According to SMETANA (2004), R. clavigera is distributed from the Balkans and Russia across Central Europe and Italy to France and Great Britain. Recently, the species was also recorded from northeastern Turkey ( ASSING 2007). The above specimens from Macedonia and Serbia represent new country records.

Rather little is known about the ecology of the species. According to HORION (1967), it has mainly been found in litter and debris of beech forests. The examined material was primarily collected by sifting leaf litter of various forest (beech, fir, boxwood, chestnut, and alder forests, floodplain forest) and subalpine shrub habitats at a wide range of altitudes, from near sea-level to 1950 m. However, the overall rarity of records suggests that the reproduction habitat is essentially unknown and cryptic, a conclusion supported also by the fact that one specimen was collected in a subterranean pitfall trap. On several occasions R. clavigera was caught on the wing with car-nets during the period from April through July.

Figures

Figs 1-8: Rhopalocerina sinica nov.sp. (1-7) and R. clavigera from Greece (8): (1) habitus; (2) forebody; (3) median portion of head; (4) antenna; (5) median portion of male pronotum; (6) median portion of tergite VI; (7-8) spermatheca. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2: 0.5 mm; 3-8: 0.1 mm.

Figs 9-16: Rhopalocerina sinica nov.sp. (9-12) and R. clavigera from Greece (13-16): (9-10, 13) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (11, 14) median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (12, 15) apical portion of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (16) mesotarsus. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.