Quedius (Raphirus) nonseriatus Solodovnikov

Yu, A. & Solodovnikov, 2005, New and little known species of Quedius from West Palaearctic (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Zootaxa 902, pp. 1-13 : 8-9

Quedius (Raphirus) nonseriatus Solodovnikov , sp. nov.

Type material. GEORGIA: holotype: 1 ɗ, “Caucasus, Swanetien, Leder, Reitter/ Quedius obliqueseriatus Epph typisch [not in Eppelsheims handwriting] / golden circle/ Quedius obliqueseriatus J. Boh ảč det. 1983” [not a type of Quedius obliqueseriatus , see below] ( ZIN); Paratype: 1 ɗ, “Kaukas Leder/ Swanetien/ 154/ c. Eppels. Steind. d./ obliqueseriatus Epp. Type ” ( NMW).

Description. Measurements (min–max; n=2): HL: 1.14–1.21; HW: 1.40–1.55; PL: 1.57–1.71; PW: 1.84–1.93; EL: 1.29–1.43; EW: 1.43–1.86. Body length 8.7–8.8 mm.

Head and abdomen brown; disk of pronotum and elytra reddish­brown; palpi, antennae, legs, margins of pronotum and posterior margins of abdominal tergites yellowishbrown; body glossy, abdomen slightly iridescent. Habitus as in Fig. 1 .

Head vaguely transverse, tempora half as long as longitudinal diameter of eye; upper surface with microsculpture of transverse waves. Infraorbital ridges well developed through entire length of head, from about its base to base of mandibles. Labrum short, bilobed. Mandibles without well developed dorso­lateral groove. Apical segments of maxillary and labial palps fusiform. Disc of head with pairs of anterior and posterior frontal punctures, and pair of vertical punctures: posterior frontal puncture closer to posterior margin of head than to anterior frontal puncture; temporal puncture closer to posterior margin of eye than to posterior margin of head; vertical puncture closer to posterior margin of head than to posterior margin of eye. Antennae moderately long; antennomeres: 2nd shorter than 3rd, 4th–10th of rather equal length, 6th–10th obviously wider than 4th and 5th; 4th–11th densely pubescent.

Pronotum wider than long, widest at and behind its middle, narrowed anteriad; hind angles rounded but distinct; dorsal rows each with three punctures; sublateral rows each consisting of one to two punctures; waves of microsculpture oblique, vaguely denser than those on head; microsculpture on anterior angles of pronotum transversally reticulate. Prosternum with longitudinal keel and pair of long macrosetae. Scutellum impunctate, with transverse microsculpture as on pronotum. Elytra short, parallel­sided, wider than long, shorter than pronotum and much narrower than maximum width of pronotum; punctation very dense and shallow, interspaces smaller than diameter of punctures, glossy, with vague minute irregularities; pubescence gray. Wings reduced.

Abdomen with tergite VII (5th visible) without distinct apical seam of palisade fringe; punctation sparse and superficial, gradually becoming sparser towards apex of abdomen; pubescence as on elytra; interspaces with very superficial transverse irregularities.

Male. Protarsi with dilated tarsomeres I–IV, which ventrally have whitish adhesive setae. Sternite VIII with acute triangular medio­apical emargination. Tergite X cordate with rounded weakly sclerotized apical margin and apical setae slightly longer than rare general setation. Sternite IX long, gradually narrowed apicad, with wide basal portion and vaguely bilobed apical margin, with long apical setae and shorter general setation. Aedeagus ( Figs 5–7 ): median lobe with huge basal part and lanceolate (in dorsal or ventral view) apical portion; apical part of median lobe with tooth dorsally (at side adjacent to paramere). Paramere more or less parallel­sided, its rounded apex reaching apex of median lobe, with two pairs of setae apically and two pairs of longer setae laterally below apex, with 30–36 sensory peg setae arranged in two longitudinal groups. Internal sac (as seen through the walls of median lobe) with two groups of stronger sclerotized microstructures.

Female unknown.

Comparison. Quedius nonseriatus is closely related to Q. brachypterus Coiffait, 1967 and Q. lgockii Roubal, 1911 (recently revised in Solodovnikov 2004) and is especially similar (and obviously phylogenetically close) to Q. henrii sp. n. (see below). From all three listed species, Q. nonseriatus can be easily distinguished by the pale (not piceous black) coloration of the body, and by minor details in the shape of the aedeagus (see Figs. 5–7 here, and Figs. 14 –19 in Solodovnikov 2004).

The two known specimens of Quedius nonseriatus had been labeled in the examined collections as Q. obliqueseriatus Eppelsheim, 1889 (for details see Q. obliqueseriatus in Solodovnikov 2004). The new species differs from Q. obliqueseriatus in having only two pairs of punctures on the head disk behind the eyes (posterior frontal puncture and vertical puncture in each pair), and in the structure of the aedeagus (a different form of the median lobe and the paramere; a different shape of the internal sclerotized structures; smaller number and sparser arrangement of the sensory peg setae of the paramere). Also, the two species are allopatric.

Remarks. The holotype and the paratype of Q. nonseriatus have old labels, erroneously indicating that these specimens are types of Q. obliqueseriatus . These labels are not in Eppelsheims handwriting and thus cannot be credited to him. The true types of Q. obliqueseriatus are listed in Solodovnikov (2004).

Distribution. Probably the new species was collected in the area of the Svanetsky range in Georgia. Except the available labels, which say “Caucasus, Swanetien”, no additional data are known.

Bionomics. Unknown.

Etymology. The name is composed from Latin ” non ” and part of the species name “ obliqueseriatus ”, and refers to the history of confusion of the new species with Quedius obliqueseriatus .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Quedius species, habitus. 1 Q. nonseriatus sp. nov., holotype; 2 Q. henrii sp. nov., holotype; 3 Q. humosus sp. nov., holotype; 4 Q. walteri Korge.

FIGURES 5 – 17. Quedius species, aedeagi. 5 – 7 Q. nonseriatus sp. nov.; 8 – 10 Q. henrii sp. nov.; 11 – 13 Q. humosus sp. nov.; 14 – 17 Q. walteri Korge; 5, 8, 11, 14 aedeagus laterally; 6, 9, 12, 15 aedeagus dorsally (parameral side); 7, 10, 13, 16 apical portion of paramere ventrally (side adjacent to median lobe); 17 apical portion of paramere latero­ventrally.