Lesteva martinae, Zanetti, 2008

Zanetti, A., 2008, Description of Lesteva martinae nov. sp. from Central Italy (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae: Omaliinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 40 (1), pp. 993-997 : 993-995

Lesteva martinae nov.sp. ( Fig. 5)

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype, 10 paratypes, 4 paratypes Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo ( Italy, Abruzzo, province of L’Aquila ) La Camosciara N side 1200m 24.IX.2000 wet musk on stones along stream leg. Osella (holotype and 9 paratypes MCSNV, 5 paratypes CZA); 1 paratype

and 1 paratype Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo (AQ) La Camosciara rif. Belvedere della Liscia 1500m 12.VII.1998 musk near waterfall leg. M. Zanetti (CZA) ; 4 paratypes, 2 paratypes Isola del Gran Sasso ( Italy, Abruzzo, province of Teramo) Pretara Cascata del Ruzzo 22.II.2004 musk on mountainside leg. Di Egidio (4 paratypes MCSNV, 2 paratypes CZA) .

M e a s u r e m e n t s o f h o l o t y p e (mm): Length of head (clypeus/neck): 0.51; width of head: 0.74; length of pronotum: 0.74; width of pronotum: 0.81; length of antenna: 1.96; length of elytra (shoulder/apex): 1.40; width of elytra: 1.4; length from clypeus to apex of elytra: 2.7; total length (with extended abdomen): 3,9.

E t y m o l o g y: The new species is dedicated to my daughter Martina, who collected the first two specimens (La Camosciara, 12.VII.1998).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Head, pronotum, elytra and abdomen brown, elytra feebly reddish along the suture in the discal area, abdomen with two or sometimes three apical segments more or less distinctly yellowish brown, legs variable, from entirely yellowish brown to brown with the proximal parts of femora and tarsi yellowish brown. Antennae yellowish brown with the 3 rd -9 th segments often darkened.

Head with rather prominent eyes, anteocellar depressions deep, surface with scarce microsculpture, much more marked on the neck, and fine, dense and regular puncturation, with long and weakly decumbent pubescence. Antennae rather long, with 1 st and 11 th segment subequal in length, and all the other, about 0.75 times as long as the 1 st, feebly enlarged from the 2 nd, which is about twice as long as wide, to the 10 th, which is less than twice as long as wide.

Pronotum cordate, widest closely behind the anterior angles, with evident microsculpture and fine and very dense puncturation, rendering the surface rather opaque. Surface with two impressions on either side of the median line and one near the base, these impressions more or less pronounced. Pubescence long and decumbent. Elytra strongly enlarged caudally, flat, as long as wide on average; puncturation fine and dense, somewhat coarser and more confluent than that of pronotum, pubescence long and decumbent. Metathoracic wings developed. Legs of moderate length, metatarsus slightly less than half as long as metatibia. 1 st segment as long as 2 nd and 3 rd together.

Abdomen with fine puncturation and dense decumbent pubescence.

Aedeagus: Figs 1-2 .

Females of similar morphology as males.

Body length 3.7-4.6 mm.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Lesteva martinae nov.sp. is closely related to L. benicki LOHSE 1858 from the Alps and L. aterrima LOHSE 1967 from Spain (Asturias). No exosceletal character distinguish it from the former, but the aedeagus is differently shaped in lateral view, the concavity between the basal bulb and the median lobe is less deep and the median lobe is shorter ( Figs 1-3 ). It is distinguished from L. aterrima by the lighter apical segments of the abdomen (entirely dark in aterrima) and by the shape of the apex of the median lobe, which is obliquely truncated in martinae and progressively narrowed to an acute tip in L. aterrima (fig. 4). L. pubescens MANNERHEIM, 1830 is the most similar species also present in central Italy. It shares with L. martinae the presence of pubescence on the median lobe, which, however, is of completely different shape, wide and not hooked in lateral view ( ZANETTI 1987: 92). The apex of the abdomen is darker and the eyes are less prominent on the average, but specimens may not always be distinguishable from martinae without the examination of the aedeagus.

D i s t r i b u t i o n: The new species is currently known only from the mountains of Abruzzo (Central Italy), in the areas of Gran Sasso d’Italia and Abruzzo National Park. It was reported as Lesteva n.sp. by ZANETTI (2005). The known localities are separated by a distance of about 60 km. Lesteva benicki , the closest species, is spread in the Alps (distribution map in ZANETTI l.c.).

B i o n o m i c s:Allthespecimensofthenewspecieswerecollectedinverywetmusk near waterfalls and streams, at altitudes between 750 and 1500 m. In the site "La Camosciara" (Abruzzo national Park) it was associated with L. corsica PERRIS 1869 , L. luctuosa FAUVEL 1871 and L. monticola KIESENWETTER 1847 , in the site Pretara (Gran Sasso d’Italia) with L. lepontia BAUDI 1879 . L. omissa MULSANT & REY 1880 and L. monticola KIESENWETTER 1847 .

P h e n o l o g y: The specimens were collected in February, July and September.

Figures

Figs 1-4: Aedeagi of Lesteva martinae nov. sp. in dorsal (1) and in lateral view (2) l, of L. benicki LOHSE (3) and L. aterrima LOHSE (4) in lateral view.