Silusa bodemeyeri ( EPPELSHEIM 1883)

Assing, V., 2011, Six new species and additional records of Aleocharinae from China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 43 (1), pp. 291-310 : 297-298

Silusa bodemeyeri ( EPPELSHEIM 1883) ( Figs 54-56 )

Leptusa bodemeyeri EPPELSHEIM 1883: 252 ff.

T y p e m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d Lectotype [somewhat damaged], present designation: " / Bodemeyeri mihi, Hungar. mer. Merkl. / Bodemeyeri Eppelsh. Wien. ent. Zeit. II. 1883. p. 252 / Typus / Silusa bodemeyeri (Epp.) , det.: Ádám 2006 / Lectotypus Leptusa bodemeyeri Eppelsheim , desig. V. Assing 2011 / Silusa bodemeyeri (Eppelsheim) , det. V. Assing 2011" ( NHMW) . Paralectotypes: 1 ex. [with most of abdomen missing]: " / Bodemeyeri mihi, Hungar. mer. Merkl. / Silusa près uniplicata / Cotypus / Silusa bodemeyeri (Epp.) , det.: Ádám 2006" ( NHMW) ; 1: "Szekul / Bodemeyeri mihi, Hungar. mer. v. Bodemeyer. / Typus / Silusa bodemeyeri (Epp.) , det.: Ádám 2006" ( NHMW) .

C o m m e n t: The original description is based on few syntypes ("in wenigen Stücken"), among them at least one male and one female, collected by von Bodemeyer "bei Locaia und Szekul in Südungarn" ( EPPELSHEIM 1883), localities today situated in Romania. The species was subsequently moved to the genus Silusa ERICHSON 1837 bei SCHEERPELTZ (1966). Three syntypes - a male, a female, and a specimen with most of the abdomen missing - were located in the collections of the NHMW. The male is designated as the lectotype. Its primary and secondary sexual characters are illustrated in Figs 54-56 .

An examination of the above type material revealed that S. bodemeyeri is a micropterous species with a habitus and short elytra (approximately 0.8 times as long as pronotum) that distinctly resemble those of some micropterous Leptusa species. Until a few years ago, S. bodemeyeri had been recorded only from the southern Carpathians, where it is evidently endemic. Nevertheless, this species was recently reported from Sichuan and Hongkong by PACE (1998a, 2004a). There is little doubt that these records are based on misidentifications. The male from Sichuan was collected by M. Schülke, but it was not found in his collection. However, two female Silusa specimens identified by R. Pace in 1999 as S. bodemeyeri are deposited in the collection of M. Schülke. Both of them are macropterous and they clearly do not refer to S. bodemeyeri . Moreover, they are distinguished from each other by so many prominent characters that they undoubtedly belong to different species. One of them (undissected) is conspecific with the holotype of S. excisa ; the other belongs to a species of uncertain identity. Consequently, S. bodemeyeri is deleted from the list of Chinese Staphylinidae .

Figures

Figs 54-56: Silusa bodemeyeri (EPPELSHEIM), lectotype: (54) male tergite VIII; (55) male sternite VIII; (56) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 54-55: 0.2 mm; 56: 0.1 mm.