Protamaurops J. Müller, 1944

Bekchiev, Rostislav & Hlaváč, Peter, 2020, Endogean and Cavernicolous Coleoptera of the Balkans. XX. Notes on the genus Protamaurops J. Müller, 1944 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) with the description of a new species from Bulgaria, Zootaxa 4779 (3), pp. 367-378 : 368-372

Genus Protamaurops J. Müller, 1944

Protamaurops J. Müller, 1944: 84 . Type species: Amaurops macrophthalma J. Müller, 1944

Protamaurops J. Müller : J. Müller, 1944: 89 (key), 92 (key to species); Karaman, 1961: 153, 164 (diagnosis); Newton & Chan- dler, 1989: 32 (catalogue); Nonveiller & Pavićević, 2008: 263 (key), 265 (catalogue)

Schweigeria Löbl, 1967: 1 . Type species: Schweigeria uludagensis Löbl, 1967 , synonymy in Besuchet, 1986: 258

Redescription. Body ( Fig. 1a ) reddish-brown, covered with long, suberect golden setae; length 2.15–2.65 mm; lateral side of head under ocular spines with long and erected setae.

Head ( Fig. 1b, c , 2a ) wider than long, antennal tubercles prominent; frontal sulcus large, triangular, opened on frontal rostrum, which is triangular and extended anteriorly; with well-defined lateral carinae orginated from anten- nal tubercle and reaching occipital region; with more or less prominent hump, bearing one long ( Fig. 1b ) or tree vertexal carinae of different length, one long, and two short ( Fig. 1c ), punctuation from sparse to dense; with two deep vertexal foveae. Eyes from well-developed to more or less reduced, always with distinct sharp lateral spine ( Figs 1a, b, c ). Maxillary palpi with palpomeres I short, II lengthily pedunculate, III small, IV large and triangular.

Antennae with eleven antennomeres; scape slightly longer than wide or as long as wide; pedicel longer than wide; antennomeres III and IV longer than wide or as long as wide; antennomere V–VII longer than wide, VIII and IX as long as wide, X wider than long and XI longer than wide, antennal club 3-segmented, lacking any modifications, long 0.32–0.37 mm.

Pronotum ( Fig. 2b ) longer than wide, widest in the middle; dorsal keels well-definied, forming acute tooth close to base; area between keels strongly impressed; lateral antebasal foveae deep, connected by weak antebasal sulcus; median antebasal fovea large, connected with thin vertical carina to posterior margin of pronotum; basolateral fo- veae small, not connected by sulcus.

Prosternum with two lateral procoxal foveae ( Fig. 2b , lpcf). Mesoventrite with one, large median mesoventral foveae, with deep, bifurcated, lateral mesoventral foveae and two deep lateral mesocoxal foveae ( Fig. 2c , mmvf, lmvf, lmcf). Metaventrite with two small lateral metaventral foveae ( Fig. 2b , lmvf).

Elytra ( Fig. 2d ) wider than long; each elytron with two large basal foveae, inner one bifurcate at base; sutural and discal striae short, humeri well-developed.

Abdomen ( Fig. 2e ) 0.54–0.84 mm long; first visible tergite (IV) large, wider than long; external carinae paral- lel to margin, orignate from exterior part of basolateral fovea; median carinae triangular, area between them with shallow depression; visible tergites 2–4 (V–VII) smallest, wider than long, lacking foveae or carinae; first visible sternite (IV) with two basolateral foveae.

Legs long and slender. Hindwings present or lacking.

Aedegus ( Fig. 3 ) moderately sclerotized, symmetrical, basal capsule oval, apical lobe with large and slightly laterally curved apex.

Sexual dimorphism. Males with metatrochanters modified, with one spine, in females simple.

Biology. Protamaurops is most primitive and less specialised Amauropini and from all other genera of the tribe, it is most similar to Batrisodes Reitter, 1882 and it is only genus with rellatively well developed eyes and presense of wings. They can usually be collected by sifting leaf-litter, hand-collecting under stones or in ant nests in the mountains ( Fig. 4 ).

Distribution. The Balkan Penisnula and Turkey ( Table 1; Fig. 5 ).

Diagnosis. As noted by Müller (1944), Karaman (1961), Besuchet (1986), and later by Nonveiller and Pavićević (2008), this is a primitive genus, sharing some common characters with the tribe Batrisini Reitter, 1882 . It is most closely related to the genus Paramaurops Jeannel, 1948 , sharing with this genus the presence of eyes and ocular spines, paralell-sided lateral carinae on the first visible tergite and well-defined medial longitudinal carinae. Paramaurops differes from Protamaurops by 1) elytra with completely atrophied basal foveae, 2) head with small and thin median carina, and 3) pronotum with small and thin lateral carinae. The genus Protamaurops differes from all other members of the tribe Amauropini by the following combination of characters: 1) eyes moderately to well devoloped above well-defined ocular spines; 2) carinae on the head and pronotum well-developed; 3) presence of two large basal fovea on the elytra; 4) humeri prominent; 5) external stria of the first abdominal tergite parallel to the tergal margin, median carinae present.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus and head of Protamaurops—a) P. macrophthalmus (male), scale—1 mm; b) head with the carina, scale— 0.5 mm; c) P. bulgaricus sp. n., head with the carinae (male, holotype), scale—0.5 mm.

FIGURE 2. Morphology of Protamaurops (P. macedonicus)—a) Head (dorsal view); b) Pronotum (dorsal and ventral view); c) Meso-and metaventrite; d) Elytra; e) Abdomen.Abbreviations: vf—vertexal fovea; laf—lateral antebasal foveae; maf—me- dian antebasal fovea; blf—basolateral foveae; lpcf—lateral procoxal foveae; mmvf—median mesoventral foveae; lmsf—lateral mesoventral foveae; lmcf—lateral mesocoxal foveae; lmvf—lateral metaventral foveae; bef—basal foveae; ec—external ca- rina; mc—median carinae. Scale: 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Aedeagi of Protamamaurops, ventral view (Scale: 0.1 mm)—a, b) P. macedonicus—a. Bos Dag Mts., b—Belasitsa Mts; c) P. macrophthalmus; d) P. winneguthi; e) P. bulgaricus sp. n. Scale: 0.1 mm

FIGURE 4. Habitat of Protamaurops macedonicus (Belasitsa Mts., Bulgaria).

FIGURE 5. Distribution of Protamaurops.