Oxypoda virgata, Assing, 2008

Assing, V., 2008, Nine new species and additional records of Staphylinidae from southern Spain, with new synonymies (Insecta: Coleoptera), Linzer biologische Beiträge 40 (2), pp. 1301-1325 : 1313-1315

Oxypoda virgata nov.sp. ( Figs 28-39 , Map 2 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: "E - Andalucía [15], Sierra de los Filabres, S Serón , 1800 m, grassland, 37°15'44"N, 02°30'30"W, 19.III.2008, V. Assing / Holotypus Oxypoda virgata sp.n. det. V. Assing 2008" (cAss). Paratypes: 7, 3: same data as holotype (cAss); 17, 9: "E - No. 7 ; Andalucía, E Jaén, SE Mancha Real, Sierra Almadén , 1850 m, 37°44'N ; 03°31'W, 26.XII.2003, V. Assing " (cAss, OÖLL); 2, 5: "E - No. 8 ; Andalucía, E Jaén, Sierra Almadén , 1450-1850 m, 37°45'N ; 03°33'W, 26.XII.2003, V. Assing " (cAss); 1, 1: "E - No. 15 ; Andalucía, ca. 60 km N Montoro, N Azuel , ca. 600 m, 38°19'N ; 04°19'W, 28.XII.2003, V. Assing " (cAss); 1: "E - No. 14 ; Castilla-La Mancha, Sierra del Rey , 90 km N Montoro, 850 m, 38°32'N ; 04°22'W, 28.XII.2003, V. Assing " (cAss); 2: "E- No. 7, Andalucía, SW Sierra de Segura , Sierra de Pozo , 1555 m, 37°56'13"N, 02°43'09"W, 9. IV.2003, V. Assing " (cAss) .

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 2.5-3.0 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 28 . Coloration: head dark-brown to blackish-brown; pronotum and elytra slightly paler than head, brown to dark-brown; abdomen blackish-brown to black, with the posterior margins of the segments and the apex, often also larger parts of segments III-V paler brown; legs pale brown; antennae dark-brown, usually with the basal antennomeres slightly paler.

Head ( Fig. 29 ) approximately as wide as long or weakly oblong; punctation fine and weakly defined; interstices with distinct microsculpture; eyes moderately small, approximately 0.6-0.7 times as long as postocular region in dorsal view. Maxillary palpi with penultimate palpomere slightly more than twice as long as broad. Antennae gradually incrassate apically; antennomere IV weakly transverse; X approximately 1.5 times as wide as long; XI approximately as long as the combined length of IX and X ( Fig. 30 ).

Pronotum ( Fig. 29 ) approximately 1.25 times as wide as long and 1.25-1.30 times as wide as head, widest slightly behind middle; posterior angles weakly marked; punctation dense, fine, and rather ill-defined; interstices with distinct microsculpture.

Elytra approximately 0.90-0.95 times as long and 1.1 times as wide as pronotum ( Fig. 29 ); punctation and microsculpture similar to those of pronotum. Hind wings of reduced length, approximately twice as long as elytra. Metatarsomere I about as long as the combined length of II-IV or nearly so.

Abdomen with lateral margins of segments III-VI subparallel, segments VII-IX tapering posteriad; punctation dense and fine on all tergites, almost as dense on tergite VII and VIII as on anterior tergites; microsculpture very shallow; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe; tergite VIII without evident sexual dimorphism ( Fig. 31 ).

: posterior margin of sternite VIII distinctly pointed in the middle ( Fig. 32 ); median lobe of aedeagus with pronounced crista apicalis and crista proximalis, and with distinctive internal structures ( Figs 34-36 ); paramere with moderately long apical lobe ( Fig. 37 ).

: posterior margin of sternite VIII moderately convex, in the middle weakly concave and with stout marginal setae ( Fig. 33 ); spermatheca as in Figs 38-39.

E t y m o l o g y: The name (Latin, adjective: with a rod) refers to the conspicuous dark rod-like structure near the ventral process of the aedeagus (lateral view).

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: The new species is on average slightly smaller and more slender, but otherwise externally indistinguishable from O. islandica . Both species are reliably separated only based on the different morphology of the median lobe of the aedeagus and of the spermatheca. For illustrations of the distinctive aedeagus and the spermatheca of O. islandica see Figs 49-53.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: Thetypespecimenswerediscoveredin several localities in Andalucía and one locality in the south of Castilla-La Mancha ( Map 2 ). They were collected by sifting grass roots and leaf litter in various types of oak forest (Quercus ilex, etc.) and in pastures with shrubs at altitudes of 600-1850 m. In the Sierra Almadén they were found together with numerous specimens of Oxypoda magdalenae FAGEL 1958 and O. annularis (MANNERHEIM 1830) . One of the females collected in March had a mature egg in the ovaries. For a photograph of the type locality, which is identical to that of a species of Sunius STEPHENS 1829 and some other species of Staphylinidae , see figure 19 in ASSING (in press).

Figures

Map 2: Distributions of Oxypoda islandica KRAATZ (filled circles: examined records; open circles: reliable literature records) and O. virgata nov.sp. (squares) in the Western Mediterranean.

Figs 28-39: Oxypoda virgata nov.sp.: (28) habitus; (29) forebody; (30) antenna; (31) male tergite VIII; (32) male sternite VIII; (33) female sternite VIII; (34-36) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (37) paramere; (38-39) spermatheca. Scale bars: 28: 1.0 mm; 29: 0.5 mm; 30-33: 0.2 mm; 34-39: 0.1 mm.

Figs 49-53: Oxypoda islandica KRAATZ: (49-52) median lobe of aedeagus of males from Aragón (Spain) (49), Cantabria (Spain) (50), Tunisia (51), and Sicilia (52); (53) spermatheca (Aragón, Spain). Scale bars: 0.1 mm.