Oxypoda (Sphenoma) subplicata, Assing, 2016

Assing, Volker, 2016, New species of Oxypoda from Armenia and Georgia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 48 (2), pp. 1119-1136 : 1134-1136

Oxypoda (Sphenoma) subplicata nov.sp.

( Figs 44-51 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: " ARMENIA [30] - 25 km S Kapan, Gomarants Ps. , 39°01'32''N, 46°21'59''E, 2190 m, oak forest, 7.VII.2016, V. Assing / Holotypus ♂ Oxypoda subplicata sp. n. det. V. Assing 2016" ( cAss) . Paratypes: 39♂♂, 34 ♀♀: same data as holotype ( cAss, MHNG, MNB) ; 26 exs.: same data, but leg. Schülke ( MNB) ; 27♂♂, 29 ♀♀: " ARMENIA [31] - 25 km S Kapan, Gomarants Ps. , 39°02'15''N, 46°22'13''E, 2050 m, oak forest, 7.VII.2016, V. Assing " ( cAss, MHNG, MNB, NHMW) ; 17 exs.: same data, but leg. Schülke ( MNB) ; 32♂♂, 23♀♀: " ARMENIA [33] - WSW Kapan , S Meghri Pass, 39°05'56''N, 46°09'47''E, 2090 m, stream valley, 8.VII.2016, V. Assing " ( cAss, MHNG, MNB, NHMW, OÖLL) ; 33 exs.: same data, but leg. Schülke ( MNB) .

Etymology: The specific epithet (adjective) alludes to the weakly pronounced lateral carinae on the ventral process of the aedeagus, the most evident character distinguishing this species from the similar O. complicata ASSING, 2011 .

Description: Body length 3.6-4.7 mm; length of forebody 1.7-2.0 mm. External characters ( Figs 44-46 ) as in O. complicata and other species allied to O. abdominalis (MANNERHEIM, 1830) .

♂: sternite VIII acutely produced posteriorly; median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 47-49 ) 0.52-0.54 mm long; ventral process laterally with indistinct carinae (best visible in lateral view), with rather large, but acute apex (lateral view); crista apicalis small; paramere ( Fig. 50 ) approximately 0.75 mm long, apical lobe long and slender, approximately half as long as basal portion of paramere.

♀: posterior margin of sternite VIII weakly concave in the middle; spermatheca ( Fig. 51 ) not distinctive.

Comparative notes: As can be inferred from the similar external appearance (body shape, punctation, long legs, apically weakly incrassate antennae) and the similar sexual characters (shape and internal structures of the median lobe of the aedeagus; shape of the spermatheca), O. subplicata is closely related to O. abdominalis and its allies, which are reliably distinguished only based on the shape of the median lobe of the aedeagus. Aside from the widespread O. abdominalis , the geographically close representatives of this group in the Middle East and Middle Asia are O. ziyaretica ASSING, 2006 (central southern Anatolia), O. robustior ASSING, 2009 ( Iran) , O. kirgisica ASSING, 2009 ( Kyrgyzstan), O. ludgeri ASSING, 2012 ( Kyrgyzstan) , and O. complicata ASSING, 2011 ( Iran: Azarbayjan-e Gharbi; East Turkey: Erzurum). The aedeagus of the new species is most similar to that of O. complicata , but differs by the weakly pronounced carinae on the ventral process of the aedeagus. In other respects, both species are extremely similar. Based on the currently available material, this difference is constant. From the sympatric O. abdominalis , O. subplicata is distinguished particularly by the much stouter apex of the ventral process of the aedeagus. For illustrations of the aedeagi of O. complicata and other species of the O. abdominalis group see ASSING (2006, 2009, 2011, 2012).

Distribution and natural history: The type specimens were collected in three localities to the south and southwest of Kapan, South Armenia, by sifting moist leaf litter and debris in oak forests and along a stream at altitudes of 2050- 2190 m. Part of the material is teneral.

Figures

Figs 44-51: Oxypoda subplicata nov.sp.: (44) habitus; (45) forebody; (46) antenna; (47-49) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (50) paramere; (51) spermatheca. Scale bars: 44: 1.0 mm; 45-46: 0.5 mm; 47-50: 0.2 mm; 51: 0.1 mm.