Oxypoda (Sphenoma) ludgeri, Assing, 2012

Assing, V., 2012, On the taxonomy and zoogeography of some Oxypoda species of the West Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (1), pp. 365-399 : 384-385

Oxypoda (Sphenoma) ludgeri nov.sp.

( Figs 35-37 )

Type material: Holotype: " Kyrgyzstan - Issyk-Kul, Kungej A. , Tschon-Ak-Suu valley , 03.VII.2005, 42°83'65''N [sic], 77°26'27''E, 29[00]- 3200 m, l. L. Schmidt / Holotypus Oxypoda ludgeri sp.n. det. V. Assing 2011" ( cAss) . Paratype: " Kyrgyzstan - Cuj, Tus-Ashuu pass, 14.VII.2003, 42°21'24N, 73°48'45''E, 3100 m, leg. L. Schmidt" (cAss).

Description: Body length 3.7-4.0 mm. External characters as in the macropterous morph of O. abdominalis (MANNERHEIM 1830) , except as follows:

Coloration of head blackish-brown, distinctly contrasting with the reddish-yellow pronotum and elytra; scutellum, adjacent portion of elytra, and elytral suture infuscate; abdomen blackish-brown, except for the reddish-yellow posterior margins of segments III-VII. Elytra as long as pronotum. Hind wings fully developed.

: sternite VIII as in O. abdominalis ; median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 35-36 ) 0.48 mm long; ventral process strongly curved in lateral view; crista apicalis relatively large; paramere as in Fig. 37 .

: unknown.

Etymology: The species is dedicated to Ludger Schmidt, Neustadt/Rbg., who collected the two type specimens.

Comparative notes: The new species is reliably distinguished from O. abdominalis and allied species by the morphology of the aedeagus. In O. abdominalis , the ventral process of the median lobe is less strongly curved in lateral view, the apex of the ventral process is narrower in lateral view, the crista apicalis is smaller, and the internal structures are of somewhat different shape. In O. kirghisica , the only other species of Oxypoda previously known from Kyrgyzstan, the apex of the ventral process of the aedeagus is distinctly shorter and broader, and the internal structures are of different shape. For illustrations of the sexual characters of O. abdominalis and its allies see ASSING (2009).

Only six species have been recorded from Kazakhstan: the much smaller O. (Podoxya) fulvicollis HOCHHUTH 1858 , the differently coloured O. (Sphenoma) vicina KRAATZ 1858 (possibly misidentified), and O. (S.) abdominalis (probably misidentified), as well as O. (Oxypoda) cooteriana PACE 2002 , O. (Podoxya) expeditionis PACE 1992 (described from Nepal), and O. (Sphenoma) aulica PACE 1984 (described from Nepal). For illustrations of the latter three species see PACE (1984, 1992, 2002).

Distribution and natural history: The type specimens were collected in two localities in northern Kyrgyzstan at altitudes of 2900-3200 m in July.

Figures

Figs 35-41: Oxypoda ludgeri nov.sp. (35-37) and O. constricta nov.sp. (38-41): (35-36, 41) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (37) paramere; (38) forebody; (39) abdomen; (40) male sternite VIII. Scale bars: 38-39: 1.0 mm; 40: 0.2 mm; 35-37, 41: 0.1 mm.