Euplister susanae (Seidlitz) Pierotti & Bellò & Alonso-Zarazaga, 2010

Pierotti, Helio, Bellò, Cesare & Alonso-Zarazaga, Miguel A., 2010, 2376, Zootaxa 2376, pp. 1-96 : 36-37

Euplister susanae (Seidlitz) comb. n.

( Figs. 1 -Ab, 9a, 31, 54a)

Peritelus (Peritelus) susanae Seidlitz, 1866: 290 . 298; Stierlin, 1883: 588, 595; Lona, 1937: 262.

Peritelus susanae Seidlitz : Iglesias Iglesias, 1922: 6; Torres Sala, 1962: 360; Gurrea Sanz & Sanz Benito, 2000: 239; Pierotti & Bellò, 1998: 104; Alonso-Zarazaga, 2002: 24.

Diagnosis. Species of small-medium size (3.8–5.1 mm), characterised by sides of head uniformly converging apicad, with indistinct pterygia, and by sub-rounded elytra with depressed setae, indistinct even in posterior part and uniformly distributed on interstriae.

Redescription (Lectotype). Body outline globose. Dorsal vestiture composed of more or less tear-shaped, not or hardly imbricate, silvery-grey scales on elytra, sometimes with paler spots on even interstriae, and of short, broad, appressed setae, indistinct even posteriorly. Head ( Fig. 1b) with sides more or less uniformly narrowing from temples to base of pterygia. Rostrum longer than wide, epistome convex; mandibles distinctly longer than wide, pterygia indistinct; metarostrum with median keel; prorostrum with sides almost straight, not particularly depressed in middle. Frons rather wide, with median fovea. Eyes normal, moderately convex. Antennae with scape elongate, narrow from base to apex, funicle robust, apical desmomeres transverse, desmomeres with sparse, fine setae; club elongate, first segment widely cup-shaped. Pronotum transverse, wider at base than at apex, sides not strongly rounded, disc with double, deep punctures. Elytra subglobose, strial punctures sparse, interstriae flat, finely and sparsely punctured. Legs moderately robust, tibiae strongly widened at apex, hind ones with a series of denticles on inner margin. Aedeagus in lateral view incurved ventrally in pre-apical part, in dorsal view widely lanceolate before apex ( Fig. 31); endophallic structures as in Fig. 9a. Spermatheca as in Fig. 54a.

Variability. Funicle more robust and pronotal punctures denser in female. Dorsal vestiture of elytra often formed by rounded scales in posterior part. Pronotum more or less rounded at sides. Lateral angles of the preapical region of aedeagus more or less rounded.

Distribution. Iberian endemite: Andalusia. Type locality: Sierra Susana (Andalusia: Granada). Since there exists no place “Sierra Susana”, as given as the type locality and recalled by the toponym susanae , the type locality given may be a misspelling or mishearing of Sierra Harana, a mountain range north-east of Granada and where Seidlitz is known to have collected, or, more probably, of Sierra Elvira, a mountain range north-west of the same city, very close to it, and bearing a woman’s name as well; the species has been found both to the north-east (Sierra de Huétor) and to the north-west (Sierra Elvira) of the city of Granada. Spanish literature records: Granada: Sierra Susana, Granada ( Iglesias Iglesias, 1922); Barcelona: Olérdola ( Roudier, 1962); Valencia: Alginet, Bétera, Burjasot (Torres-Sala, 1962). The record from Olérdola, a site some 40 km SW of Barcelona, refers to Euplister megalophthalmus described below, and that from the province of Valencia ( Torres Sala, 1962) likely refers to another species of the same genus.

Material examined ( Fig. 74). Lectotype male (here designated), labelled: 1) Sierra Susana; 2) Per. susannae Sdlz. type; 3) susanae n.sp.; 4) Type Per. susanae Seidl. ; 5) Sammlung v. Seidlitz; 6) Zool. Staatsslg. München ( SEI). Paralectotypes, 1 male labelled: 1) Per. susannae Sdlz. , type, Granada; 2) Sammlung v. Seidlitz; 3) Paratypus Peritelus susannae Seidl. Zool. Staatsslg. München ; 4) Zool. Staatsslg. München ( SEI), 2 males labelled: 1) Granada; 2) Sammlung v. Seidlitz; 3) Paratypus Peritelus susannae Seidl. Zool. Staatsslg. München ; 4) Zool. Staatsslg. München ( SEI). Other specimens: Spain: Granada: Granada ( MMA); do., 1898 ( HUS); do., III.1909 ( MMA); Sierra Susana (lectotype, SEI); P.to de la Mora, m. 1300, 6. V.88, leg. Sprick ( SPR); do., m. 1390, 25. V.1990, leg. Audisio e Biondi ( PIE); S.ra Elvira, 1.XI.2000, leg. Bellò (BEL, PIE); Atarfe, s.ra Elvira, Peñon de Ventana, 900 m., 22.IV.88, leg. Melero ( ALZ); do., m. 750, N37º14'41" W03º42'79", 6.4.2003, leg. Belló (BEL); do., leg. Pierotti ( PIE); do., 30.III.2004, leg. Pierotti ( PIE); Llano de la Perdiz, 17. V.80, leg. Mariana ( ALZ).

Biology. Seidlitz wrote that the species was collected, always as singletons, on different plants, thistles and evergreen oaks; we found it in meadows under Thymus spp. (Lamiaceae) and various Poaceae .