Lobrathium unidentatum, Assing, 2014

Assing, V., 2014, On the Staphylinidae of Turkey X. Two new species and additional records (Insecta: Coleoptera), Linzer biologische Beiträge 46 (2), pp. 1133-1146 : 1139-1141

Lobrathium unidentatum nov.sp. ( Figs 1-6 , Map 1 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype [teneral]: " Anatolia or., Heinz leg. / 1400 m; Karakole bei Hakkâri (Ufer d. gr. Zap ), 14.VIII.1969 / Holotypus Lobrathium unidentatum sp.n. det. V. Assing 2014 " ( MNHUB) . Paratypes: 1 [ventral process of aedeagus missing], 2 [teneral]: same data as holotype ( MNHUB, cAss) .

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: with one tooth) alludes to the subapically dentate ventral process of the aedeagus.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 8.0- 8.7 mm; length of forebody 4.6-5.1 mm. Coloration: forebody brown, with the posterior third of the elytra reddish-yellow; abdomen blackish-brown with dark-reddish apex; forelegs reddish, mid- and hindlegs yellowishred; antennae dark reddish.

Head ( Fig. 1 ) approximately 1.05 times as long as broad; posterior angles broadly convex, weakly marked; moderately coarse, dense in lateral and posterior dorsal portions, with the interstices on average much narrower than diameter of punctures, sparser in median and anterior dorsal portions. Eyes of somewhat variable size, 0.30-0.45 times as long as distance from posterior margin of eye to neck. Antennae slender, approximately 3 mm long; all antennomeres distinctly oblong; antennomere X approximately 1.5 times as long as broad.

Pronotum ( Fig. 1 ) 1.20-1.25 times as long as broad and approximately 0.95 times as broad as head; punctation similar to that of head or slightly coarser, less dense than that of head in lateral and posterior dorsal portions; impunctate midline moderately broad.

Elytra ( Fig. 1 ) 0.93-0.98 times as long as pronotum; punctation very dense, not, or only indistinctly seriate. Hind wings present. Protarsomeres I-IV without sexual dimorphism. Abdomen approximately as broad as elytra; punctation fine and rather dense; interstices with fine transverse microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

: sternite VII ( Fig. 2 ) strongly transverse, along middle shallowly impressed and broadly without pubescence, with a cluster of numerous moderately modified stouter black setae on either side of middle in posterior portion, posterior margin broadly concave, in the middle with weakly convex projection; sternite VIII ( Fig. 3 ) approximately as long as broad, anteriorly with short and sparse, and posteriorly with long and dense pubescence, in posterior median portion with oblong impression, this impression with approximately 30 strongly modified short and stout black setae, posterior excision nearly V-shaped, approximately 0.25 times as deep as length of sternite; aedeagus ( Figs 4-5 ) approximately 1.6 mm long; ventral process very long and slender, bisinuate in lateral view, and subapically with a tooth-like projection ( Fig. 6 ) in the middle (ventral view).

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s Nine species of Lobrathium MULSANT & REY, 1878 were previously known from Turkey: L. frater (KORGE, 1971) , L. heinzi (KORGE, 1971) , L. trapezuntis (BORDONI, 1973) , L. rugipenne (HOCHHUTH, 1851) , L. ciliciae BORDONI, 1980 , L. pravum ASSING & SCHÜLKE, 2002 , L. schillhammeri ASSING & SCHÜLKE, 2002 , L. wunderlei ASSING, 2006 , and L. yagmuri ASSING, 2007 . Except for the widespread L. rugipenne , whose distribution ranges from the Balkans across Turkey to the Caucasus region, all these species have restricted distributions. Lobrathium unidentatum is distinguished from all of them particularly by the shape of the ventral process of the aedeagus and also, though less conspicuously, by the shapes and chaetotaxy of the male sternites VII and VIII. In addition, it differs from them as follows:

from L. frater , L. heinzi , and L. trapezuntis , all of which were originally assigned to Lathrobium GRAVENHORST, 1802 , subgenus Ponthrobium KORGE, 1981, subsequently moved to Lobrathium , and which are locally endemic in northeastern Anatolia, by distinctly smaller size, a less robust body, and the bicoloured elytra;

from L. rugipenne by distinctly smaller eyes, on average paler coloration of the forebody, and slightly shorter elytra;

from L. ciliciae by distinctly larger size, more slender antennae ( L. ciliciae : preapical antennomeres very weakly oblong), as well as longer and broader elytra;

from L. pravum by somewhat smaller eyes, paler coloration, longer and more slender antennae ( L. pravum : length <2.5 mm);

from L. schillhammeri by distinctly larger size, paler coloration, the coloration of the elytra ( L. schillhammeri : elytra posteriorly with an orange spot not reaching suture and lateral margins), less convex eyes, and shorter antennae ( L. schillhammeri : length <2.5 mm);

from L. wunderlei by distinctly larger size, paler coloration of the forebody, and distinctly longer and more slender antennae ( L. wunderlei : length of antennae approximately 2.3 mm);

from L. yagmuri by slightly larger size, paler coloration of the forebody, smaller eyes, distinctly longer and more slender antennae ( L. yagmuri : length of antennae <2.5 mm).

The geographically close L. reuteri ASSING, 2008 from Iraq differs from L. unidentatum by much smaller body size (length of forebody approximately 3.5 mm) and by the completely different male sexual characters. For illustrations of the sexual characters of the compared species see COIFFAIT (1982), ASSING (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008), and ASSING & SCHÜLKE (2002).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y:Thetypelocalityissituatedin Hakkâri province in the very southeast of Turkey, not far from the border with Iraq. The partly teneral specimens were collected on a river bank at an altitude of 1400 m.

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of Lobrathium unidentatum nov.sp. (open circle) and Atanygnathus pullus nov.sp. (filled circles).

Figs 1-6: Lobrathium unidentatum nov.sp.: (1) forebody; (2) male sternite VII; (3) male sternite VIII; (4-5) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (6) apical portion of ventral process of aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2-5: 0.5 mm; 6: 0.1 mm.