Metaxya surrufa Casey 1911:135

Ashe, James S. & Gusarov, Vladimir I., 2003, Review of Anatheta Casey (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Athetini), with Notes on Synonymy of Canastota Casey and Silusida Casey, The Coleopterists Bulletin 57 (1), pp. 27-36 : 34

Metaxya surrufa Casey 1911:135

Description. Length 2.5–3.0 mm. Head dark brown, slightly contrasting with medium brown pronotum and elytra in most specimens; pronotum and elytra medium brown in most, some with slightly darker clouding in antero-medial region of each elytron; abdomen light brown to medium brown, with various of terga III–VI darker, most with terga IV–VII medium brown to dark medially and medium to light brown on distal margins, the posterior half of tergum VII and tergum VIII light brown.

Integument and puncturation of head, and antenna, similar to that of A. planulicollis . Frons of males with slight medial impression.

Pronotum transverse, width to length ratio 0.54 mm: 0.43 mm (average for 5 males), wider than head (pronotum width to head width ratio 0.54 mm: 0.44 mm); surface and puncturation similar to that of A. planulicollis . Elytra measured from humeral angle shorter than wide (0.54 mm: 0.62 mm), surface and puncturation similar to that of A. planulicollis .

Abdominal terga with microsculpture, puncturation, and sternum VIII puncturation similar to that of A. planulicollis .

Aedeagus: As in Figures 18, 19.

Spermatheca: As in Figure 20.

Diagnosis. Anatheta surrufa is very close to A. planulicollis . The two species could be distinguished as described in the diagnosis of A. planulicollis above.

Distribution. Known from U.S.A. (Kansas) and Canada (Manitoba).

Natural History. Casey (1911) did not provide habitat information. However, new data show that the species is fairly abundant in mammal (gopher and kangaroo rat) burrows in Kansas where it is frequently found in association with specimens of A. planulicollis .

Lectotype of Metaxya surrufa Casey 1911 (here designated), $, with labels as follows: ‘‘Aweme Manitoba N.Cr[i]ddle’’, ‘‘ surrufa Csy. ’’, ‘‘Casey bequest 1925’’, ‘‘TYPE USNM 39071’’ (red label), ‘‘ LECTOTYPE, Metaxya surrufa Casey 1911 , Designated: J.S. Ashe and V. I. Gusarov, 2001’’ (red label). There is only a single specimen of M. surrufa in the Casey Collection. However, because Casey (1911) did not specifically state that he had only a single specimen available when he described the species, this specimen must be considered a syntype. Therefore we designate a lectotype to assure correct and consistent application of the name in the future.

Additional material (36 specimens, KSEM), [with labels as follows:] U.S.A.: Kansas: Kiowa Co., 8 km N Greenburg , 10 November 1996, G. Salsbury, Kangaroo rat burrow, KAN2 S99 04 (#) ; same locality and collector, 19 April 1996, emu dung trap in kangaroo rat burrow, KAN2S99 074 (2#, 15$) ; same locality and collector, 15 March 1997, gopher burrow, KAN2S99 099 (2#, 16$) .