Oedichirus apiculus, Herman, 2013

Herman, Lee H., 2013, Revision Of The New World Species Of Oedichirus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Pinophilini: Procirrina), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2013 (375), pp. 1-137 : 38-40

Oedichirus apiculus , new species

Figures 40–47

TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype: Male. ‘‘ BRAZIL, 300– 500 m Nova Teutonia 27 ° 119S. 52 ° 239W. V. 1960 Fritz Plaumann/ Holotype Oedichirus apiculus Herman’’ Deposited in the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Ottawa.

PARATYPES: 3 males. Brazil: Santa Catarina : Same locality, coordinates, and collector as holotype, March 1958 (2 males, CNCI, AMNH) ; Santa Catarina : Chapeco , 27 ° 079S, 52 ° 369W, VII. 1960, 600m. F. Plaumann (1 male CNCI) .

TYPE LOCALITY: Brazil: Santa Catarina : Nova Teutonia, 27 ° 119S. 52 ° 239W.

DIAGNOSIS: Oedichirus apiculus is one of a group of four externally similar species that also includes O. glabrihamus , O. misionesiensis , and O. speculifrons . Oedichirus apiculus can be separated from them all by the spiniform process on the right posterior margin of the ventral sclerite of the aedeagus dorsad of the base of the apicoventral process (figs. 41, 44). Sternum VIII of the male of O. apiculus has a wider, shallower emargination (figs. 46, 47) than do the other three species. Males of the Argentine O. misionesiensis (fig. 177) have a deeper emargination of sternum VIII than O. apiculus (fig. 47) and the aedeagus has a peg-boss on the apical margin of the apicoventral process (fig. 173) of the former species, which is lacking in the latter (fig. 42). A sympatric species, but belonging to a different species group, O. bullaglaber is separated by the presence on tergum III of a median point (as in sternum VIII, fig. 73) extending from the transverse basal ridge and the presence of dark femorotibial maculations. Other relevant diagnostic features that aid separation of O. apiculus from others include the quadridentate labrum, presence of a paratergal carina on segment III (as in fig. 23), and absence of dark femorotibial maculae.

DESCRIPTION: Length: 5.0– 5.8 mm. Length of head: 0.7 mm. Width of head: 0.9 mm. Pronotal length: 1.2 mm. Pronotal width: 1.0 mm. Elytral length: 0.9 mm. Elytral width: 1.0 mm.

Body concolorous, dark reddish brown to nearly black. Legs reddish brown to yellowish brown and without femorotibial maculation.

Head about two fifths wider than long (HW/HL: 1.4). Frontoclypeal ridge straight to curved and incomplete, separated medially. Dorsal surface without V-shaped depression; surface with coarse, moderately dense punctation; punctation absent or less dense anteriorly. Labrum quadridentate; surface without tubercle near submedial denticle.

Pronotum about one tenth longer than wide (PL/PW: 1.1). Pronotum polished, with coarse punctation arranged in irregular clusters, with submedial cluster occupying most of length, and with median polished, impunctate strip. Elytra about one to two tenths wider than long (EW/EL: 1.1–1.2); surface flat to slightly convex and coarsely punctate.

Abdomen with coarse, irregularly distributed punctation dorsally; segments VII and VIII less densely and coarsely punctate than preceding segments; segments III to VII with or without transverse, subapical row of punctures, but row irregular when present; VIII with slightly less dense punctation. Segment III without paratergite; paratergal carina present and extending beyond middle, but not reaching posterior margin and finely developed beyond spiracle. Tergum III without median point extending from transverse basal ridge. Tergum VIII with posterior margin broadly and shallowly rounded; transverse basal ridge broadly curved and without median point. Tergum IX long midlongitudinally; lateroapical process one to three tenths longer than midbasal length (LLaP/L9 5 1.1–1.3), slightly bent ventrally, and slightly divergent from other process; ventromedial margin without posteriorly directed spur (cf. fig. 158).

MALE: Sterna VI and VII unmodified. Sternum VIII with moderately deep, wide, symmetrical emargination of posterior margin (figs. 46, 47); emargination about one tenth of length of segment, wider than deep, and basal margin broadly rounded; subapical surface not translucent; surface with broad, moderately deep, oviform, median depression extending from near base of emargination to transverse basal ridge (fig. 47); surface without subapical, submedial boss and without ridge extending anteriorly along lateral side of depression; surface from posterior end of median depression beveled to posterior margin; median depression sparsely punctate; surface laterad of median depression densely pubescent (fig. 46), without cluster of setae or lateral depression; surface of sternum without comb; transverse basal ridge with median portion broadly and moderately strongly curved anteriorly. Tergum IX with moderatedly long, wide process on anterior margin of anteroventral angle. Sternum IX (fig. 45) slightly asymmetrical; anterior margin narrow and strongly rounded; posterior margin sinuate; lateral margins broadly rounded.

Aedeagus asymmetrical (figs. 41–43). Ventral sclerite with apicoventral process extending laterally from right side of apical margin (fig. 42); apicoventral process moderately long, anteroposteriorly flattened, thick basally and strongly tapered to rounded, lateroanteriorly bent apex, thick in ventral view and wide in posterior view; apicoventral process with moderate tumescence on ventroapical surface at rightward bend of process (fig. 42); ventral sclerite with moderately large, conical tumescence near middle of ventral surface on right side proximad of base of apicoventral process (figs. 41, 42); ventral sclerite with posteriorly directed, apically acute, spiniform process dorsad of base of apicoventral process (figs. 41, 44). Parameres long, tapered, moderately broad basally and slender apically; basal half fused to median lobe; apical half free of median lobe.

FEMALE: Unknown.

ETYMOLOGY: The name is from the Latin for ‘‘point’’ (diminutive of apex) and refers to the small, sharply pointed process extending posteriorly from the right posterior margin of the ventral sclerite of the aedeagus.

DISTRIBUTION: Known from two localities in Santa Catarina province, Brazil (fig. 40).

REMARKS: Oedichirus apiculus , part of a group of four similar species, is known from two localities. Two of these species, O. apiculus and O. speculifrons , are known from Chapeco and three of them, O. apiculus , O. glabrihamus , and O. speculifrons are known from Nova Teutonia. Although females of several apparent species of the species group were collected at the two localities, none of them could clearly be identified as O. apiculus . The genital segments of these unidentified females are depicted (figs. 221– 224) among the illustrations for O. speculifrons complex.

Figures

Figs. 39–40. Oedichirus species. Distribution. 39. Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. 40. South America. (Species described prior to present work preceded with *. Symbols ³ or ♀ signify species known only by the sex indicated. Open circle denotes multiple collecting sites.)

Figs. 41–47. Oedichirus apiculus. 41. Aedeagus, right lateral. 42. Aedeagus, ventral. 43. Aedeagus, left lateral. 44. Aedeagus, right ventrolateral, apex. 45. Sternum IX, male. 46. Sternum VIII, male. 47. Sternum VIII, setae removed, male.