Oxypoda defossa, Assing, 2010

Assing, V., 2010, Four new species and additional records of Staphylinidae from Spain, primarily from the south (Insecta: Coleoptera), Linzer biologische Beiträge 42 (2), pp. 1105-1124 : 1119-1120

Oxypoda ( Sphenoma ?) defossa nov.sp. ( Figs 16-19 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: "E - Andalucía, Cádiz , 20 km N Tarifa, 110 m, 36°09'09''N, 5°37'57''W, reservoir shore, u. stones, 30.XII.2009, V. Assing [19] / Holotypus Oxypoda defossa sp. n. det. V. Assing 2010 " (cAss) . Paratypes: 1: "E - Andalucía, Cádiz, 20 km NW Tarifa, Sierra de la Plata , 36°05'59''N, 5°43'43''W, 170 m, 26.XII.2009, V. Assing [4]" (cAss) ; 1: "E - Andalucía, Cádiz , 15 km NW Algeciras, 36°12'39''N, 5°32'37''W, 25 m, pasture, u. stones, 27.XII.2009, Wunderle [7]" (cWun) .

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 4.8-5.3 mm. Habitus conspicuously slender ( Fig. 16 ). Coloration: head dark-brown to blackish-brown; pronotum reddish; elytra reddishyellow; abdomen brown to dark-brown, with the posterior margins of segments III-VI, the posterior third of segment VII, and segments VIII-X reddish; legs dark-yellowish; antennae reddish.

Head of suborbicular shape, approximately as wide as long; dorsal surface almost matt due to pronounced microreticulation; punctation sparse and extremely fine, barely noticeable in the microsculpture ( Fig. 17 ). Eyes moderately large and moderately bulging, approximately as long as postocular portion in dorsal view. Antennae long, slender, but rather massive (similar to that of some species of Derocala MULSANT & REY ),

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weakly incrassate apically; antennomere III slightly longer than II and of distinctly conical shape; IV-X very weakly transverse; XI longer than the combined length of IX and X ( Fig. 18 ). Maxillary palpus conspicuously slender, preapical palpomere approximately 4 times as long as broad.

Pronotum slender, only 1.15-1.20 times as broad as long and 1.40-1.45 times as broad as head, maximal width in or near the middle ( Fig. 17 ); posterior angles obtusely marked; punctation dense, fine, and shallow, but somewhat more distinct than that of head; interstices with pronounced microreticulation and almost matt.

Elytra 0.85-0.95 times as long as pronotum ( Fig. 17 ); suture posteriorly gaping; posterior margin moderately sinuate near posterior angles; punctation dense, weakly granulose, but not very coarse, much more distinct than that of pronotum; interstices more shiny than those of pronotum. Hind wings present, but of reduced length, extending approximately to posterior margin of abdominal segment IV when unfolded. Legs long and slender; metatarsus approximately 0.9 times as long as metatibia; metatarsomere I approximately as long as the combined length of II-IV.

Abdomen with segments III-IV or III-V of subequal width, segments V or VI and following tapering posteriad; punctation of all tergites very fine and very dense; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

: unknown.

: sternite VIII broadly convex and with long marginal setae; spermatheca as in Fig. 19.

E t y m o l o g y: The name is the past participle of the Latin verb defodere (to dig in, to bury) and alludes to the presumably subterranean habitat of this species.

C o m m e n t: In general, a description of Oxypoda species based on female alone is not advisable, since many species are reliably identified only based on the male sexual characters. In view of the highly distinctive external morphology of O. defossa , however, an exception from this rule seems justifiable.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: This species is readily distinguished from all other Oxypoda species known from the Western Mediterranean based on external characters alone, above all its conspicuously slender habitus, the long and slender antennae and maxillary palpi, the weakly transverse pronotum, and relatively large size.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: Thespeciesis known from three localities in the vicinity of Tarifa, Cádiz, in the extreme south of Spain. As can be inferred from the reduced hind wings, the distribution may be restricted. The type specimens were collected on pastures under stones after very heavy rainfall. This, as well as the slender body with long antennae and legs, and the absence of previous records suggest that O. defossa lives in a cryptic subterranean habitat.

Figures

Figs 9-19: Oxypoda lencinai nov.sp. (9-15) and O. defossa nov.sp. (16-19): (9, 16) habitus; (10, 17) forebody; (11) head in lateral view; (12) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (13) ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view; (14) apex of ventral process in ventral view; (15) paramere; (18) antenna; (19) spermatheca. Scale bars: 9, 16: 1.0 mm; 10-11, 17-18: 0.5 mm; 12-13, 15, 19: 0.1 mm; 14: 0.05 mm.