Medon assingi, Anlaş & Online, 2015

Anlaş, Sinan & Online, Published, 2015, A new species and additional records of the genus Medon Stephens, 1833 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae) from Turkey, Turkish Journal of Zoology 39 (4), pp. 620-624 : 622-624

Medon assingi sp.n. ( Fig. 1 )

Type material. Holotype: TURKEY: ♂, “TR. Şırnak, İdil 40 km NW, 830 m, 37°18ʹ57ʺN, 41°42ʹ48ʺE, 12.IV.2011, leg. E. A. Yağmur / Holotypus ♂, Medon assingi sp. n. det. S. Anlaş 2014” (AZMM) . Paratypes: 1♂, same data as holotype (AZMM) ; 1♂, Artvin, Hatila valley , 27.V.2012, leg. E. A. Yağmur (AZMM) .

Description. Measurements (in millimeters) and ratios (n = 3): AL: 1.40–1.44, 1.42; HL: 0.72–0.75, 0.74; HW: 0.67–0.69, 0.68; PW: 0.65–0.67, 0.66; PL: 0.63–0.66, 0.65; EL: 0.78–0.81, 0.80; EW: 0.74–0.78, 0.76; AW: 0.72–0.74, 0.73; ML: 0.60–0.63, 0.61; TL: 5.0–5.1; HL/HW: 1.09; PW/ HW: 0.97; PW/PL: 1.02; EL/PL: 1.23; EW/PW: 1.15; AW/ EW: 0.96.

Habitus as in Figure 1A . Coloration: Head blackish; pronotum dark brown to blackish brown; elytra reddish brown, with the scutellar region and the posterior angles infuscate; abdomen dark brown to blackish brown, with the apex reddish brown; legs and antennae reddish to reddish-brown.

Head weakly oblong (see measurements, ratio HL/ HW; Figures 1A, 1B ); eyes moderately large and weakly projecting from lateral outline of head, slightly more than half the length of postocular region in dorsal view; puncturation very dense, moderately coarse, and areolate, in central dorsal area mostly well-defined, in lateral areas partly confluent; interstices mostly reduced to very narrow ridges.

Pronotum slightly narrower than head (see ratio PW/HW; Figures 1A, 1B ), and approximately as wide as long (see ratio PW/PL; Figures 1A, 1B ); puncturation of pronotum similar to that of head but slightly coarser, less dense, more confluent and coriaceous, and less well-defined.

Elytra distinctly longer and wider than pronotum (see ratios EL/PL and EW/PW; Figures 1A, 1B ), puncturation dense and fine, with granulose, and ill-defined; without distinct microsculpture; hind wings fully developed. Legs slender, metatibia approximately as long as elytra.

Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra (see ratio AW/ EW; Figure 1A ), widest at segments V and VI; puncturation fine and dense; interstices with microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

♂: Posterior margin of sternite VII concave, with a transverse row of approximately 30 long black setae ( Figures 1C and 1E ); sternite VIII with relatively large and deep posterior excision ( Figure 1D ). Aedeagus ( Figures 1F, 1G ) with long ventral process of characteristic shape, apically bird-beak–shaped in lateral view.

Comparative notes. This new species belong to the M. apicalis group, which includes 30 species, 18 of them in the West Palaearctic region (Assing, 2013). The geographically closest M. apicalis group congeners are M. beydaghensis Fagel, 1969 (Antalya, Isparta); M. caricus Fagel, 1970 (Aydın, Çanakkale, Isparta, İzmir, Muğla); M. maronitus (Saulcy, 1865) (widespread in Turkey); M. reliquus Assing, 2007 (Aydın, İzmir, Manisa); M. seleucus Bordoni, 1975 ( Hatay, Osmaniye); and M. subquadratus Assing, 2004 (Adana, Mersin). The new species is distinguished from all its congeners by the distinctive morphology of the aedeagus, both ventral and lateral view, and by the different shape of excision at the posterior margin of the male sternite VII and by the presence of a transverse row of approximately 30 long black setae. It is additionally separated as follows.

From M. maronitus and M. beydaghensis by the different coloration ( M. maronitus and M. beydaghensis : head dark brown to blackish and the remainder of the body yellowish brown or ferruginous), by the larger body and different shape of male sternite VII and VIII ( M. maronitus : posterior marginate of sternite VII bisinuate, sternite VIII with relatively wide and not deep posterior incision; M. beydaghensis : posterior marginate of sternite VII shallowly concave, sternite VIII with relatively small incision).

From M. reliquus by the different coloration ( M. reliquus : body uniformly rufous, legs and antennae pale reddish), by the larger body, and different shape of male sternite VII and VIII ( M. reliquus : posterior margin of sternite VII almost truncate, sternite VIII with relatively small posterior excision).

From M. caricus by the different shape of male sternite VII ( M. caricus : posterior marginate of sternite VII bisinuate, in the middle convex).

Figures

Figure 1. Details of Medon assingi sp. n. A–habitus; B–forebody; C–male sternite VII; D–male sternite VIII; E–postero-median portion of male sternite VII; F–aedeagus in ventral view; G–aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 1.0 mm (Figures A, B); 0.2 mm (Figures C, D and F, G).