Thinodromus meridionalis, Makranczy, 2013

Makranczy, György, 2013, Review of the southern African species of Thinodromus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 53 (1), pp. 177-208 : 205-206

Thinodromus meridionalis sp. nov.

( Figs 2 , 23 , 34–35 , 60–61 , 64–66 , 80 )

Trogophloeus (Carpalimus) capensis: SCHEERPELTZ (1974: 59, misidentified).

Type locality. South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal prov., Albert Falls, Umgeni river E of Pietermaritzburg, approx. 29°37′14″S, 30°27′28″E, 600 m.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂, “S. Afr. Natal; Albert Falls, Umgeni ; River, E Pietermaritz- ; burg; 13.IV.[19]51 No. 272 \ Swedish South Africa; Expedition; 1950-1951; [P.] Brinck - [G.] Rudebeck \ capensis; Bernh.” ( MZLU). Note. The male holotype is missing both antennae but the first three antennomeres of the right one. PARATYPES (3 specimens): “ S. Afr. Cape Prov.; Buffeljags River , 4; miles E Swellendam [approx. 34°01′43″S, 20°30′08″E, 100 m]; 27.II.[19]51 No. 185 \ Swedish South Africa; Expedition; 1950-1951; [P.] Brinck - [G.] Rudebeck \ capensis; Bernh. \ Trogophloeus ; (Carpalimus); capensis Bernh. ; det. Scheerpeltz, 1968” (1 ♀, MZLU) ; “ Type [paper disc, curator label] \ Taken in; flood drift \ S. Africa.; R.E. Turner; Brit. Mus.; 1923-414. \ Port St. John [s],; Pondoland. [approx. 31°36′43″S, 29°32′16″E, 10 m]; Aug 1-6.1923. \ Trogophloeus ; capensis Brnh. ; Typ. \ Syn-;Type [paper disc, curator label]” (1 ♀, BMNH) ; South Africa, Bushmanland , Onseepkans, 28°45′S, 19°15′E, 28.viii.1976, leg. S. Endrődy-Younga (E-Y 1177), shorewashing (1 ♀, TMSA) .

Description. Measurements (in mm, n = 3): HW = 0.48 (0.46–0.50); TW = 0.43 (0.41–0.45); PW = 0.53 (0.51–0.55); SW = 0.68 (0.63–0.73); AW = 0.75 (0.70–0.82); HL = 0.30 (0.28– 0.31); EL = 0.17 (0.16–0.175); TL = 0.04 (0.03–0.04); PL = 0.39 (0.37–0.41); SL = 0.70 (0.65–0.76); SC = 0.64 (0.60–0.69); FB = 1.35 (1.31–1.38); BL = 2.54 (2.31–2.70). Lustre and colour: Body ( Fig. 2 ) moderately shining. Head brownish black, abdomen the same with reddish tint, pronotum blackish dark brown with slight reddish tint, elytra the same but apex a little darker. Antennae and mouthparts dark brown, legs uniformly medium brown. Shape and sculpture: Head and pronotum ( Fig. 34 ) rather small compared to most species, eyes largely occupy side of head, temples small but discernible. Pronotum transverse, first half of sides and anterior corners broadly rounded, sides straight in posterior half, posterior corners blunt, not conspicuous; first half of sides and anterior corners strongly rounded. A rather deep and broad horseshoe-shaped impression anteriorly runs towards middle of sides with a little adjoining depression near anterior corners. Middle of disc with two shallow impressions on either side. Deflexed margin thin, apparent in posterior 3/5 of side and at posterior edge near corners. Elytra ( Fig. 35 ) combined a little broader than long, dilated towards apex, with slight longitudinal impressions posterior of scutellum and a rather inconspicuous depression at anterior 1/3 of disc. Posterior elytral margin with conspicuous membranous lobe in outer half, pulled out slightly near outer corner. Apex of abdominal tergite VII with palisade fringe (widest medially). Punctation and microsculpture: Head punctation rather deep and dense, punctures of medium size, interspaces only a portion of diameters. Pronotal punctures larger, similarly deep but more sparse, interspaces on average half of puncture diameters; in posterior corners finely sculptured/punctured area replaces punctation. On elytra moderately deep and dense punctation with mostly microsculpture-free, shiny interspaces; punctures of rather uneven sizes, interspaces on average half of puncture diameters. Abdominal tergites fairly deeply punctured but predominantly shiny due to lack of microsculpture and interspaces nearing diameters of punctures. Traces of microsculpture only immediately posteriad of basal ridges. Pubescence: Forebody pubescent with medium long and quite even sized setae, mostly pressed down and anteriorly directed on head and pronotum. Setation on abdomen more varied, row of conspicuously long setae on posterior edges of tergites. Primary and secondary sexual features: Female antennae ( Fig. 23 ) slightly elongate, middle antennomeres (articles 4–5) a little longer than broad, penultimate antennomeres (articles 9–10) just slightly broader than long. Male: MA of aedeagal internal sac medium large, curved, spoon-like, ML small, not so transverse, BM rather elongate, pin-like, with proximal part feebly thicker than distal, BA long, S-shaped (proximal part slightly inward curving), AC small, rather evenly arched, reverse U-shaped ( Figs 64–66 ), sternite VIII ( Fig. 60 ), tergite X ( Fig. 61 ); female: ringstructure and spermatheca ( Fig. 80 ).

Differential diagnosis. Thinodromus meridionalis is closely allied to T. tibialis (shared features are listed there) but the male aedeagus in T. meridionalis sp. nov. is with AC not pointed at apex, BM thread-like, while in T. tibialis the AC apex is pointed and has a membranous proximal broadening, BM widened in the apical 2/3. Thinodromus meridionalis sp. nov. has some rather conspicuous incisions on the basal edge of male sternite VIII, on both ends of the medial 1/3, in T. tibialis the basal edge is straight. Regarding the female ringstructure, both species have almost perfectly round apical arch of the ringstructure and no apical broadening or angle, but the basal loop appears to be broader and shorter in T. tibialis , in T. meridionalis sp. nov. the basal turns are more narrowly rounded. T. tibialis is otherwise a slightly larger species.

Etymology. The name is derived from the Latin word for “southern”.

Distribution. Only known from the Republic of South Africa.

Figures

Figs 1–3. Habitus of Thinodromus species. 1 – T. gildenkovi sp. nov., male; 2 – T. meridionalis sp. nov., female; 3 – T. facilis Gildenkov, 2000, female.

Figs 19–27. 19 – Thinodromus facilis Gildenkov, 2000, female protarsus; 20 – T. gildenkovi sp. nov., male protarsus; 21 – T. gildenkovi sp. nov., male, fringe of tergite VII. Antennae. 22 – T. sudanensis (Scheerpeltz, 1974), female; 23 – T. meridionalis sp. nov., female; 24–25 – T. gildenkovi sp. nov. (24 – female; 25 – male); 26–27 – T. dasys Gildenkov, 2000 (26 – female; 27 – male) Scale bar: 0.065 mm for 19, 0.08 mm for 20, 0.12 mm for 21, 0.24 mm for 24–25, 0.3 mm for 22 and 26–27, 0.33 mm for 23.

Figs 34–39. 34–35 – Thinodromus meridionalis sp. nov. (34 – head and pronotum; 35 – elytron and abdominal base); 36–39 – T. facilis Gildenkov, 2000 (36 – head and pronotum; 37 – female antenna; 38 – male antenna; 39 – elytron and abdominal base). Scale bar: 0.47 mm for 34–35, 0.50 mm for 37–38, 0.53 mm for 36, 39.

Figs 58–63. 58–59 – Thinodromus tibialis (Fauvel, 1907), male (58 – sternite VIII; 59 – tergite X); 60–61 – T. meridionalis sp. nov., male (60 – sternite VIII; 61 – tergite X); 62–63 – T. facilis Gildenkov, 2000, male (62 – sternite VIII; 63 – tergite X). Scale bar: 0.10 mm for 59–61 and 63, 0.15 mm for 58 and 62.

Figs 64–69. 64–66 – Thinodromus meridionalis sp. nov., male (64–65 – aedeagus; 66 – paramere); 67–69 – T. facilis Gildenkov, 2000, male (67–68 – aedeagus; 69 – paramere). Abbreviations: AC – apical copulatory sclerite; BA – basal sclerites, BM – basomedial sclerites, MA – medioapical sclerites ML – medial lamellae. Scale bar: 0.10 mm for 64–66, 0.12 mm for 67–69.

Figs 77–80. 77–78 – Thinodromus sudanensis (Scheerpeltz, 1974), female (77 – tergite X; 78 – ringstructure and spermatheca); 79 – T. capensis (Bernhauer, 1934), female ringstructure; 80 – T. meridionalis sp. nov., female ringstructure with spermatheca. Scale bar: 0.09 mm for 79–80, 0.11 mm for 78, 0.14 mm for 77.