Quedius (Raphirus) cohaesus Eppelsheim, 1888

Salnitska, Maria & Solodovnikov, Alexey, 2018, Revision of the Quedius fauna of Middle Asia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 65 (2), pp. 117-159 : 129-130

Quedius (Raphirus) cohaesus Eppelsheim, 1888 Fig. 12

Q. afghanicus Coiffait, 1977, syn. n. (Fig. 13)

Q. turkmenicus Coiffait, 1969, syn. n.

Quedius cohaesus Eppelsheim, 1888, 60 (original description); Bernhauer and Schubert 1916, 421 (catalog); Gridelli 1925, 26 (characters, distribution records); Coiffait 1963, 393 (characters); Korge 1964, 122 (distribution records); Smetana 1967, 558 (distribution records); Coiffait 1978, 248 (characters, distribution records); Solodovnikov 2004, 227 (= Q. meurguesae Coiff., notes, distribution records); Toleutaev 2014, 44 (distribution records).

Quedius afghanicus Coiffait, 1977, 139 (original description).

Quedius turkmenicus Coiffait, 1969, 49 (original description); Coiffait 1978, 245 (characters, notes).

Type material examined.

Quedius cohaesus: Lectotype, ♂, "Turcmenia Leder. Reitter [printed]/ c. Eppelsh. Steind. d. [printed]/ ♂ [handwritten]/ cohaesus mihi [handwritten]/ Lectotype Quedius cohaesus Eppelsheim, 1888 A. Solodovnikov des. 2003 [printed] ’’ (NMW); Paralectotype, ♀, "Turcmenia Leder. Reitter [printed]/ c. Eppelsh. Steind. d. [printed]/ cohaesus mihi/ ♀ [handwritten]/ Paralectotypus Quedius cohaesus Eppelsheim, 1888 A. Solodovnikov des. 2013 [printed] ’’ (Fig. 12E, F) (NMW).

Quedius afghanicus: Holotype, ♂, "Khat Chaї 2600 m. 22.VIII.74 [handwritten]/ Paktui Afghan. [handwritten]/ G.M.uG.L. [handwritten]/ Type [printed]/ Museum Paris Coll. H. Coiffait [printed]/ Q. (Sauridus) afghanicus H. Coiffait 1977 [ pre-printed’’ (Fig. 13D) (MNHN).

Additional material.

Turkmenistan: 1 ♂, Asia. centr., N-Kopet-Dagh, Firjusa-Cleft, near Ashchabad, 07.V.1989, D.W. Wrase leg. (cSch); 1 ♂, Kopetdag Mts, Karakala env., 28.IX.1989, A.V. Puchkov leg. (cSch); Tajikistan: 1 ♂, Gazimalyk Mt. Ridge, 15 km NW Ganjin, 2000 m a.s.l, 14.V.1970, G.S. Medvedev leg. (ZIN).

Comments on taxonomy and new synonymy.

Coiffait (1969, 1977) described Q. turkmenicus and Q. afghanicus from Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, respectively. We were able to study the type material for Q. afghanicus only (Fig. 13), which turns out to be conspecific with Q. cohaesus and therefore is placed here into synonymy with the latter. Unfortunately, we were unable to examine the type material of Q. turkmenicus which, according to Coiffait (1969) is deposited in the collection of the Paul Sabatier University at Toulouse, France. Nevertheless, because it is obvious from the original descriptions and illustrations that Q. turkmenicus is conspecific with Q. cohaesus , the former is also placed into synonymy with the latter. These new synonymies are consistent with the earlier revealed synonymy of Q. cohaesus with Q. meurguesae Coiffait, 1977 from Iran ( Solodovnikov 2004). Below we redescribe this insufficiently known widespread species and provide data on its distribution and bionomics.

Redescription.

Measurements and ratios (range, arithmetic mean; n = 3): HL: 0.7-0.9 (0.8); HW: 0.8-0.9 (0.9); PL: 0.9-1.2 (1.0); PW: 0.9-1.1 (1.0); EL: 1.2-1.5 (1.4); EW: 1.2-1.3 (1.3); FB: 2.9-3.6 (3.2); TL: 5.6-6.7 (6.2); HL/HW: 0.9-1.1 (1.0); PL/PW: 0.9-1.1 (1.0); EL/EW: 1.0-1.2 (1.1).

Body light to dark brownish; head black, pronotum dark brown to brown; elytra brownish with hind angles paler; abdomen dark brown with posterior margins distinctly lighter; hind legs yellowish, antennae, maxillary and labial palps darker, body glossy (Figs 12A; 13A).

Head slightly wider than long HL/HW: 0.9-1.1 (1.0), eyes large and convex; temples distinctly shorter than eyes (ratio 0.2-0.3 (0.3); with shallow, but dense transverse microsculpture; punctation: one puncture at anterior margin near antennal pit, anterior frontal puncture at posterior margin of antennal pit, posterior frontal and temporal punctures closer to posterior margin of eye than to posterior margin of head; vertical punctures (ca. 1-2) closer to neck than to posterior margin of eye.

Antennae long: antennal segments: 3rd longer than 2nd; 4 th– 10th distinctly widening towards apex of antennae.

Pronotum slightly wider than long or transverse PL/PW: 0.9-1.1 (1.0), widest at its posterior half, vaguely narrowing anteriad, wider and longer than head; hind angles rounded barely distinct; dorsal rows each with three punctures; sublateral rows each with two punctures; microsculpture with shallow hardly visible transverse waves.

Scutellum punctate with microsculpture distinctly denser as on pronotum.

Elytra parallel-sided, hardly narrowing anteriad, as long as wide or slightly longer than wide EL/EW: 1.0-1.2 (1.1); wider and slightly longer than pronotum; punctation dense with interspaces wider than diameter of punctures, interspaces shiny, with distinct minute irregularities; setation brownish.

Abdomen: punctation fine and dense; interspaces with minute irregularities; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

Male: protarsi with tarsomers 1-4 dilated stronger than in females. Aedeagus (Figs 12C, D; 13B, C): Median lobe parallel-sided with moderately acute apex, tooth situated close to its apex (Figs 12C, 13B). Paramere parallel-sided, slightly narrowing basad; its apex almost reaching apex of median lobe; sensory peg setae arranged in two irregular and wide longitudinal rows along each lateral margin of apical portion extending over pairs of lateral setae below apex (Figs 12D, 13C).

Comparison.

Among other Raphirus that occurs in Middle Asia, Q. cohaesus is most similar to Q. pseudonigriceps from which it can be easily distinguished by the presence of an apical seam of palisade fringe VII and normally developed elytra, as well as by the characters of the aedeagus.

Distribution.

Quedius cohaesus was described from “Turcmenia” which is not necessarily Turkmenistan in the modern sense, but certainly some locality in Middle Asia (Eppelsheim, 1888). Based on the literature (Table 1) and material examined here, Q. cohaesus is known from Iran (material not recorded here), Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan (most of the material not recorded here).

Bionomics.

It is only known that Q. cohaesus can be found at rather high elevations, up to 2600 m (Coiffait, 1977).