Meotica parasita MULSANT & REY, 1873

Assing, Volker, Schülke, Michael, Brachat, Volker & Meybohm, Heinrich, 2018, On the Staphylinidae of the Greek island Corfu (Insecta: Coleoptera), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology (Beitr. Entomol.) 68 (1), pp. 31-67 : 57

Meotica parasita MULSANT & REY, 1873

( Figs 10 ,12–22)

Type material examined: Lectotype ♂ [dissected by J. Muona; antennae and posterior abdominal segments damaged]: “♂ / Meotica parasita M. & R., Lectotype ♂, Muona des. 1979 / Muona det. Meotica parasita M. & R.” ( MHNL).

Comment: The original description is based on an unspecified number of syntypes from “le Bugey” (East France: Ain) ( MULSANT & REY 1873). MUONA (1979) designated the sole syntype in the Rey collection as the lectotype. The lectotype, a somewhat damaged macropterous female, had been dissected by J. Muona.

The genus Meotica MULSANT & REY, 1873 is currently in a state of taxonomic confusion, with the vast majority of the names of doubtful status. According to preliminary studies of the type material of most of the valid names (ASSING & VOGEL in prep.), numerous names pend synonymization and the material from Corfu is conspecific with M. parasita , the type species of the genus. In order to facilitate recognition of this previously doubtful species, a full redescription is provided.

Redescription: Body length 1.7–2.3 mm; length of forebody 0.9–1.1 mm. Coloration: head blackish-brown to black; pronotum dark-brown; elytra brown; abdomen dark-brown to black, with the posterior portion of segment VII and segments VIII–X reddish; legs yellow; antennae dark-yellowish to brown with the basal three antennomeres more or less distinctly paler; maxillary palpi yellowish to pale-brown, with the apical palpomere yellow.

Head ( Fig. 10 ) approximately as broad as long; punctation rather dense and extremely fine, practically invisible in the pronounced and rather coarse microsculpture even at high magnification. Eyes relatively large, approximately 0.7 times as long as distance from posterior margin of eye to posterior margin of head in dorsal view. Antenna incrassate apically; antennomere IV distinctly tranverse; antennomeres V–X increasingly transverse and of gradually increasing width; antennomere X 2.5–3.0 times as broad as long.

Pronotum ( Fig. 10 ) approximately 1.15 times as broad as long and 1.15 times as broad as head, broadest anteriorly; punctation and microsculpture similar to those of head.

Elytra ( Fig. 10 ) slightly longer than pronotum; punctation dense and fine, but more distinct than that of head and pronotum. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen narrower than elytra; punctation fine and dense; interstices with distinct microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe; posterior margin of tergite VIII truncate, with weakly pronounced sexual dimorphism ( Fig. 17, 19 ).

♂: sternite VIII ( Fig. 18 ) short and strongly transverse, posterior margin truncate; median lobe of aedeagus 0.24–0.27 mm long, shaped as in Figs 12–16 ; apical lobe of paramere distinctly sclerotized, blackish.

♂: sternite VIII ( Fig. 20 ) very weakly transverse, posterior margin convex, in the middle truncate or weakly concave; spermatheca ( Figs 21–22 ) of simple shape, not distinctive.

Comparative notes: In external appearance (dark coloration, strongly incrassate antennae, long elytra), M. parasita resembles macropterous M. exilis (GRAVENHORST, 1806), in the shape of the median lobe of the aedeagus, it is most similar to M. wunderlei ASSING, 2013 ( Turkey) . Meotica parasita differs from both of these species by the shape of the median lobe of the aedeagus, from the former additionally by the shape of the spermatheca and from the latter by darker coloration, much larger eyes, the shape of the male sternite VIII ( M. wunderlei : posterior margin convex), and the shape of the female sternite VIII ( M. wunderlei : posterior margin distinctly broadly produced in the middle). For illustrations of M. wunderlei see ASSING (2013).

Distribution and natural history: Though currently known only from France and Corfu, this species is most likely widespread in South Europe. The specimens from Corfu were collected with a car-net in two localities.

Figures

Figs 1–11. Borboropora corcyrana (1–7; 2, 5–6: holotype; 1, 3–4, 7: paratype), B. kraatzii (8–9), Meotica parasita (10), and Ocypus corcyranus, holotype (11): forebody (1, 10); head (2–3); tergite VIII (4); median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (5–6, 8–9); spermatheca (7); habitus (11). Scale bars: 11: 5.0 mm; 1, 10: 0.5 mm; 2–3, 4: 0.2 mm; 5–9: 0.1 mm.

Figs 12–27: Meotica parasita (12–22), Ocypus corcyranus, holotype (23–25), and O. albanicus (26–27): median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (12–16); male tergite VIII (17); male sternite VIII (18); female tergite VIII (19); female sternite VIII (20); spermatheca (21–22); aedeagus in ventral and in lateral view (23–27). Scale bars: 23–27: 1.0 mm; 17–20: 0.2 mm; 12–16, 21–22: 0.1 mm.