Prespelea copelandi Park, 1956

Caterino, Michael S. & Vasquez-Velez, Laura M., 2017, A revision of Prespelea Park (Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae), ZooKeys 685, pp. 105-130 : 119

Prespelea copelandi Park, 1956 Figs 20, 31, 43, Map 50

Prespelea copelandi Park 1956: 55

Type material.

Holotype male: "Cades Cove, Blount Co. Tenn. Berlesed, C.D. Copeland"/ “Type” / "Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Orlando Park Pselaphidae Colln." (FMNH). Other material: known from nine non-type specimens from Blount and Sevier Cos., TN, and Swain Co., NC (all within Great Smoky Mountains National Park); and Jackson and Macon Cos., NC, east of GSMNP; for full details see Suppl. material 1.

Diagnosis.

Prespelea copelandi is unique in the genus in lacking male metaventral modifications. The male’s metaventrite is slightly more convex than that of the female, but lacks any distinct process. Like several new species, the males exhibit well-developed eyes and wings (associated females of these species all have reduced eyes with 2-4 ommatidia and undeveloped flight wings); metatrochanter with narrow, acute tooth borne slightly basad midpoint; neck moderately flattened beneath, with median ventral carina; aedeagus with weakly sinuate sides and a deeply emarginate apex. Females: none definitely associated. TL 1.72-1.80mm; Max. width (EW) 0.65-0.69mm.

Distribution.

Known from scattered localities within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as well as a few locations further east and southeast.

Remarks.

This species was described from a single undissected male, without associated females. No illustrations were provided. However, the lack of a distinct metaventral process distinguishes it from the other fully-eyed and winged (in males) species we describe below. We assign a few specimens here that do exhibit an extremely minute metaventral denticle, which places them somewhere between this and the next species, and it is this form whose genitalia is illustrated in Fig. 43; we did not risk dissecting the unique type. There is substantial variation, even in male genitalia, with some specimens approaching the shape of P. quirsfeldi , with the aedeagus distinctly and evenly narrowed subapically. There is also variation in the depth of the apical emargination of the aedeagus, and this species thus remains poorly characterized. Further material from the type locality (Cades Cove) that can be dissected and sequenced would help define what should and shouldn’t be assigned to P. copelandi .