Quedius (Microsaurus) limans, Assing, 2019

Assing, Volker, 2019, On the taxonomy oI some West Palaearctic Quedius species, with descriptions oI new species and new synonymies (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (1), pp. 189-201 : 199-200

Quedius (Microsaurus) limans nov.sp. ( Figs 13-15 , 19-23)

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype ♁: ̎ ISRAEL - Har Hermon, 2000 m, doline, pitfall, 33°18'17''N, 35°47'14''E, 3.VII.2010, C. Drees / Holotypus ♁ Quedius limans sp. n., det. V. Assing 2019̎ (cAss).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet is the present participle of the Latin verb limare (to rasp) and alludes to the rasper- or grater-shaped apex of the median lobe of the aedeagus.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Large species; body length 14.5 mm; length of forebody 8.2 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 13 . Coloration: body (including appendages) black with bright-reddish elytra and brown tarsomeres V.

Head ( Fig. 14 ) large (sexual dimorphism?), 1.21 times as broad as long, broadest behind eyes; one macropuncture near middle of dorsal margin of eye, one approximately halfway between posterior margin of eye and posterior constriction of head, and one near posterior constriction of head; postero-lateral portion of head with dense macropunctation; dorsal surface with dense fine and distinct micropunctation; interstices with fine, but distinct transverse microsculpture. Eyes flat, approximately 0.7 times as long as postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna short, 3.5 mm long; antennomeres IV- X all distinctly transverse.

Pronotum ( Fig. 14 ) 1.11 times as broad as long and 1.18 times as broad as head; dorsal series composed of 1+2 macropunctures; one smaller sublateral puncture situated behind level of posterior pair of dorsal punctures; disc with fine non-setiferous micropunctation and with fine microsculpture predominantly composed of striae directed antero-posteriad in lateral portion, oblique in median portion, and transverse in posterior portion.

Elytra ( Fig. 14 ) 0.67 times as long as pronotum; punctation very dense and fine; pubescence blackish and depressed; interstices without microreticulation. Scutellum with fine transverse microreticulation and fine non-setiferous micropunctation. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen with dense and fine punctation, that of tergite VII as dense as that of tergite III; interstices with fine transverse microsculpture; pubescence depressed, greyish; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

♁: sternite VIII posteriorly with deep concavity and long brown marginal setae; aedeagus 1.6 mm long and shaped as in Figs 19-23 .

♀: unknown.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: In habitus, coloration, and the short antennae, Q. limans somewhat resembles Q. brevicornis THOMSON, 1860. It is distinguished from this species by even larger size, the pronotal punctation pattern, much finer and denser punctation of the elytra and the abdomen, a deeper posterior excision of the male sternite VIII, and by the different shape of the aedeagus. For illustrations of the aedeagus of Q. brevicornis see, e.g., COIFFAIT (1978) and SOLODOVNIKOV (2012).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: The type locality is situated in North Israel. The slightly teneral holotype was collected with a pitfall trap in a doline at an altitude of 2000 m.

Figures

Figs 11-15: Quedius morulus (11-12) and Q. limans (13-15): (11, 13) male habitus; (12, 14) male forebody; (15) head and pronotum in dorso-lateral view. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

Figs 16-23: Quedius morulus (16-18) and Q. limans (19-23): (16, 19-20) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (17) median lobe in lateral view; (18, 23) paramere; (21-22) apical portion of median lobe in lateral and in ventral view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.