Tetartopeus inexcisus, Assing, 2009

Assing, V., 2009, New species and additional records of Lathrobium and Tetartopeus from the Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2), pp. 1269-1283 : 1281-1282

Tetartopeus inexcisus nov.sp. ( Figs 24-28 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3: "TR [28a] - Kastamonu, 25 km SE Tosya , 40°56'26"N, 34°13'53"E, 1600 m, moist meadow, 6.IV.2009, V. Assing / Holotypus 3 Tetartopeus inexcisus sp. n., det. V. Assing 2009 " (cAss).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 7.5 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 24 . Coloration: body blackish, with the posterior 3/5 of the elytra reddish; legs pale yellowish-brown; antennae dark-brown, with antennomeres I, II, and XI reddish.

Head 1.1 times as long as wide; punctation moderately coarse and not very dense, interstices in lateral and posterior dorsal portions on average approximately as wide as or slightly wider than diameter of punctures, in median dorsal area distinctly wider than diameter of punctures; interstices without microsculpture, shiny. Eyes little more than one third the length postocular region from posterior margin of eye to neck ( Fig. 25 ). Antenna slender; antennomeres IV-X almost twice as long as wide.

Pronotum 1.25 times as long as wide and 1.13 times as wide as head; punctation similar to that of head; impunctate midline narrow; interstices without microsculpture and shiny ( Fig. 25 ).

Elytra 1.2 times as wide as pronotum and relatively short, approximately 0.8 times as long as pronotum ( Fig. 25 ); punctation shallower and less defined than that of pronotum; interstices without distinct microsculpture.

Abdomen approximately as wide as elytra; punctation very fine and very dense; interstices with distinct fine microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

3: posterior margin of tergite VIII weakly convex in the middle; sternite VIII with extensive cluster of black setae, posterior margin weakly and broadly concave, but not incised in the middle ( Fig. 26 ); aedeagus with ventral process of distinctive shape ( Fig. 27 ).

♀: unknown.

C o m m e n t: The apico-ventral portion of the ventral process of the aedeagus is evidently broken off ( Fig. 28 ). Nevertheless, even the incomplete apex of the aedeagus is highly distinctive and completely different from those of similar and geographically close congeners.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Tetartopeus inexcisus is distinguished from all its congeners by the distinctive morphology of the aedeagus. In coloration and other external characters, it is most similar to T. scutellaris (NORDMANN 1837) , which is distributed in southeastern Europe and probably absent from Turkey, and which is separated from the new species by the less oblong pronotum, the presence of a weak median excision at the posterior margin of the male sternite VIII, and by the conspicuous shape of the ventral process of the aedeagus. From other geographically close species with reddish elytra, T. inexcisus is additionally distinguished as follows:

from T. stylifer (REITTER 1909) (Caucasus region, Iran, Iraq) and T. adanensis ASSING 2004 (central southern Anatolia) by the coloration of the elytra ( T. stylifer and T. adanensis : uniformly reddish), the smaller and more slender body, the relatively smaller (in relation to pronotum) and more oblong head, the much smaller eyes, the shorter antennae, the distinctly narrower and shorter elytra, the uniformly blackish abdomen ( T. stylifer and T. adanensis : apex reddish), and the absence of a median excision of the posterior margin of the male sternite VIII;

from T. tezcani ANLAŞ 2009 (central southern Anatolia) by the different coloration of the elytra ( T. tezcani : uniformly reddish) and the abdomen ( T. tezcani : apex reddish), as well as by the different chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII;

from T. persicus COIFFAIT 1972 ( Iran, Iraq, southeastern Anatolia) by the different coloration of the elytra ( T. persicus : only anterior margin and scutellar area infuscate) and the abdomen ( T. persicus : apex reddish), the smaller and more slender head, the smaller eyes, the longer and broader elytra, as well as by the different shape and chaetotaxy of the male sternite VIII.

For illustrations of the above species, as well as of T. czwalinai (JAKOBSON 1909) (known only from the type locality in Izmir) see ANLAŞ (2009) and ASSING (2004, 2008, 2009).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective) alludes to the absence of a median incision at the posterior margin of the male sternite VIII, one of the characters distinguishing this species from similar congeners.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: Tetartopeus inexcisus is the first representative of the genus to become known from central northern Anatolia. The type locality is situated in the Geçmiş Dağı, in the south of Kastamonu province. The holotype was found under a stone in a loamy, still barely vegetated and wet meadow partly covered with snow at an altitude of 1600 m.

Figures

Figs 20-28: Tetartopeus truncatus nov.sp. (20-23) and T. inexcisus nov.sp. (24-28): (20, 25) forebody; (21) male tergite VIII; (22, 26) male sternite VIII; (23, 27) aedeagus in lateral view; (24) habitus; (28) apical portion of aedeagus. Scale bars: 24: 1.0 mm; 20-23, 25-27: 0.5 mm; 28: 0.1 mm.