Domene (Domene) vailatii, Assing, 2018

Assing, Volker, 2018, The third hypogean Domene species from Greece (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1), pp. 17-23 : 18-22

Domene (Domene) vailatii nov.sp. ( Figs 1-9 , Map 1 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype ♂: " GRECIA nom. Thesprotía, O. Tsamantá, Tsamantäs , N39°46'49.3'' E20°20'43.3'', m 540, 9.VI.2016 - 12.VI.2017, Giachino & Vailati leg. / Holotypus ♂ Domene vailatii sp.n. det. V. Assing 2018" (cAss). Paratypes: 17♀♀: same data as holotype (cAss, cFel, cGia, cVai); 4♀♀: same data as holotype, but " 22.VI.2014 - 18.IX.2015 " (cAss) .

E t y m o l o g y: The species is gratefully dedicated to Dante Vailati, one of the collectors, also in appreciation of the ongoing efforts in studying the hypogean Coleoptera fauna of Greece.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 9.3-10.8 mm; length of forebody 5.3-5.9 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: forebody blackish-brown, rarely paler; abdomen blackishbrown; legs reddish-brown to dark-brown; antennae brown to dark-brown.

Head distinctly oblong, approximately 1.15 times as long as broad, and of oval shape; punctation fine and very dense, interstices distinctly narrower than diameter of punctures; microsculpture absent, except for shallow traces on frons; pubescence depressed, yellowish; neck one-third as wide as head. Eyes ( Figs 2-3 ) strongly reduced, composed of approximately 20 ommatidia without pigmentation. Maxillary palpus long and slen- der; penultimate palpomere slightly longer than antennomere III. Antenna 4.2-4.5 mm long and slender; all antennomeres distinctly oblong; antennomere III much longer than IV; antennomere IV approximately three times as long as broad; antennomere X approximately twice as long as broad.

Pronotum ( Figs 4-5 ) oblong, approximately 1.3 times as long as broad and 0.85 times as broad as head, maximal width near anterior angles; punctation denser, finer than that of head; median portion of disc more or less extensively with dense and fine lontitudinal microstriae rendering the surface matt and the punctation indistinct; marginal portions without such microstriae or other microsculpture.

Elytra 0.75-0.80 times as long as, and slightly narrower than pronotum; disc somewhat depressed or impressed in median portion; punctation fine, dense, and granulose; surface only with subdued shine. Hind wings completely reduced. Legs long and slender; metatarsomere I approximately as long as metatarsomere II; protarsomeres I-IV strongly dilated, without sexual dimorphism.

Abdomen broader than elytra, broadest at segment VI; tergites IV-VI anteriorly with a median pair of weakly delimited, shallow impressions; punctation fine and dense, somewhat less fine in anterior portions of tergites III-VI; interstices with very shallow microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe; posterior margin of tergite VIII with weakly pronounced sexual dimorphism.

♂: posterior margin of tergite VIII truncate; posterior margin of sternite VII with small and shallow median concavity ( Fig. 6 ); sternite VIII ( Fig. 6 ) with nearly U-shaped posterior erxcision, pubescence unmodified; aedeagus ( Figs 7-8 ) 0.95 mm long and with stout ventral process of distinctive shape, particularly in lateral view.

♀: posterior margin of tergite VIII convex; sternite VIII with strongly convex posterior margin.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Domene vailatii is distinguished from its congeners by the shape of the aedeagus. The similar external and male sexual characters suggest that it is closely allied to the geographically close hypogean D. giachinoi (Thesprotía) , D. behnei (Corfu) , and D. ziui (South Albania). It additionally differs from them as follows:

from D. giachinoi (female unknown) by less strongly reduced eyes, the conspicuous longitudinal microsculpture of the pronotum (absent in D. giachinoi ), less strongly sculptured anterior portions of the abdominal tergites III-VI, a posteriorly truncate male tergite VIII (weakly convex in D. giachinoi ), the small posterior concavity of the male sternite VII, and by the shape of the posterior excision of the male sternite VIII.

from D. behnei (female unknown) by the microsculpture of the pronotum, longer and more slender legs, longer and more slender elytra, the small posterior concavity of the male sternite VII, and by the shape of the posterior excision of the male sternite VIII.

from D. ziui by longer and more slender legs, and a pronotum with distinct longitudinal microsculpture and without a distinct median sulcus.

For illustrations of D. giachinoi , D. behnei , and D. ziui see ASSING (2007), ZERCHE (2008), and PAVIĆEVIĆ et al. (2014), respectively.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: The type locality is situated in Oros Tsamantá, Thesprotía province, Northwest Greece, very close to the Albanian border and approximately 37 km to the northwest of the type locality of D. giachinoi ( Map 1 ). The specimens were collected with subterranean pitfall traps in a rocky deciduous forest at an altitude of 540 m ( Fig. 9 ). The sex ratio is remarkably biased: only one of the 22 type specimens is a male.

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of hypogean Domene species recorded from Greece and Albania: Domene vailatii (black star); D. giachinoi (white circle); D. behnei (black circle); D. ziui (white diamond).

Figs 1-5: Domene vailatii: (1) habitus (holotype); (2) head in lateral view; (3) eye; (4) pronotum; (5) median portion of pronotum. Scale bars:1-2, 4: 1.0 mm; 3, 5: 0.2 mm.

Figs 6-8: Domene vailatii: (7-8) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (6) male sternites VII and VIII in ventral view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Fig. 9: Type locality of Domene vailatii. Photo: Pier Mauro Giachino.