Afropselaphus clavigeroides ( REITTER , 1882)

Brachat, Volker & Assing, Volker, 2021, The Afropselaphus fauna of South Turkey and the Middle East (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 53 (2), pp. 545-568 : 548-549

Afropselaphus clavigeroides ( REITTER, 1882) ( Figs 1-3 , 7 , Map 1 )

Pselaphus clavigeroides REITTER 1882: 333 f. Pselaphogenius clavigeroides : BESUCHET 1960: 27 ff. M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: LEBANON: 1♁, Rayfoun, ca. 33°58'N, 35°42'E, 990 m, miexed oak forest, pitfall trap, 14.II.-24.III.2016, leg. Reuter (cBra); 1♁, same data, but 33°59'N, 35°42'E,

11-23.I.2018 (cBra); 1♀, same data, but 3-14.XII.2018 (cBra) .

R e d e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 1.75-1.85 mm. Other measurements (in mm): HL: 0.35; HW: 0.27-0.28; AL♁: 0.80; AL ♀: 0.75; PpL: 0.36 mm; PL: 0.31-0.33; PW: 0.28- 0.30; EL♁: 0.44; EL ♀: 0.36; EW♁: 0.70; EW ♀: 0.68; AedL: 0.34-0.36. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Ventral aspect as in Fig. 2 ).

Head approximately 1.3 times as long as broad. Eyes composed of five ommatidia. Antennae: antennomeres I approximately twice as long as broad, II approximately 1.5 times as long as broad, III-IV weakly oblong, V-X approximately as long as broad or weakly oblong, and XI nearly twice as long as broad. Maxillary palpomere IV with apical club approximately half as long as total length of palpomere. Pronotum with median ante-basal fovea missing or forming an indistinct sulcus. Mesoventrite ( Fig. 3 ) broad and rectangular.

♁: metaventrite more strongly convex than in female; sternite IV with distinct medio-basal impression extending to middle of sternite, with few short setae at lateral margins; aedeagus ( Fig. 7 ) apically strongly bent ventrad; internal sac with long, stout, and nearly straight spine.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: BESUCHET (1960) placed A. clavigeroides near A. caviventris (REITTER, 1884) from Greece, which, however, is distinguished from A. clavigeroides by a much shorter club of the maxillary palpomere IV, pronounced modifications of the male metaventrite, and a completely different structure of the aedeagus, suggesting that it is not closely allied to the species of the A. clavigeroides group. Aside from the internal structure of the aedeagus, A. clavigeroides may additionally be distinguished from other representatives of the A. clavigeroides group by sexually dimorphic elytra, if the elytra are indeed constantly shorter in females than in males. Only a single female was available for the present study.

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 confirmed distribution is confined to the environs of Beirut, Lebanon ( Map 1 ). The examined specimens were collected in a mixed oak forest at an altitude of nearly 1,000 m.

Figures

Map 1: Distribution of Afropselaphus muglanus (black triangle), A. pisidicus (white triangle), A. tenuispinosus (grey triangles), A. wolfi (black stars), A. frederici (white star), A. cilicicus (grey star), A. longispinosus (white circles), A. spoliatus (black circles), A. bispinosus (grey circles), A. clavigeroides (black diamonds), A. assmanni (white diamond), A. aequalis (black square), and A. meybohmi (white square).

Figs 1-4: Afropselaphus clavigeroides (1-3) and A. muglanus nov.sp. (4): (1, 4) habitus; (2) ventral aspect of body; (3) pro- and mesothorax in ventral view. Scale bars: 1-2, 4: 1.0 mm; 3: 0.2 mm.

Figs 5-8: Afropselaphus wolfi nov.sp. (5), A. pisidicus nov.sp. (6), A. clavigeroides (7), and A. muglanus nov.sp. (8): (5-6) male thorax in ventral view; (7-8) aedeagus in dorsal view. Scale bars: 5-6: 0.5 mm; 7-8: 0.1 mm.