Tachyporus saudicus SCHÜLKE, 2013

Assing, V., Schülke, M., M. R & A. S, 2013, On the Staphylinidae of Saudi Arabia, with descriptions of two new species (Insecta: Coleoptera), Linzer biologische Beiträge 45 (1), pp. 141-154 : 150-152

Tachyporus saudicus SCHÜLKE nov.sp.

( Figs 9-12 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: “ SAUDI ARABIA 740 m, Al Bahah, W Turabah, Al Mandaq , 20°12'40''N, 41°17'18''E, 1790 m, 10.V.2011, leg. Sharaf / Holotypus Tachyporus saudicus sp. n., det. M. Schülke 2012” ( KSMA) . Paratypes: 3♂♂, 3♀♀ [1♂, 3♀♀ teneral]: same data as holotype ( cSch, cAss).

Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective) is derived from Saudi Arabia where the species was discovered.

Description: Measurements (in mm) and indices: body length 2.7-3.4; length of forebody 1.7-1.9; head width 0.59-0.60; pronotal width 0.96-1.00; pronotal length 0.64- 0.66; elytral sutural length (apex of scutellum to sutural angle) 0.77-0.79; elytral humeral length (anterior to posterior margin) 0.96-1.01; elytral width 1.03-1.10; aedeagus length 0.69-0.72. Ratios: head width / pronotal width 0.60-0.62; pronotal length / elytral length 0.77-0.83; elytral humeral length / elytral width 0.90-0.97.

Habitus as in Fig. 9 . Coloration: head black, pronotum and elytra yellowish-brown, disc of pronotum dark-brown, only one specimen with oblique brown elytral markings, abdomen dark-brown to black, posterior margins of segments yellowish-brown, legs and basal antennomeres yellow, antennomeres IV-XI and maxillary palpus brownish.

Head transverse; posterior part concealed under pronotal anterior margin; punctation of frons and vertex fine and sparse, distance between punctures approximately 30 µm; without microsculpture. Eyes weakly convex and rather large, distinctly longer than postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna approximately 1.1 mm long; antennomeres I-III more than twice as long as broad, antennomeres IV-X of decreasing length, antennomere X as long as broad, antennomere XI slightly elongated, 1.7 times as long as broad. Antennomeres I-III only with sensory bristles, antennomeres IV-XI with dense pubescence.

Pronotum distinctly transverse, 1.6-1.7 times as wide as head; anterior angles bent lateroventral, posterior angles broadly rounded; punctation similar to that of head, pubescence almost invisible, only 1-2 µm long; microsculpture absent. Anterior, posterior, and lateral margins each with four distinct bristle-bearing punctures, bristles approximately 100 µm long.

Elytra moderately long, 1.2-1.3 times as long as pronotum, slightly widened posteriad, 0.90-0.97 times as long as wide; punctures as sparse as those of pronotum, but distinctly coarser with pubescence of approximately 50 µm length. Elytra covered with rows of sensory bristles of approximately 100 µm length forming distinct rows: humeral 0-1, sublateral 1-2, inner discal 2, middle discal 3, outer discal 2, sutural 3-4, apical 3 and lateral 5-6; surface of elytra without any microsculpture. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen with punctation and pubescence of tergites similar to those of pronotum; tergites with indistinct microsculpture composed of transverse striae or meshes (2 meshes per 10 µm); posterior margin of tergite VII with distinct palisade fringe.

♂: protarsomeres I-IV distinctly dilated; sternite VIII with distinct posterior emargination ( Fig. 11 ); aedeagus approximately 0.7 mm long, without large sclerotized structures in the internal sac ( Fig. 10 ).

Comparative notes No records of Tachyporus species were previously known from the Arabian Peninsula. Only few species have been recorded from the adjacent regions, such as T. nitidulus (FABRICIUS 1781) from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Israel and Iraq, T. abner SAULCY 1865 from Israel, Jordan and Iran, T. caucasicus KOLENATI 1846 from Israel, Jordan, Syria and Iran, T. hypnorum (FABRICIUS 1775) from Lebanon and Iran, and T. pusillus GRAVENHORST 1806 from Egypt, Israel, Syria and Iran. The record of T. solutus ERICHSON 1839 from Syria ( SMETANA 2004) remains doubtful, most likely it is based on a confusion with T. caucasicus .

Tachyporus saudicus is highly similar in size, habitus, and elytral chaetotaxy to T. abner and T. pusillus , but distinguished as follows:

from T. abner by the much paler coloration of the whole body, especially of the elytra (with characteristic black markings in T. abner ), variability of the presence of humeral bristle-bearing punctures on the elytra, and the larger size of the aedeagus ( T. abner : 0.58-0.63 mm).

from T. pusillus by usually paler coloration ( T. pusillus : body dark-brown), the variability of the presence of humeral bristle-bearing punctures on the elytra, the absence of elytral microsculpture, and the smaller aedeagus ( T. pusillus : 0.79-0.85 mm).

Other pale-coloured species with similar oblique elytral markings ( T. himalayicus BERNHAUER 1920 , T. montanus BERNHAUER, 1915 , and other probably undescribed species) are distinguished by the reduced number of elytral sensory bristles, especially the reduced number of discal bristles.

Distribution and natural history The type specimens were collected in a pasture, probably from under stones, in Wadi Turabah, Al Bahah, southwestern Saudi Arabia, at an altitude of 1790 m in May. The type locality is illustrated in Fig. 12 .

Figures

Figs 9-11: Tachyporus saudicus nov.sp.: (9) habitus; (10) aedeagus in ventral view; (11) sternite VIII. Scale bars: 9: 2.0 mm; 10-11: 0.2 mm.

Fig. 12: Type locality of Tachyporus saudicus nov.sp.