Bryaxis biogradensis, Kolimár & Hlaváč & Baňař, 2024

Kolimár, Robert, Hlaváč, Peter & Baňař, Petr, 2024, Two new species of Bryaxis Kugelann, 1794 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae) from Montenegro, Zootaxa 5446 (2), pp. 274-280 : 277-280

Bryaxis biogradensis sp. nov.

Figs 6–10

Material examined. Holotype, ♂: MONTENEGRO, with one label “MONTENEGRO [MNE026], Bjelasica / Biogradska Gora NP, lake env. / 42°53'33"N 19°35'54"E 1800 m / sifting Fagus , Abies old forest, 2.& 5.6.2023 / Kolimár, Švarc, Šíma lgt.“ [white, printed] ( MMBC) . Paratypes: 6♂♂, 2♀♀: same locality as for the holotype ( PCPH, PCRK) . 1♂: with one label “MONTENEGRO [MNE036], Bjelasica / Biogradska Gora NP, lake env. / 42°53'20"N 19°35'59"E 1300 m/ sifting Fagus , Abies frs 5.6.2023 / Kolimár , Švarc, Šíma lgt.” [white, printed] ( PCRK) . 1♂: with one label “MONTENEGRO [MNE023], Bjelasica / Biogradska Gora NP, lake env. / 42°53'53"N 19°35'53"E 1130 m / sifting Fagus forest, 2.6.2023 / Kolimár , Švarc, Šíma lgt.” [white, printed] ( PCRK) . 4♂♂: with one label “MONTENEGRO 1180m / 42°53'33"N 19°35'54"E / Biogradska Gora NP / sifting, mixed forest / A.Šíma leg. 5.VI.2023 ” [white, printed] ( PCAS) . 1♂, 5♀: with one label “MONTENEGRO [MNE061] Bjelasica / Biogradska Gora NP, lake 1.11.2023 / 42°53'33"N 19°35'54"E 1180 m / sifting Fagus & Abies forest / Kolimár , Švarc, Šíma lgt.” [white, printed] ( PCRK, PCAS) .

Diagnosis. Body length 1.95–2.20 mm, reddish-brown; antennae long, scape in male cylindrical, coarsely punctate, almost twice as long as pedicel, with minuscule rounded tubercle located in middle, pedicel elongate, about 1.2 times as long as wide, coarsely punctate, antennomere 3 elongate, 4–7 moniliform, 8–10 transverse; all palpomeres smooth, lacking any granulation; legs slightly thickened, protibia in male in distal third with spur on inner edge, metatibia prolonged with minuscule distal dent on inner edge.

Description. Male: Body ( Figs 6–7 ) including legs, antennae and maxillary palpi reddish-brown, body glossy, pubescence recumbent, length 1.95–2.20 mm, maximal width of elytra 0.76–0.82 mm.

Head subtriangular, smooth, space between lateral margin of head and vertexal fovea punctate, about 1.05 as wide as long, eyes small, composed of 15–20 facets, frons between antennal tubercules with deep excavation which is not reaching half of head, rostrum with minuscule triangular projection, median vertexal carina well-defined, reaching posterior margin, vertex slightly convex, vertexal foveae large, temples clearly longer than diameter of eyes, rounded.

Maxillary palpi standart developed, all palpomeres smooth, lacking any granulation, palpomere 4 elongate, about 0.34 mm long, evenly and densely pubescent with very short setae.

Antennae about 0.90 mm long, scape of male ( Fig. 10 ) about 1.75 times as long as wide, cylindrical, coarsely punctate, with minuscule rounded tubercle in middle, almost twice as long as pedicel, scape of female about 2 times longer than wide ( Fig. 7 ), without tubercles. Pedicel elongate, about 1.2 times as long as wide, coarsely punctate, antennomere 3 elongate, 4–7 moniliform, 8–10 transverse. Antennomere 10 about 1.5 times as long as 9, terminal antennomere almost 3 times as long as 10, little longer than scape, pointed at apex.

Pronotum about 1.1 times as wide as long, widest in anterior third, 1.3 times as long as head, shiny, with sparse, fine and shallow punctation, smooth behind transversal antebasal sulcus, but at base with row of relatively large and deep punctures, disc convex, lateral antebasal foveae present, connected by well-developed antebasal sulcus.

Elytra about 1.05 times as wide as long, glossy, disc almost flat, evenly punctate, punctures very small and shallow, each elytron with two basal foveae, sutural stria and humeral protuberance present, lacking discal stria.

Abdomen about 1.7 times shorter than elytra, covered with sparse recumbent setae.

Legs relatively long, femora slightly thickened, protibia in distal third with spur on the inner edge, metatibia prolonged by minuscule distal dent on inner edge.

Aedeagus ( Figs 8–9 ) symmetrical, about 0.54 mm long, elongated, narrow, about 2.54 times as long as wide, basal bulb elliptical, about as long as apical lobe, parameres slightly diverging, forming projecting lobes, after abruptly convergent distad, truncate distally, each with two predistal setae, endophallus with two elongate sclerites with beak-like apex.

Sexual dimorphism. Females with scape simple, cylindrical, twice as wide as long, pedicel simple, 1.5 times as long as wide, protibiae and metatibae simple, femora and tibiae more slender.

Remarks. Bryaxis biogradensis is similar to members of Bryaxis sculptifrons group ( B. argus (Kraatz, 1863) ; B. heliophobus (Apfelbeck, 1906) ; B. heydeni Reitter, 1879 ; B. lokayi (Machulka, 1927) ; B. scapularis Reitter, 1881 ; B. sculptifrons Reitter, 1880 ; B. reitteri (Saulcy, 1875) ; B. tithonus (Apfelbeck, 1906)) as defined by Karaman (1953) sharing with these species similar coarse surface of the scape and pedicel as well as the general shape of the aedeagus. It can be readily separated from all members of the group by the different shape of scape and pedicel as well as the structure of the aedeagus.

Natural history. All specimens were collected by sifting of leaf-litter in mixed Fagus-Abies primary forest. No other details concerning the biology of this species are known.

Etymology. The name is referring to the National park Biogradska Gora.

Distribution. Montenegro (so far known only from the National Park Biogradska Gora).

Figures

FIGURES 6–10. Bryaxis biogradensis sp. nov. 6, male holotype, dorsal habitus; 7, female paratype, dorsal habitus; 8, 9, aedeagus in ventral view (colour photograph and drawing respectively); 10, male holotype, apex of head with scape and pedicel, arrows indicate minute tubercles on anterior (inner) face of scape. Scale bars in mm.