Mocyta Mulsant & Rey, 1874

Klimaszewski, Jan, Webster, Reginald P., Bourdon, Caroline, Pelletier, Georges, Godin, Benoit & Langor, David W., 2015, Review of Canadian species of the genus Mocyta Mulsant & Rey (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), with the description of a new species and a new synonymy, ZooKeys 487, pp. 111-139 : 116-117

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Staphylinidae

Mocyta Mulsant & Rey, 1874

Mocyta For synonymy, see Gusarov 2003, Lohse et al. 1990, Smetana 2004

Diagnosis.

Mocyta may be distinguished from the other genera of Canadian Aleocharinae except for Acrotona Thomson and Strigota Casey, by having the pronotal hypomeron not visible in lateral view. From Acrotona and Strigota , as well as other aleocharine genera, it may be distinguished by the following combination of characters: antennae very thin and pale, in most specimens contrasting with body colour (Figs 3 a– 7a); pronotum glossy, moderately convex, broad and shield-shaped, widest at or near middle, with pubescence directed posteriad in midline or entire central section of disc (Fig. 6a) and posterolaterad at sides, pronotum is at least as broad as the base of the elytra but in most specimens broader (Figs 3 a– 7a); median lobe of aedeagus of a simple form, tubus ca. half length of median lobe, narrowly tapering and rounded apically in dorsal view (Figs 3d, 4c, 5c) and straight and narrow apically in lateral view (Figs 3b, c, 4b, 5b, 6b), internal sac structures inconspicuous, usually elongate and not strongly pronounced (Figs 3 b–d, 4b, c, 6b); male tergite VIII truncate apically and without teeth and other secondary sexual characters (Figs 3e, 4d, 5i, 6c), sternite VIII with longer macrosetae than those of females (Figs 3f, 4e, 6d); spermatheca with capsule hemispherical, or elongate and sac-shaped with usually small apical invagination and short neck, stem thin and regularly or irregularly coiled posteriorly (Figs 3g, h, 4f, 5 d–h, 6 e–g).

The shape of the spermatheca in Acrotona is different, with a capsule more or less spherical and extended to a broad and long neck, often pitcher-shaped, and a stem that is broader than that in Mocyta , regularly coiled posteriorly and often with a swelled apex (Fig. 2f). Strigota may be easily distinguished from Mocyta and Acrotona by the basal line of the abdominal tergum VIII laterally joining the base of the tergum in both sexes (Figs 1d, g), while in other athetines the basal line is separated from the tergite base (Figs 3e, i). For illustrations, see also Gusarov (2003).

Key to Canadian species of the genus Mocyta