Sunius concurvatus, Assing, 2017

Assing, Volker, 2017, A revision of Sunius XVI. Two new species from Iran and Iraq (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology (Beitr. Entomol.) 67 (2), pp. 247-254 : 250-252

Sunius concurvatus spec. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:08E5F974-F9DA-4C0A-8733-CD51AF218238

( Figs 4–9 )

Type material: Holotype : “S-IRAN, Prov. Hormozgan, Gur Band, Berghänge und Tal mit Staubecken , 50 m, 27°19'05"N, 57°00'22"E, 4.III.2014, leg. D. Frenzel /96 / Holotypus  Sunius concurvatus sp. n. det. V. Assing 2015 ” ( NME).

Etymology: The specific epithet is the past participle of the Latin verb concurvare (to bend) and alludes to the strongly bent ventral process of the aedeagus in lateral view.

Description: Body length 3.8 mm; length of forebody 2.1 mm. Coloration: head and pronotum reddish; elytra yellowish; abdomen dark brown anteriorly, gradually becoming paler towards apex; legs yellowish; antennae and maxillary palpi pale-reddish.

Head ( Fig. 4 ) approximately as long as broad; lateral margins behind eyes subparallel; punctation coarse and dense, only slightly sparser in median dorsal portion; interstices without microsculpture. Eyes rather small, slightly more than half as long as postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna 1.2 mm long.

Pronotum ( Fig. 4 ) 1.09 times as long as broad and 0.9 times as broad as head; punctation denser and distinctly finer than that of head; interstices without microsculpture; midline without impunctate median band.

Elytra ( Fig. 4 ) 1.1 times as long as pronotum; punctation shallow, not very defined, and very dense. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen approximately as broad as elytra; punctation dense and distinct on anterior tergites, gradually becoming finer and less dense towards posterior tergites; interstices with distinct microreticulation; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

ASSING, V.: A REVISION OF Sunius XVI. TWO NEW SPECIES FROM IRaN aNd IRaq

: sternite VII ( Fig. 5 ) 1.4 times as broad as long, posterior margin with shallow, but distinct concavity in the middle; sternite VIII ( Fig. 6 ) weakly transverse, pubescence unmodified, posterior excision 0.18 times as deep as length of sternite; aedeagus ( Figs 7–9 ) 0.6 mm long; ventral process strongly curved and apically acute in lateral view, distinctly asymmetric in ventral view; internal sac with two pronounced clusters of sclerotized spines, those of the basal cluster longer and more numerous.

Comparative notes: Based on the external (habitus, punctation) and the male sexual characters (shapes of sternites VII and VIII; shape and internal structures of the aedeagus), S. concurvatus belongs to the S. viator group and is most similar to S. basalis (REITTER, 1899) , which too has been recorded from South Iran. It differs from S. basalis by a more oblong and broader head with more regular and coarser punctation, longer and broader, uniformly yellowish elytra (bicoloured with the anterior third infuscate in S. basalis ), as well as by a more strongly curved (lateral view) and more slender (both in lateral and in ventral view) ventral process of the aedeagus (lateral view). For illustrations and a description of S. basalis see ASSING (2008, 2011).

Distribution and natural history: The type locality is situated in Hormozgan province in southern Iran. The holotype was collected at an altitude of only 50 m.

Figures

Figs 1–9: Sunius reuteri spec. nov. (1–3) and S. concurvatus spec. nov. (4–9): forebody (1, 4); aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (2–3, 7); male sternite VII (5); male sternite VIII (6); apical portion of ventral process of aedeagus in ventral view (8); internal structures of aedeagus in lateral view (9). Scale bars: 1, 4: 1.0 mm; 2–3, 5–7: 0.2 mm; 8–9: 0.1 mm.