Trisunius monticola ( CAMERON 1931) Assing, 2011

Assing, V., 2011, Trisunius gen. nov. from the southern East Palaearctic and the Oriental regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Medonina), Linzer biologische Beiträge 43 (1), pp. 195-220 : 214-217

Trisunius monticola ( CAMERON 1931) , nov.comb. ( Figs 57-66 )

Medon monticola CAMERON 1931: 143 f.

Sunius monticola: SMETANA (2004) .

T y p e m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d Lectotype Ƌ, present designation: "Chakrata Dist. Sijla Gad, 5000 / Dr. Cameron. 12.V.22. / M.Cameron Bequest B.M. 1955-147. / Syntype / Syntype Medon monticola Cameron, 1931 , det. R.G. Booth 2010 / Lectotypus Ƌ Medon monticola Cameron , desig. V. Assing 2010 / Trisunius monticola (Cameron) , det. V. Assing 2010" (BMNH). Paralectotype Ƌ: same data as lectotype (BMNH).

C o m m e n t: The original description of Medon monticola is based on an unspecified number of syntypes from "Chakrata district: Sijla Gad; Majgaon, alt. 6000 to 6500 feet " ( CAMERON 1931). Two male syntypes from the former locality were examined; one of them is designated as the lectotype. The species is listed in the recent Palaearctic catalogue ( SMETANA 2004) in Sunius, probably because CAMERON (1931) compared it with Medon gratus and Sunius melanocephalus.

An examination of the type material of Medon monticola CAMERON 1931 revealed that it is congeneric neither with the type species of Sunius, S. melanocephalus, nor with true Medon species. Based on the shapes of the ligula, the labrum, and the maxillary palpi, as well as other characters such as the morphology of the tarsi and the male sexual characters, the species belongs to Trisunius .

R e d e s c r i p t i o n: Small species; body length 3.2-3.6 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 57 . Coloration: head dark-brown; pronotum and elytra reddish to reddish-brown; abdomen reddish-brown to brown; legs and antennae reddish-yellow to reddish.

Head ( Fig. 58 ) approximately 1.05 times as long as broad; lateral margins subparallel in dorsal view; posterior angles rounded, but noticeable; punctation fine and dense; interstices with shallow microreticulation ( Fig. 59 ). Eyes moderately large and weakly convex, distinctly shorter than - but more than half as long as - postocular portion in dorsal view. Labium as in Figs 60-61 .

Pronotum ( Fig. 58 ) 1.05-1.10 times as long as broad and slightly narrower than head, weakly tapering posteriad; posterior angles weakly marked; punctation similar to that of head; interstices without microsculpture ( Fig. 62 ); punctation of midline similar to that of lateral portions.

Elytra 1.05-1.10 times as long and approximately 1.2 times as wide as pronotum ( Fig. 58 ); punctation very dense, approximately as fine as that of pronotum. Hind wings apparently fully developed.

Abdomen widest at segment VI; punctation fine, denser on anterior than on posterior tergites; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

Ƌ: posterior margin of sternite VII weakly concave in the middle ( Fig. 63 ); posterior margin of sternite VIII with moderately deep and almost V-shaped median incision ( Fig. 64 ); aedeagus as in Figs 65-66.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Trisunius monticola is currently the only representative of the genus known from northern India. It is readily distinguished from its congeners particularly by the morphology of the aedeagus.

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: Trisunius monticola has become known only from two localities in Uttaranchal, northern India. The type specimens were collected at altitudes of 1800-2000 m ( CAMERON 1931).

Figures

Figs 57-66: Trisunius monticola (CAMERON): (57) habitus; (58) forebody; (59) median dorsal portion of head; (60-61) labium; (62) median dorsal portion of pronotum; (63) male sternite VII; (64) male sternite VIII; (65-66) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view. Scale bars: 57: 1.0 mm; 58: 0.5 mm; 59, 62-64: 0.2 mm; 60-61, 65-66: 0.1 mm.