Pinophilinus spinosus ASSING, 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 : 146-149

Pinophilinus spinosus ASSING nov.sp.

( Figs 1-5 , Map 1 )

Type material: Holotype ♂: “ SAUDI ARABIA 740 m, Al Bahah, Al Mukhwah Dhi Ayn Arch. vill., 19°55'46''N, 41°26'30''E, 11.V.2011, leg. Sharaf / Holotypus ♂ Pinophilinus spinosus sp. n., det. V. Assing 2012” ( KSMA). Paratype ♀: “ Saudi Arabia, Al Bahah, Shada Mnt. , 22.IX.2011, 19°50'19.7''N, 41°18'42.2''E, 1620 m, Leg. M.R. Sharaf 0036” ( cAss).

Etymology: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective) refers to the presence of a large spine in the internal sac of the aedeagus.

Description: Body length 5.8-6.5 mm; length of forebody 2.2-2.4 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: whole body pale-reddish; legs and antennae yellow.

Head ( Fig. 2 ) strongly transverse, approximately 1.4 times as wide as long; posterior margin concave in the middle; frons practically impunctate; punctation of vertex dense, somewhat sparser in posterior median portion, rather coarse, and defined; interstices glossy, without microsculpture, on average as broad as, or slightly narrower than diameter of punctures, somewhat broader in posterior median portion. Eyes weakly convex and rather large, distinctly longer than postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna approximately 1.4 mm long; antennomere III approximately twice as long as broad, IV-V approximately 1.5 times as long as broad, VI and VII weakly oblong, VIII approximately as long as broad, and IX and X weakly transverse.

Pronotum ( Fig. 2 ) indistinctly oblong, at anterior angles approximately as wide as head, and distinctly tapering posteriad in posterior half; posterior angles abruptly rounded, moderately marked; punctation similar to that of head; interstices without microsculpture, on average somewhat narrower than diameter of punctures.

Elytra ( Fig. 2 ) short and narrow, approximately 0.75 times as long and 0.81-0.82 times as broad as pronotum, slightly widened posteriad; humeral angles almost obsolete; punctures similar to those of pronotum, or slightly larger; interstices without microsculpture.

Hind wings completely reduced. Metatarsomere I as long as the combined length of II-IV.

Abdomen ( Fig. 3 ) long and slender, broader than elytra; maximal width at segment VII; punctation of tergites III-V coarse and dense, that of tergites VII and VIII rather fine and much sparser, that of tergite VI intermediate; interstices without microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe.

♂: sternite VIII oblong, distinctly tapering posteriad, and with V-shaped posterior excision ( Fig. 4 ); aedeagus approximately 1.2 mm long, with slightly asymmetric and in the middle pointed ventral process (ventral view) and with large sclerotized spine in the internal sac ( Fig. 5 ).

Comparative notes:Two Pinophilinus species were previously known from the Arabian region, P. schatzmayri ( KOCH 1934) from the south of the Sinai Peninsula and P. socotranus ASSING 2012 from Socotra Island, Yemen. Pinophilinus spinosus is distinguished from these species as follows:

from P. schatzmayri (male unknown) by much smaller size ( P. schatzmayri : length of forebody 3.4 mm) (compare Figs 1 and 6 ), much shorter antennae ( P. schatzmayri : antennae 2.1 mm long; antennomere III approximately three times as long as broad, IV-VIII distinctly oblong), larger and less convex eyes, finer setation of the head and pronotum ( P. schatzmayri : head and pronotum with long and dark lateral setae), the posteriorly more distinctly narrowed pronotum ( P. schatzmayri : lateral margins in anterior two thirds of pronotum almost parallel), and the less coarse punctation of the abdomen; from P. socotranus by much paler coloration ( P. socotranus : body dark-brown), denser punctation of the whole body, distinctly longer antennae with more slender antennomeres ( P. socotranus : antenna approximately 1.2 mm long; antennomere III approximately 1.5 times as long as broad, IV-VII weakly oblong), much larger eyes ( P. socotranus : shorter than postocular region in dorsal view), the more convex (cross-section) and posteriorly less strongly narrowed pronotum, the longer, more slender, and less convex elytra, the larger and deeper posterior excision of the male sternite VIII, and by the completely different morphology of the aedeagus.

For illustrations of P. schatzmayri and P. socotranus see Figs 6-8 and ASSING (2012), respectively.

Distribution and natural history The type specimens were collected in two localities in Al Bahah, southwestern Saudi Arabia ( Map 1 ), at altitudes of 740 and 1620 m in May and September. The reduced hind wings, the short elytra, and the absence of a palisade fringe at the posterior margin of tergite VII suggest that the distribution of P. spinosus is restricted. The holotype was collected from leaf litter unter an old Ficus tree, the paratype from soil under a large plastic bag.

Figures

Map 1: Distribution of Arabian Pinophilinus species: P. schatzmayri (KOCH) (triangle); P. spinosus nov.sp. (circles); P. socotranus ASSING (diamond).

Figs 1-8: Pinophilinus spinosus nov.sp. (1-5) and P. schatzmayri (KOCH) (6-8): (1, 6) habitus; (2, 7) forebody; (3, 8) abdomen; (4) male sternite VIII; (5) aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bars: 1-3, 6-8: 1.0 mm; 4-5: 0.2 mm.