Sternocoelis yelamosi, Lackner, Tomas & Hlavac, Peter, 2012

Lackner, Tomas & Hlavac, Peter, 2012, Description of a new species of Sternocoelis from Morocco with proposal of the Sternocoelis marseulii species group (Coleoptera, Histeridae), ZooKeys 181, pp. 11-21 : 14-18

Sternocoelis yelamosi sp. n. Figs 1-16

Type locality.

Morocco, Jebel Tazzeka.

Type material examined.

Holotype, ♂: MOROCCO: Moyen Atlas / Taza: Jebel Tazzeka / N34°12.226', W04°03.908' / 11.V.2009 / Hlaváč lgt., under stone with ants, 1360 m (printed); // HOST ANT: Aphaenogaster mauritanicus Emery / H. Cagniant, det. 2009 (printed); // HOLOTYPE Sternocoelis yelamosi Lackner & Hlaváč, det. 2010 (red label, printed); CTLA. Note. One specimen of minor worker ant is pinned together with the holotype.

Description.

PEL:1.425; APW:0.625; PPW:1.075; EL:0.875; EW:1.20. Body (Fig. 1) colour reddish-brown, shiny, weakly convex, oval, dorsal surface with sparse setation, ventral surface lacking setae.

Frons wide, almost rugulose-lacunose, coarsely punctate, punctures with sparse setae; eyes well-visible from above; frontal stria carinate, prolonged onto clypeus; antennal scape thickened, apically with a ‘hook’, antennal club cylindrical, truncate at apex.

Pronotum with dense fine punctulation anteriorly and evanescent punctulation laterally and basally, with sparse setae (many setae probably worn off); pronotal sides weakly separated from disc by shallow marginal depression; marginal pronotal stria present on basal three-quarters; anterior pronotal angles produced, truncate; posterior angles of pronotum acute, not produced.

Elytra weakly convex, with long but sparse setae; disc densely punctate, punctures separated by several times their diameter; marginal elytral stria complete, carinate, briefly continued as apical elytral stria; first dorsal elytral stria complete, second dorsal elytral stria reaching approximately two-thirds of elytral length apically, third elytral stria the shortest, fine, reaching approximately mid elytral length apically, other elytral striae absent.

Propygidium about 2.5 times as long as pygidium, both with sparse punctulation and sparse long setae.

Prosternal process (Fig. 4) at slightly higher level than prosternal lobe; carinal prosternal striae bisinuate, joined anteriorly, interspace between them rugose; prosternal lobe roughly punctulate.

Mesoventrite smooth, shiny, asetose; meso-metaventral depression shallow; mesoventral foveae incipient (Fig. 5); three lateral mesoventral striae present; inner one middle of mesoventrite posteriorly. Metaventrite with sparse and fine punctulation present mainly in anterior part, shiny.

All visible abdominal sternites smooth, asetose, second visible abdominal sternite medially about twice as long as sternite I and III.

Legs (Figs 2-3, 6-7) relatively short, with sparse but strong setae, all tibiae expanded from base to apex, with strong setae, mainly on outer margins.

Male genitalia. Eighth sternite (Figs 8-9) longitudinally divided medially, apically without velae, each half of divided eighth sternite apically with round sclerotized ‘ring’; eighth tergite much larger than sternite, longitudinally almost divided medially, its halves widely separated; eighth sternite and tergite completely separated laterally (Fig. 10). Ninth tergite (Figs 11-12) widely separated by tooth-shaped tenth tergite. Spiculum gastrale (Figs 13-14) dilated on both ends, apical end dilated, with medio-apical notch. Aedeagus (Figs 15-16) typical for the genus (see Yélamos 1995: 147, Figs 69-83 for comparison), truncated apically; apical third with pseudopores, laterally barely curved; ratio of basal piece of aedeagus to the parameres approximately 1:2.

Differential diagnosis.

Sternocoelis yelamosi sp. n. closely resembles other species included in the Sternocoelis marseulii species group, but it can be differentiated from all of them as follows: from Sternocoelis viaticus by presence of ‘hook’ on antennal scape [lacking only in Sternocoelis viaticus ]; from Sternocoelis marseulii by weaker punctation of the prosternum and coarser punctation of dorsum [prosternum of Sternocoelis marseulii is rugose and densely punctate; dorsum with weaker punctation]; from Sternocoelis vaucheri by weaker punctation of the prosternum and coarser punctation of elytra [prosternum of Sternocoelis vaucheri is rugose, coarsely punctate and elytra are almost impunctate]: from Sternocoelis berberus by smaller body size [1.425 vs. 1.60 mm in Sternocoelis berberus ] as well as by weakly explanate pronotal sides [pronotal disc of Sternocoelis berberus is clearly separated from strongly explanate pronotal sides].

Etymology.

Patronymic, named after and dedicated to our friend Tomás Yélamos (Barcelona, Spain), who revised the genus Sternocoelis and confirmed this to be a new species.

Distribution.

So far known only from the type locality, Jebel Tazzeka in Middle Atlas, northeast Morocco.

Host ant.

Aphaenogaster mauritanicus Dalla Torre, 1893.

Other material studied.

Sternocoelis berberus Lackner & Yélamos, 2001: 26 exs (sex undetermined): Morocco, Oïkameden, 2646m - 2656m (N31°11.605', W07°51.172 ' - N31°11.609', W07°51.168'), 20.V. 2009, P. Koniar & M. Švarc lgt., under rocks on open slope.

Sternocoelis viaticus Lewis, 1892: Paralectotype, ♂, side-mounted on a triangular point with dismembered genitalia glued to the same triangular point as specimen, with another mounting card bearing an ant, with written label: "Meskoutin / G. Lewis / 22.4.[18]92", followed by another written label " Sternocoelis / viaticus / Co-Type Lewis", followed by round, yellow-margined label "Co- / type" and by another printed label "G. Lewis Coll. / B.M. 1926-369", followed by another red label, printed "Paralectotypus / T. Yélamos / Des. 1993".

Sternocoelis marseulii (Brisout de Barneville, 1866): 2 ♀♀ & 2 ♂♂ Spain, Escorial (MNHN).

Sternocoelis vaucheri Lewis, 1896: Paralectotype, ♂, side-mounted on a triangular point with dismembered genitalia glued to the same triangular point as specimen (spiculum gastrale missing), with another mounting card bearing an ant, with written label: "Tanger / 1896 / Vaucher", followed by another written label: "Much more / convex than / Marseulii Bris.", followed by printed label: "G. Lewis Coll. / B.M. 1926-369", followed by another printed label: " Sternocoelis / vaucheri / Lewis, 1896 / T. Yélamos Det.", followed by another red label, printed "Paralectotypus / T. Yélamos / Des. 1993" (BHMN).