Sunius tectus, Assing, 2011

Assing, V., 2011, The Sunius species of the Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 43 (1), pp. 151-193 : 157-159

Sunius tectus nov.sp. ( Figs 18-27 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " Oman, Dhofar - NV, 24.VIII.1994, leg. A. Rihane / Holotypus Sunius tectus sp. n. det. V. Assing 2010 " (cAss). Paratype [slightly teneral]: " Oman, Dhofar - AL, 6.IX.1994, leg. A. Rihane" (cAss).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 3.4-3.6 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 18 . Coloration: head and pronotum reddish; elytra dark-yellowish; abdomen blackish-brown, with the posterior 1/3 of segments VII and VIII reddish; legs reddish-yellow; antennae reddish.

Head approximately 1.05 times as wide as long ( Fig. 19 ); punctation coarse and dense; interstices without microsculpture, distinctly narrower than diameter of punctures ( Fig. 20 ). Eyes distinctly projecting from lateral contours of head, approximately 0.8 times as long as postocular region in dorsal view. Labrum with long process on either side of median excision.

Pronotum approximately as long as wide and 0.90-0.95 times as wide as head ( Fig. 19 ); punctation dense, somewhat less coarse than that of head; midline impunctate only in posterior half ( Fig. 21 ).

Elytra broad and long, approximately 1.2 times as long as pronotum; humeral angles marked ( Fig. 19 ); punctation very dense, finer than that of pronotum, more pronounced and more defined near scutellum than elsewhere; interstices without microsculpture, narrower than diameter of punctures. Hind wings fully developed.

Abdomen slightly narrower than elytra; punctation fine and dense; interstices with microsculpture primarily composed of isodiametric meshes; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

: sternite VII with dense, but not distinctly modified pubescence, posterior margin not distinctly concave ( Fig. 22 ); sternite VIII approximately as long as broad, with moderately sparse pubescence, posterior excision of broadly triangular shape, its depth approximately 1/5 the length of sternite ( Fig. 23 ); aedeagus 0.68 mm long, ventral process extremely long and slender ( Figs 24-26 ); internal sac with sclerotized spine-like internal structures of characteristic shapes and arrangement ( Fig. 27 ).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet (Latin, adjective: secret, hidden) refers to the fact that it was previously confounded with S. sinaicus .

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Based on the male sexual characters, as well as the external characters (habitus, punctation, shape of labrum), this species undoubtedly belongs to the S. sinaicus group, which is characterized particularly by the morphology of the aedeagus (long ventral process, numerous sclerotized spines of various sizes in internal sac) and which comprises three species in the Middle East ( S. sinaicus , S. extensissimus , S. tectus ). Sunius tectus is reliably distinguished from the similarly coloured S. sinaicus only by the broader head, the much longer ventral process of the aedeagus, and the internal structures of the aedeagus. It is separated from S. extensissimus by the paler coloration of the head and pronotum, the uniformly reddish-yellow elytra, the shallower and less dense punctation of the elytra, the shapes and chaetotaxy of the male sternites VII and VIII, as well as by the morphology of the aedeagus, particularly by the shape of the ventral process. For illustrations of the aedeagus of S. sinaicus see COIFFAIT (1984).

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: Thespecimenswerecollected in two localities in Dhofar province, southern Oman, in August and September. The paratype is slightly teneral.

Figures

Figs 18-27: Sunius tectus nov.sp.: (18) habitus; (19) forebody; (20) median dorsal portion of head; (21) median dorsal portion of pronotum; (22) male sternite VII; (23) male sternite VIII; (24-25) aedeagus in lateral view; (26) aedeagus in ventral view; (27) internal structures of aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 18: 1.0 mm; 19: 0.5 mm; 20-26: 0.2 mm; 27: 0.1 mm.