Cephennium jonicum, HOLDHAUS, 1908

Assing, Volker, 2021, On the Cephennium fauna of Greece (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 52 (2), pp. 869-889 : 879

Cephennium jonicum group

Cephennium jonicum , which was previously represented by two named subspecies, the nominal subspecies from Corfu and C. jonicum petraeum APFELBECK, 1911 from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, belongs to a group of species characterized by an aedeagus with a bulbous capsule and with two minute apico-median internal structures. An examination of material from various regions in Greece (including Corfu) revealed that these structures differ between populations. As a result of their small size, the observed differences are, of course, less pronounced to the human eye than those between aedeagi of species belonging to other groups with larger internal structures. In addition, the aedeagi significantly differ in size. Moreover, a representative of the C. jonicum with similarly small internal structures of constantly different shape was recently discovered also in Turkey ( ASSING & MEYBOHM in press). Since, finally, there is neither zoogeographic nor morphological evidence (transitional conditions) suggesting that the differences found in the C. jonicum group should be attributed to intersubspecific rather than interspecific variation, C. jonicum and allied taxa (including C. petraeum) are regarded as distinct species. Besuchet (unpublished notes) examined another undescribed species from the Croatian island Mljet ("Meleda"); the internal structures of the aedeagus are illustrated in Fig. 50 .

Besuchet (unpublished notes) examined five males and two females of C. petraeum ("Neum a.M., Herceg.", "Pravno, Hercegov", "Hrasno") deposited in HNHM, NHMW, coll. Dodero, coll. Cauchois, and in his own collection. The internal structures of the aedaeagus of C. petraeum are illustrated in Fig. 49 .

Figures

Figs 42-50: Cephennium jonicum (42, 46), C. aciferum (43, 47)), C. sagittatum (44), C. linguatum (45, 48), C. petraeum (49), and C. sp. from Mljet (50): (42-45) aedeagus in ventral view; (46-50) internal structures of aedeagus. Scale bars: 42-45: 0.1 mm; 46-50: without scale. Figs 46-50 are based on C. Besuchet (unpubl.).