Vulda afghanica ( COIFFAIT 1982 ) Assing, 2010

Assing, V., 2010, On some Palaearctic Xantholinini, primarily from Kazakhstan (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 42 (1), pp. 477-484 : 480-482

Vulda afghanica ( COIFFAIT 1982) , nov.comb. ( Figs 1-5 , Map 1)

Xantholinus (Leptophallus) afghanicus COIFFAIT 1982: 75 f.

Sylea afghanica: BORDONI (2001) : 413 f.

T y p e m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Holotype: " / J. Klapperich, Kandahar, 950 m, 18.2.53, S-Afghanistan / Xantholinus afghanicus nov. spec. / Typus Xantholinus afghanicus O. Scheerpeltz / Holotypus / Xantholinus (Leptophallus) afghanicus H. Coiffait 1981 / Sylea gen. n. afghanica (Coiff) , Bordoni det. 2000 / museum Koenig, Col 2010/42 / Vulda afghanica (Coiffait) , det. V. Assing 2009" ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1: " / J. Klapperich, Kandahar, 950 m, 18.2.53, S- Afghanistan / Cotypus Xantholinus afghanicus O. Scheerpeltz / Paratypus / H. Coiffait det. 1981 / Museum Koenig Bonn / Sylea gen. n. afghanica (Coiff) , Bordoni det. 2000 / Vulda afghanica (Coiffait) , det. V. Assing 2009" ( ZFMK) ; 1: " / J. Klapperich, Bashgultal, 1300 m, Nuristan, 24.5.53, O-Afghanistan / Cotypus Xantholinus afghanicus O. Scheerpeltz / Paratypus / Museum Koenig Bonn / Sylea gen. n. afghanica (Coiff) , Bordoni det. 2000 / Vulda afghanica (Coiffait) , det. V. Assing 2009" ( ZFMK) ; 1 [aedeagus missing]: " J. Klapperich, Kandahar-Kuna, 950 m, 21.2.53, Afghanistan / Cotypus Xantholinus afghanicus O. Scheerpeltz / Museum Koenig Bonn / Xantholinus (Leptophallus) afghanicus, H. Coiffait det. 1981 / Muséum Paris / Vulda afghanica (Coiffait) , det. V. Assing 2009" ( MNHNP) .

A d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Afghanistan:1, Afghanistan, Kabul env., III.2009, leg. Reuter (cAss).

C o m m e n t: The original description is based on a male holotype from "S. Afghanistan, Kandahar 950 m, 18-2-53" and three paratypes (two males and one male) from the same locality ( COIFFAIT 1982) ; one male paratype is deposited in the Coiffait collection at the MNHNP, the remainder at the Museum Alexander König Bonn. All the type specimens were examined ; in contrast to the details indicated in the original description,

two paratypes, a male and a female, were not collected together with the holotype, the female even in eastern Afghanistan.

COIFFAIT (1982) correctly observed the similarity of this species to Xantholinus anatolicus COIFFAIT 1965 , which is now a junior synonym of Vulda ottomana (CAMERON 1912) ( ASSING 2007) .

Based on an examination of the holotype and two paratypes, BORDONI (2001) attributed X. afghanicus to the new and still monotypical genus Sylea . In the description of this genus, he indicates some differences distinguishing Sylea from Xantholinus , but there is no reference whatsoever to Vulda . A study of the above type material and the additional male from the environs of Kabul, however, revealed that the species is indeed closely related to Vulda ottomana and yielded no significant characters distinguishing it from other species of Vulda on the generic level. Also, the presence of an endemic genus in Afghanistan would not appear plausible from a zoogeographic perspective. Consequently, the following synonymy is proposed: Vulda JACQUELIN DU VAL 1853 = Sylea BORDONI 2001 .

The illustrations of the male sexual characters provided by COIFFAIT (1982) and BORDONI (2001) are based on a deformed aedeagus. The external characters and the aedeagus are figured in Figs 1-5 . The distribution of V. afghanica is ilustrated in Map 1.

Map 1: Distributions of Vulda afghanica (COIFFAIT) (filled circles) and V. kasachstanica (JANÁK).

Figures

Figs 1-5: Vulda afghanica (COIFFAIT): (1) habitus; (2) forebody; (3) head; (4) aedeagus; (5) distal portion of aedeagus. Scale bars: 1-2: 1.0 mm; 3: 0.5 mm; 4: 0.2 mm; 5: 0.1 mm.