Quedius (Raphirus) henrii Solodovnikov

Yu, A. & Solodovnikov, 2005, New and little known species of Quedius from West Palaearctic (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Zootaxa 902, pp. 1-13 : 9-10

Quedius (Raphirus) henrii Solodovnikov , sp. nov.

Type material. Holotype: GEORGIA: ɗ, “ Holotype / Mestia, forest, 1700 m, Svanetia, 4.7.[19]68 [label in Cyrillic]/ Quedius brachypterus Coiff. H. Coiffait det. 1968/ Museum Paris coll. H. Coiffait” [not a holotype of Quedius brachypterus Coiffait , for details see below] ( MHNP).

Description. Measurements of the holotype: HL: 1.20; HW: 1.45; PL: 1.80; PW: 1.90; EL: 1.45; EW: 1.85. Body length 8.5 mm.

The new species (habitus in Fig. 2 ) differs from Quedius nonseriatus only in dark (piceous black) coloration of the body and in minute details of the structure of the aedeagus. Namely, the aedeagus of Q. henrii has a relatively shorter paramere with all four pairs of setae clustered at its apex (in Q. nonseriatus two pairs of setae located distinctly more basally, below the apical pairs cf. Figs. 7 and 10 ), and the dorsal tooth is located closer to the apex of the median lobe (cf. Figs. 5 and 8 ).

Comparison. Quedius henrii is a sister taxon of Q. nonseriatus , from which it differs externally only in the strikingly different (dark) body coloration. The aedeagal difference between these two species is distinct but rather insignificant. Better known examples of large intraspecific variability displayed by some species of Quedius (e.g., Q. umbrinus Erichson, 1839 , Q. vulneratus Gemminger and Harold, 1868 ; see Solodovnikov 2002) suggest that, with more material available for study, a separate species status for the pair Q. nonseriatus Q. henrii may be put in doubt. However, based on the striking difference in body coloration between these two taxa (which is a rare phenomenon in Quedius ), combined with some hiatus in the structure of their aedeagi, I assume the absence of gene flow between the two observed forms and thus provide a separate species status for them. Additional material is desirable to test this hypothesis.

Remarks. The holotype of Quedius henrii was erroneously labeled by H. Coiffait as the holotype of Q. brachypterus Coiffait (for details see Q. brachypterus in Solodovnikov 2004).

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in the western Georgia.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the first name of Dr. Henri Coiffait, a late specialist on Staphylinidae , who completed massive and important descriptive work on West Palaearctic Quedius .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Quedius species, habitus. 1 Q. nonseriatus sp. nov., holotype; 2 Q. henrii sp. nov., holotype; 3 Q. humosus sp. nov., holotype; 4 Q. walteri Korge.

FIGURES 5 – 17. Quedius species, aedeagi. 5 – 7 Q. nonseriatus sp. nov.; 8 – 10 Q. henrii sp. nov.; 11 – 13 Q. humosus sp. nov.; 14 – 17 Q. walteri Korge; 5, 8, 11, 14 aedeagus laterally; 6, 9, 12, 15 aedeagus dorsally (parameral side); 7, 10, 13, 16 apical portion of paramere ventrally (side adjacent to median lobe); 17 apical portion of paramere latero­ventrally.