Tychus meggiolaroi, Sabella & Viglianisi & D’Urso, 2019

Sabella, Giorgio, Viglianisi, Fabio Massimo & D’Urso, Vera, 2019, A new species of Tychus Leach, 1817 from Lebanon (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae), Zootaxa 4656 (3), pp. 596-600 : 597-598

Tychus meggiolaroi sp. n.

( Figs 1–6 )

Type material. Holotype: NORTHERN LEBANON: ♂: Bsharre , 1500-1900 m, 18.iv.1895, W. Wittmer leg. ( MSNV).

Description. Length 1.5 mm, head, pronotum and abdomen dark brown, elytra red, antennae and legs yellowish and yellow palpi. Relatively dense pubescence of long and flattened golden setae on head, pronotum, elytra and abdomen; other setae shorter, yellowish and suberect on antennae, palpi and legs. Tuft of dense setae present behind temples. Tegument smooth and shiny; only elytra with some punctures. Head ( Fig. 1 ) widest across eyes and narrowest posteriorly to antennal tubercles, slightly wider (0.30 mm) than long (0.29 mm). Antennal tubercles 0.145 mm wide and 0.06 mm long, separated by median longitudinal sulcus. Vertex separated from frontal rostrum by transverse depression. Pair of small dorsal vertexal foveae between and close to eyes, the latter prominent, each with 16-18 facets. Small tooth in front of each vertexal fovea. Tempora rounded. Last palpomere ( Fig. 2 ) 0.16 mm long and 0.085 mm wide, with slightly rounded lateral margin. Antennae ( Fig. 3 ) 0.90 mm long, club 0.31 mm long; scape distinctly longer than wide; antennomeres 2 and 3 longer than wide; antennomere 3 narrow at base, 4 also longer than wide, 5 distinctly larger than other segments of funiculus, longer than wide, with its medial margin enlarged in the apical third, 6-7 wider than long, 7 longer than 6 and 8; 8 smallest and distinctly wider than long. Antennal club with three antennomeres broaden progressively from 9 to 11, antennomeres 9 and 10 transverse, the latter wider than 9, terminal antennomere longer than wide and longer than combined length of antennomeres 9 and 10. Pronotum wider than head, wider (0.36 mm) than long (0.30 mm). It is more clearly tapered and rounded anteriorly than posteriorly with seven small basal pits, median pit larger than lateral ones. Its lateral antebasal foveae large and strongly impressed. Metaventrite with median impression from posterior margin and extending over about 1/2 of its length. Elytra wider (0.69 mm) than long (0.53 mm) and longer than pronotum, with protruding humeri. Two basal foveae on each elytron; sutural fovea associated with shallow sutural stria that extends to elytral apex, while discal fovea extended posteriorly in discal stria reaching about half of elytral length. Abdomen with 1 st tergite 0.20 mm long, with short discal carinae detached by pubescent basal impression occupying about 1/2 of tergite width. First tergite with pair of basolateral foveae, 1 st abdominal paratergite with pair of antebasal impressions, 2 nd abdominal tergite with pair of antebasal foveae. All abdominal ventrites not modified. Legs with posterior margin of mesotrochanters extend into short median spine, lateral margin of metatrochanters prolonged into small median spine, femora of all legs slightly thickened. Aedeagus ( Figs 4–5 ) 0.25 mm long. Dorsal apophysis of median lobe sinuate and canaliculated, and enlarged at apex, bearing in basal third short spine directed medially. Ventral portion of median lobe shorter than dorsal apophysis, larger at base and gradually narrowed towards apex, the latter directed laterally and downward.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Northern Lebanon.

Etymology. Tychus meggiolaroi sp. n. is dedicated to the memory of the entomologist Giuseppe Meggiolaro, who was the first person to study this material.

Figures

FIGURES 1−5. Tychus meggiolaroi sp. n., holotype male. 1. Head, dorsal view, schematic draw. 2. Right maxillary palpus. 3. Right antenna. 4. aedeagus, lateral view. 5. aedeagus, ventral view. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 6. Distribution map of the species of Tychus of the cilicicus group. ': T. decens; l: T. dubius;: uT. cilicicus; ▲: T. sodalicius; *: T. meggiolaroi sp. n.; ▲: T. galileus.