Oxypoda libanotica FAGEL 1965

Assing, V., 2006, On some species of Oxypoda MANNERHEIM from Turkey and adjacent regions (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 38 (1), pp. 277-331 : 284-286

Oxypoda libanotica FAGEL 1965 ( Figs 40-52 , 65-68, Map 3 )

Oxypoda libanotica FAGEL 1965: 254 ff.

Type material examined: Holotype ♀ [specimen eaten by Anthrenus sp., only spermatheca left]:

Liban: Kartaba, 1200-1400 m, V.1964 - G. Fagel / G. Fagel det. O. (Podoxya) libanotica n. sp. /

Type ( IRSNB).

Additional material examined: Turkey, Izmir: 2 exs., Boz Dağlar, SE Turgutlu , 38°24N, 27°53E, 800 m, cemetery, oak & shrubs, 24.XII.2005, V. Assing (cAss) . Muğla: 4 exs., 30 km NNE Fethiye, Boncuk Dağı, Koru , 36°50N, 29°12E, 1140 m, 2.X.2002, V. Assing (cAss) ; 3 exs., 30 km NNE Fethiye, Boncuk Dağı, Koru , 36°51N, 29°14E, 1750 m, 2.X.2002, V. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., 20 km NNE Fethiye , 36°47N, 29°11E, 970 m, N-exp. oakwood, 27.III.2002, V. Assing (cAss) ; 6 exs., Muğla env., Cakmak , 37°11N, 28°37E, 800 m, 2.5.2001, leg. Meybohm (cAss) . Antalya: 1 ex., Antalya env., Termessos , 36°59N, 30°28E, 700-850 m, 21.IV.2001, leg. Meybohm & Brachat (cAss) ; 1 ex., road Antalya-Saklikent , 1000 m, 11. V.2000, leg. Meybohm & Brachat (cAss) ; 1 ex., Akseki, Imrasan pass, 1500 m, pine litter, 1.-7.I.1991, leg. Wunderle (cWun) . Isparta: 4 exs., Eğridir env., Kovada Gölü , 37°37N, 30°51E, 1000 m, leg. Meybohm, 13. V.2000 (cAss) ; 1 ex., S Eğridir, Kovada Gölü , 12.IV.1984, leg. Brachat (cSch) . Mersin: 2 exs., N Anamur , 2 km S Kazancı, 36°43N, 32°56E, 1580 m, 21.IV.2005, leg. Brachat & Meybohm (cAss) ; 5 exs., Güzeloluk-Erdemli, Aydinlar , 36°45N, 34°08E, 1350 m, 7. V.2004, leg. Besuchet, Brachat & Meybohm (cAss, cFel) ; 5 exs., Güzeloluk-Erdemli, S Aydinlar , 35°45N, 34°08E, 1380 m, 4. V.2004, leg. Besuchet, Meybohm & Brachat (cAss) . Kahramanmaraş: 1 ex., pass N Tekir, S Göksun , 37°57N, 36°34E, 1400-1550 m, 26.IV.2004, leg. Besuchet (cAss) ; 3 exs., 30 km W Kahramanmaraş, Başkonuş Yaylası , 37°34N, 36°35E, 1500 m, 28.IV.2004, leg. Brachat & Meybohm (cAss) ; 17 exs., W Kahramanmaraş, Başkonuş Yaylası , 37°34N, 36°35E, 1450 m, 5. V.2005, leg. Brachat & Meybohm (cAss) ; 2 exs., W Kahramanmaraş, Başkonuş Yaylası , 37°34N, 36°34E, 1250 m, 5. V.2005, leg. Brachat & Meybohm (cAss) ; 2 exs., ca. 35 km SW Kahramanmaraş, Doluca , 37°22N, 36°40E, 27.IV.2004, 1200 m, leg. Besuchet (cAss) . Antakya: 2 exs., 19 km S Antakya, SW Şenköy , 36°02N, 36°07E, 880 m, N-exp. pasture, 5.IV.2004, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., 19 km S Antakya, SW Şenköy , 36°02N, 36°07E, 920 m, Q. ilex & laurel, 5.IV.2004, leg. V. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., S Antakya, W Şenköy , 36°01N, 36°07'E, 750 m, 21.IV.2004, leg. Besuchet (cAss) . Greece: 1 ex., Fthiotis, 30 km W Lamía, W Kalithea , 38°53N, 22°04E, 900 m, Abies, 16.IV.2000, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., Fthiotis, Oros Kallidromo, SSE Lamía , 38°44N, 22°32E, 1250 m, Abies wood, 7.IV.2001, leg. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ex., Pelopónnisos, Parnon, 1100-1450 m, Abies , 13. VI.1996, leg. Wunderle (cWun) .

C o m m e n t: The holotype of O. libanotica was completely eaten by Anthrenus sp., except for the separately mounted spermatheca.

R e d e s c r i p t i o n: 3.0- 3.8 mm; habitus as in Fig. 40 . Coloration variable; usual coloration: head dark brown to blackish brown; pronotum and elytra brown; abdomen dark brown to blackish brown, with the posterior margins of segments III-VI, the posterior half of segment VII, and the abdominal apex ferrugineous; legs yellowish to lightbrown; antennae dark brown, with the basal 3 antennomeres paler; maxillary palpus brown. Often body darker, extensively blackish or blackish brown, or paler.

Head approximately as wide as long; puncturation very fine and rather dense; microsculpture shallow, but distinct; eyes moderately large, shorter than postocular region in dorsal view ( Fig. 43 ). Antenna moderately long; antennomere IV usually approximately as wide as long; V weakly transverse; X less than twice as wide as long; XI in both sexes weakly constricted in the middle ( Fig. 42 ). Penultimate joint of maxillary palpus elongated, approximately 3 times as long as wide or somewhat longer.

Pronotum of variable shape, about 1.40-1.55 times as wide as head and 1.20-1.30 times as wide as long ( Fig. 41 ); maximal width slightly behind middle; puncturation fine and very dense, but of somewhat variable density, more or less distinct; microsculpture more or less distinct; surface with more or less reduced shine.

Elytra of variable length and width, slightly to distinctly wider than pronotum and at suture approximately as long as pronotum or shorter; puncturation similar to or more distinct than that of pronotum, fine and very dense; microsculpture indistinct. Hind wings fully developed. Legs slender; metatarsomere I longer than the combined length of metatarsomeres II-IV.

Abdomen distinctly narrower than elytra, gradually tapering posteriad; puncturation extremely dense and extremely fine, surface with reduced satin shine; posterior margin of tergite VII with palisade fringe.

3: sternite VIII oblong, its posterior margin distinctly pointed in the middle ( Fig. 44 ); median lobe of aedeagus shaped as in Figs 46-50 , with small crista apicalis and with characteristic apical structures and short flagellum in internal sac; apical lobe of paramere very long, with one short apical and three long setae ( Fig. 51 ).

♀: sternite VIII oblong, its posterior margin convex and with weakly modified, relatively thin marginal setae ( Fig. 45 ); spermatheca with duct of variable shape ( Figs 52 , 65-68).

I n t r a s p e c i f i c v a r i a t i o n: The species is extremely variable not only in external characters such as the coloration, the puncturation (density, depth), microsculpture, and the relative size of elytra and pronotum, but also in the shape of the spermatheca ( Figs 52 , 65-68), even in specimens from the same locality (see Figs 65-66).

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Among the congeners known to occur in Turkey, the most similar congeners are O. cristata and O. lurida . From the former, the new species is separated especially by larger average body size, the more distinctly tapering abdomen, the often more pronounced puncturation of the pronotum, the longer metatarsomere I, and especially by the completely different morphology of the primary and secondary sexual characters. From the latter, it is readily distinguished by the less elongated third joint of the maxillary palpus. Oxypoda libanotica also very much resembles O. brevicornis STEPHENS , which is widespread in the Western Palaearctic region, but has not yet been recorded from Turkey. Owing to enormous intraspecific variation in both species, they are reliably distinguished only based on their primary sexual characters.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: Oxypoda libanotica , which was previously known only from Lebanon, is here reported from Greece and Turkey for the first time. In southern Turkey, it has been recorded from Izmir in the west to Kahramanmaraş and Antakya in the east ( Map 3 ). Most, if not all the types were sifted from leaf litter of deciduous trees, fir, and shrubs at a wide range of altitudes (700-1750 m).

Figures

Map 3: Distribution of Oxypoda libanotica in the Eastern Mediterranean, based on examined records.

Figs 40-52: Oxypoda libanotica FAGEL. (40) habitus; (41) forebody; (42) antenna; (43) head in lateral view; (44) 3 sternite VIII; (45) ♀ sternite VIII; (46-48) median lobe of aedeagus of 33 from Turkey (46-47) and Greece (48) in lateral view; (49-50) apical part of median lobe of aedeagus in ventral and in lateral view; (51) apical lobe of paramere; (52) spermatheca. Scale bars: 40: 1.0 mm; 41, 43: 0.5 mm; 42, 44-45: 0.2 mm; 46-52: 0.1 mm.