Quedius kalabi Smetana, 1995

Salnitska, Maria & Solodovnikov, Alexey, 2018, Taxonomy of the poorly known Quedius mutilatus group of wingless montane species from Middle Asia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylinini), European Journal of Taxonomy 401, pp. 1-17 : 9-10

Quedius kalabi Smetana, 1995

Figs 1 , 3 , 4C–D

Quedius kalabi Smetana, 1995: 77 (original description).

Quedius kalabi – Smetana 1998: 118 (comparison with Q. mutilatus ). — Solodovnikov & Hansen 2016: 7 (distribution).

Material examined

Type material

KYRGYZSTAN: Holotype, ♂, “ SU – Tien Shan NE part of Terskey Ala Too [Terskei Alatau] ridge 3000–3600 m ” ( NMW).

Additional material

KYRGYZSTAN: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, E TerskeiAlatau , Teploklyuchenka Village, 2600 m [42.4400° N, 78.5200° E], 16 Jun. 1993, S. Ovchinnikov leg. ( cSch).

Distribution and bionomics

Quedius kalabi is known from the three specimens examined here, collected in the Terskei Alatau mountain range at high elevations around 2600–3600 m ( Fig. 1 ). Only two of them bear labels that specify the date and exact collecting locality (16 Jun. 1993, Teploklyuchenka Village). All previously published material for Q. kalabi , except the holotype, but including the paratype, was apparently misidentified (see below). Like other species of the Q. mutilatus group, Q. kalabi presumably occurs in talus-associated microhabitats.

Notes on the type material

Smetana (1995) based his description of Q. kalabi on the holotype (male, see above for details) and one paratype (female, for information see the undetermined or ambiguous material at the end of this paper), both from the north-eastern part of Terskei Alatau. The precise geographic origin of the holotype is unknown, while the paratype comes from a locality called Jety Oguz. The aedeagus preparation of the holotype of Q. kalabi in Canada balsam allows an examination of its lateral side, not illustrated in Smetana (1995) ( Fig. 3B ). It confirms our identification of Q. kalabi , which differs from other species of the Q. mutilatus group by its narrower and somewhat curved apical portion of the median lobe of the aedeagus, with a relatively short blade of its subapical tooth (aedeagus in lateral view). In the shape of the apical portion of the paramere and degree of its incision, Q. kalabi displays a transition between Q. mutilatus with a less incised paramere bearing more lateral peg setae, and Q. equus with a more incised paramere bearing fewer lateral peg setae. The characters indicated by Smetana (1988) in a comparison of Q. kalabi with Q. mutilatus were based, as revealed here, on non-conspecific males and females of both species. They do not align with the more extensive material examined here. The collecting locality of the paratype of Q. kalabi is, in fact, located closer to the distribution area of Q. mutilatus . Except for the holotype, the distributional records of Q. kalabi summarized in Solodovnikov & Hansen (2016) were based on misidentified specimens of Q. mutilatus . The specimens of Q. kalabi from Teploklyuchenka Village, examined here and compared with the holotype, are the first precisely georeferenced material for this species. Based on the shape of aedeagus, three possibly mislabeled specimens from Toksanbai in Dzungarian Alatau seem to belong to Q. kalabi as well (for details see below).

Figures

Fig. 4. Aedeagi in the Quedius mutilatus group. A–B. Quedius mutilatus Eppelsheim, 1888. C–D. Quedius kalabi Smetana, 1995. E–F. Quedius kungeicus sp. nov. G–N. Quedius equus Smetana, 2014 (Karkara Valley, Kazakhstan), variability of the structure of the aedeagus.A, C, E, G, I, K, M = median lobe, laterally. B, D, F, H, J, L, N = paramere (dissected from median lobe), underside (side facing median lobe). Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig.1.DistributionandaedeagusvariabilityoftheQuediusmutilatusgroupintheTien-ShanMountains. Numbers are specified in Table 1. Empty symbols = typespcimens (for Q. kalabi precise locality of the holotype unknown);? = ambiguously labelled or undetermined material. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Fig.3.HolotypeofQuediuskalabiSmetana,1995.A.Habitus.B.Permanentpreparationoftheaedeagus. Scale bars: 1 mm.