Cantaberella pyrenaica, Assing & Tronquet, 2008

Assing, V. & Tronquet, M., 2008, The first species of Cantaberella from the western Pyrenees (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 40 (2), pp. 1295-1299 : 1296-1298

Cantaberella pyrenaica nov.sp. ( Figs 1-7 , Map 1)

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " SPAIN - Navarra, Pic d'Orhy, 1820 m, 23.VI.2007, M. Tronquet / Holotypus Cantaberella pyrenaica sp.n. det. Assing & Tronquet 2008. Paratype: 1: " FRANCE - Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Port de Larrau - Pic d'Orhy, 1560 m, 20.VI.2007, leg. M. Tronquet".

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 1.7-1.8 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: forebody blackish-brown, abdomen black, with the apex only indistinctly paler; legs palebrownish; antennae brown, with antennomeres I-III yellowish-brown.

Head approximately 1.1 times as wide as long, distinctly widened behind eyes, widest near posterior angles; punctation fine, shallow, moderately dense in lateral dorsal areas and sparse in median dorsal area; microsculpture very shallow, almost obsolete, surface glossy; eyes small, approximately 1/3 the length of postocular region in dorsal view. Antenna distinctly incrassate apically; antennomeres I and II of subequal length; III weakly oblong and distinctly shorter than II; IV-X of increasing width and increasingly transverse; X approximately twice as wide as long.

Pronotum approximately 1.2 times as wide as long and 1.1 times as wide as head; posterior angles broadly rounded, almost completely obsolete; punctation rather dense and much more distinct than that of head; interstices glossy, with very shallow, somewhat isodiametric microsculpture (not visible at lower magnification) ( Fig. 2 ); pubescence directed caudad along midline.

Elytra at posterior margin slightly wider than pronotum and very short, at suture only approximately 0.5 times as long as pronotum; punctation of similar density as that of pronotum, but slightly more distinct; interstices with very shallow diagonal microsculpture (not visible at lower magnification) and glossy ( Fig. 3 ). Hind wings reduced.

Abdomen approximately 1.1 times as wide as elytra at posterior margin, widest at segment V-VI; punctation fine, denser on anterior than on posterior tergites; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe.

: posterior margin of tergite VII weakly and broadly concave; tergite VIII distinctly transverse, its posterior margin weakly convex; sternite VIII much longer than tergite VIII, approximately as long as wide, its posterior margin weakly convex, almost truncate ( Fig. 4 ); median lobe of aedeagus with remarkably long ventral process of distinctive shape ( Figs 5-6 ); apical lobe of paramere as in Fig. 7 .

: unknown.

E t y m o l o g y: The name (adjective) refers to the fact that this species is the first - and only - known representative of the genus in the Pyrenees.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Cantaberella pyrenaica is readily distinguished from all its congeners not only by the distinctive shape of the median lobe of the aedeagus, but also by the shape of the male sternite VIII and the glossy appearance of the forebody. From C. pacei and C. feldmanni , it is additionally separated by much darker coloration especially of the forebody and the appendages. For illustrations of the sexual characters and other characters of the previously described species see TRONQUET (1998) and ASSING (2000, 2003).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: The species was found both on the French and on the Spanish side of the Pic d'Orhy, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Navarra, respectively. The discovery of this species considerably expands the known distribution of the genus eastwards (Map 1). The specimens were collected on alpine limestone meadows under stones at altitudes of 1560 and 1820 m.

Map 1: Distribution of the species of Cantaberella TRONQUET in the northern Iberian Peninsula: L. feldmanni ASSING (filled square), L. tenebrosa ASSING (open circle), L. pacei (TRONQUET) (filled circle), and L. pyrenaica nov.sp. (open square).

Figures

Figs 1-9: Cantaberella pyrenaica nov.sp.: (1) habitus; (2) dorsal surface of pronotum; (3) elytra; (4) posterior portion of male sternite VIII; (5-6) median lobe of aedeagus in ventral and in lateral view; (7) apical lobe of paramere. Scale bars: 1: 0.5 mm; 2-7: 0.1 mm.