Aleochara (Ceranota) membranosa, Assing, 2007

Assing, Volker, 2007, On the Aleocharini of Turkey, with notes on some species from adjacent regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 57 (1), pp. 177-209 : 185-189

Aleochara (Ceranota) membranosa sp. n. ( Figs 27-40 )

Type material:

Holotype ♂: TR [2] - Antalya, 40 km E Alanya , 1530-1600 m, pine litter & grass sifted, 36°29N, 32°23E, 23.XII.2006, V. Assing / Holotypus ♂ Aleochara membranosamembranosa sp. n. det. V. Assing 2006 (cAss). Paratypes: 1 ♂: TR - Antalya, No. 9, SW Akyazı, NE Belpinar pass, grassland, 870 m, 36°22´24N, 29°29´59E, 26.III.2002, V. Assing (cAss) ; 1 ♂: TR - Antalya, 0-50 m, Umg. Manavgat, 21, 03.I.1991, Assing (cAss) .

Description:

Measurements (in mm) and ratios (holotype, paratype 1, paratype 2): AL: 2.10, 1.62, 1.53; HL: 1.01, 0.80, 0.72; HW: 1.04, 0.73, 0.69; PW: 1.51, 1.09, 1.01; PL: 1.09, 0.77, 0.74; EL: 0.85, 0.60, 0.53; EW: 1.72, 1.21, 1.12; AW: 1.65, 1.21, 1.09; TiL: 1.28, 0.92, 0.85; TaL: 1.01, 0.72, 0.66; ML: 0.74, 0.68, 0.66; TL: 8.2, 5.7, 5.5; HL/HW: 0.97, 1.09, 1.04; PW/HW: 1.45, 1.48, 1.46; PW/PL: 1.39, 1.41, 1.37; EL/PL: 0.78, 0.78, 0.71; EW/PW: 1.14, 1.11, 1.10; AW/EW: 0.96, 1.00, 0.97; TiL/TaL: 1.27, 1.27, 1.27.

Coloration: head blackish; pronotum reddish brown to castaneous with reddish margins; elytra reddish; abdomen dark brown, with the broad posterior and lateral tergal margins and the apex (segments VIII and following) reddish yellow; legs reddish; antennae with antennomeres I-III reddish and IV-XI infuscate.

Habitus as in Fig. 27 . Head of distinctive morphology: weakly oblong (see ratio HL/HW); clypeus fully membranous, its anterior margin deeply triangularly incised ( Fig. 29 ); puncturation very fine to moderately fine, shallow, and sparse, sometimes barely noticeable in the distinct microreticulation ( Fig. 28 ); eyes moderately large and prominent, approximately as long as postocular region in dorsal view; sides of head not vertical, but smoothly sloping downwards, both eyes almost fully visible simultaneously in dorsal view ( Fig. 29 ). Antennae slender; antennomere IV approximately as long as wide; preapical antennomeres weakly transverse, less than 1.5 times as wide as long ( Figs 28, 30 ). Maxillary palpus slender, palpomere III approximately 3.5-4 times as long as wide ( Fig. 29 ).

Pronotum distinctly wider than head and strongly transverse (see ratios PW/HW and PW/PL), but not very large in relation to head; maximal width in or slightly behind middle; posterior angles weakly marked, almost completely rounded; puncturation slightly more distinct than that of head; surface with distinct microreticulation ( Fig. 28 ).

Elytra not much wider and at suture distinctly shorter than pronotum (see ratios EW/PW and EL/PL); posterior margins weakly sinuate near posterior angles; suture more or less distinctly elevated (at least in ♂), in paratypes only in posterior half; puncturation moderately dense, welldefined, and somewhat granulose, much more distinct than that of head and pronotum; interstices with microreticulation similar to that of pronotum ( Fig. 28 ). Hind wings of reduced length, barely reaching anterior margin of tergite V (with abdomen fully extended). Legs slender; metatarsomere I as long as the combined length of II-IV or nearly so.

Abdomen with segments III-VI subparallel; tergites III-V with shallow anterior impressions, anterior impression of tergite VI barely noticeable; puncturation of tergites III-VI very sparse, central parts of these tergites almost impunctate; tergite VII with sparse and moderately coarse puncturation, its posterior margin with narrow palisade fringe ( Fig. 31 ); tergites III and VII-VIII modified at least in male.

♂: tergite III with subcircular or apically longitudinally keeled median tubercle of variable size and elevation near posterior margin ( Fig. 33 ); tergite VII at posterior margin with weakly elevated transverse glossy bulge ( Fig. 34 ), in holotype with coarsely rugose sculpture anterior to this bulge; sternites IV and V without distinct impressions, in anterior halves with transverse tomentose patches with dense long golden pubescence and distinct microsculpture ( Fig. 32 ); posterior margin of tergite VIII concave ( Fig. 35 ); posterior margin of sternite VIII pointed ( Fig. 36 ); median lobe of aedeagus rather stout and with ventral process of distinctive shape, especially in lateral view ( Figs 37-39 ); paramere as in Fig. 40 .

♀: unknown.

Intraspecific variation:

The holotype is considerably larger than the paratypes (see measurements) and has more pronounced secondary sexual characters.

Etymology: The name (Lat., adj.) alludes to the conspicuously membranous clypeus.

Comparative notes:

Aleochara membranosamembranosa is separated from its consubgeners especially by the primary and secondary male sexual characters, from most species also by the pronounced microreticulation of the head and pronotum, the position of the eyes (almost fully visible in dorsal view), the membranous clypeus, and by the reduced length of the hind wings. From other CeranotaCeranota species recorded from Turkey and adjacent regions it is additionally distinguished as follows:

from A. adusta EPPELSHEIM, 1890 (Caucasus region; type material examined) by a broader head and pronotum, shorter and reddish elytra, sparser and more distinctly granulose elytral puncturation, sparser puncturation of the abdomen, and longer tarsi;

from A. bituberculata BERNHAUER ,, 1900 ( Turkey) by more slender antennae, larger and more prominent eyes, by more coarsely punctate elytra, and by more sparsely punctate tergites III-VI; from A. bodemeyeri BERNHAUER ,, 1914 ( Turkey) by distinctly larger size, longer, more slender and darker antennae, a larger and more transverse pronotum, less dense puncturation of the elytra, and a sparser puncturation of the abdomen;

from A. caucasica EPPELSHEIM, 1889 (Caucasus region; holotype and additional specimen from coll. Bernhauer examined), which, too, has a microsculptured pronotum, by longer and more slender antennae, a differently shaped (less convex, more transverse) pronotum, shorter and uniformly coloured elytra (in A. caucasica with infuscate posterior angles), and by longer metatarsi; for comparison see Figs 87-96 ;

from A. erythroptera GRAVENHORST, 1806 (West Palaearctic) [several specimens from Central Europe examined] by much finer and sparser puncturation of the head and pronotum, the less dark coloration of the pronotum (in A. erythropteraerythroptera usually black), shorter and more sparsely punctate elytra, and a much more sparsely punctate abdomen;

from A. libanica EPPELSHEIM, 1889 ( Lebanon, Syria; type material examined) by less slender head and pronotum, shorter and reddish elytra, sparser and more distinctly granulose elytral puncturation, sparser puncturation of the abdomen, and longer tarsi;

from A. lucidula HOCHHUTH, 1860 (Caucasus region, Ukraine; specimens from coll. Bernhauer examined) by more slender antennae, a larger head (in relation to pronotum), a more transverse pronotum, much shorter elytra, and sparser puncturation of the abdomen;

from A. lurida MOTSCHULSKY, 1860 (Caucasus region, Turkey), which is characterised by a conspicuously shiny forebody, by the larger head (in relation to pronotum), and the darker pronotum (in A. lurida reddish);

from A. ocaleoides (BERNHAUER,, 1902) ( Turkey; type material examined), which was originally placed in Amarochara THOMSON , by darker coloration of the pronotum, longer and more slender antennae (in A. ocaleoides apically distinctly incrassate with strongly transverse preapical antennomeres), and shorter elytra;

from A. plicata LOKAY, 1907 ( Turkey: Adana), which is characterised by modifications of the male abdominal tergites III-V and VII-VIII, by a larger head (in relation to pronotum);

from A. ruficornis GRAVENHORST, 1802 (Europe; numerous specimens examined) by darker antennae, the sparser and finer puncturation of the head and pronotum, the smaller and more transverse pronotum, the shorter and more sparsely punctate elytra, and by the sparser puncturation of the abdomen;

from A. strasseri BERNHAUER ,, 1901 (Balkans) (specimens from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Greece examined), with which it shares the membranous clypeus and the similar modifications of the male abdominal tergites III and VII, by much longer and more slender antennae, larger eyes (in A. strasseristrasseri distinctly shorter than postocular region in dorsal view), the distinctly microsculptured forebody (in A. strasseristrasseri shiny and without microsculpture), a pronotum with more convex lateral margins, distinctly longer tarsi, a longer metatarsomere I (in A. strasseristrasseri approximately as long as the combined length of II-III), sparser puncturation of the central areas of the abdominal tergites, and by the concave posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII (in A. strasseristrasseri convex);

from A. subtumidasubtumida (HOCHHUTH, 1840) (Caucasus region, Turkey; several specimens from Turkey and the Caucasus region examined) by the paler coloration of the pronotum (in A. subtumida black), the larger (in relation to pronotum) and less slender head; the much finer and sparser puncturation of the head and pronotum, the more transverse pronotum, the distinctly narrower and shorter elytra, the sparser and more well-defined elytral puncturation, the absence of a tubercle on the male elytra, and by the much sparser puncturation of the abdomen.

Distribution and bionomics:

The species is known from three localities in Antalya province, southwestern Anatolia. The holotype was sifted from litter and grass beneath scattered old pine trees at an altitude of approximately 1600 m at the end of December, one paratype from litter of pine and shrubs at little above sea-level in the beginning of January, and the other paratype from grass near a road margin at an altitude of nearly 900 m at the end of March .

Figures

Figs 27-40: Aleochara membranosa: habitus (27); forebody (28); head in antero-dorsal view (29); antenna (30); abdomen (31); male sternites IV-V in latero-ventral view (32); male tergite III (33); male tergites VII- VIII (34); male tergite VIII (35); male sternite VIII (36); median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (37-39); paramere (40). Scale bars: 27-28, 31-32: 1.0 mm; 29-30, 33-40: 0.5 mm.

Figs 87-96: Aleochara caucasicacaucasica (“Swanetien, Leder. Reitter”, coll. Bernhauer): habitus (87); forebody (88); antenna (89); male abdomen (90); male abdomen in ventral view (91); male sternites IV-V in latero-ventral view (92); male tergite VIII (93); male sternite VIII (94); median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view (95-96). Scale bars: 87-88, 90-92: 1.0 mm; 89, 93-94: 0.5 mm; 95-96: 0.2 mm.