Sunius vaulogeri ( COIFFAIT 1973)

Assing, V. & A, North, 2008, A revision of the Sunius species of the Western Palaearctic region and Middle Asia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 40 (1), pp. 5-135 : 94

4.55. Sunius vaulogeri ( COIFFAIT 1973) ( Figs. 135-138 , Map 20 )

Hypomedon vaulogeri COIFFAIT 1973: 118 .

Holotype 3: " Algeria, Teniet el Had, de Vauloger / Holotype / Hypomedon vaulogeri Coiff., H. Coiffait det. 1973 / Sunius vaulogeri (Coiffait) det. V. Assing 2007" ( MNHNP).

C o m m e n t: The original description is based on a male holotype and two female paratypes from "Teniet el Had, Algérie " ( COIFFAIT 1973). The illustrations of the aedeagus in COIFFAIT (1973, 1984) are highly misleading.

A d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Algeria: 3 exs., "Oran" ( DEI, cAss) ; 1♀ [identification tentative], Oran, Tianet ( HNHM) .

D i a g n o s i s: Smallspecies, 2.5-2.7mm.Externalappearance(coloration,size,and proportions) as in S. tuniseus and allied species; distinguished only by the male sexual characters:

3: sternite VIII with deep posterior excision, otherwise unmodified ( Fig. 138 ); aedeagus shaped as in Figs 135-136 , apex of ventral process very slender in ventral view; internal sac with a distinctive comb-like row of about 9 weakly sclerotised curved spines ( Fig. 137 ).

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: The species is distinguished from other small-sized, micropterous and pale-coloured congeners from Algeria by the morphology of the male sternite VIII, by the shape of the aedeagus, and especially by the distinctive internal structures.

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: Thetypelocality issituated some 150 km to the southwest of Algier ( Map 20 ); it is identical to that of S. rectus . The exact locality of the additional material is doubtful; in view of the considerable distance from the type locality, it seems highly unlikely that it refers to the town of Oran. Bionomic data are not available .

Figures

Map 20: Distributions of species of the S. seminiger group in Algeria: Sunius berberus (COIFFAIT) (filled circles), S. baboricus nov.sp. (open circle), S. mouzaianus nov.sp. (filled square), S. vaulogeri (COIFFAIT) (open square), and S. rectus nov.sp. (open square).

Figs 132-138: Sunius rectus nov.sp. (132-134) and S. vaulogeri (COIFFAIT) (135-138): (132-133, 135-136) aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (134, 138) male sternite VIII; (137) internal structures of aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: 134, 138: 0.2 mm; 132-133, 135-137: 0.1 mm.