Geostiba (Sipalotricha) zerchei, Pace, 1996

Assing, Volker, 2019, A revision of Geostiba of the West Palaearctic region. XXVII. New species from Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, and additional records (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (2), pp. 717-730 : 720

Geostiba (Sipalotricha) zerchei PACE, 1996 ( Figs 8-12 )

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: GEORGIA: S a m t s k h e - J a v a k h e t i: 3♂♂, 5♀♀, Trialeti Range , S Bakuriani, 41°42'21''N, 43°30'08''E, 2090 m, birch trees at tree line, litter and grass sifted, 6.VII.2019, leg. Assing & Schülke ( MNB, cAss) ; 1♂, 4♀♀, same data, but 10.VII.2019, leg. Assing (cAss) .

C o m m e n t: In the original description, which is based on a unique female (erroneously sexed as a male) from "Cauc. Min. Bor., Trialetskij Chreb, Bakuriani, 1800-2200 m ", PACE (1996) assigned the species to Lioglutosipalia SCHEERPELTZ, 1951, now a synonym of Sipalotricha SCHEERPELTZ, 1931. Based on a revision of the holotype, Assing (2005) treated G. zerchei as a species of doubtful status and moved it to Sibiota .

During a field trip to Southwest Georgia, Michael Schülke and the author succeeded in collecting a series of specimens including males in the environs of the type locality, thus rendering a clarification of the identity of G. zerchei finally possible. An examination of the males revealed that the species does not belong to Sibiota , but to Sipalotricha. The male is characterized by a pronounced sutural carina on the elytra (unique in the subgenus) ( Fig. 9 ). The external and sexual characters are illustrated in Figs 8-12 .

Figures

Figs 8-14: Geostiba zerchei (8-12) and G. kakhetiana (13-14): (8, 13) male habitus; (9, 14) male forebody; (10-11) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view; (12) spermatheca. Scale bars: 8, 13: 1.0 mm; 9, 14: 0.5 mm; 10-12: 0.1 mm.