Cephennium (Geodytes) gladiator Jałoszyński & Struyve, 2016

Jałoszyński, Paweł & Struyve, Tim, 2016, A new subterranean Iberian Cephennium with unusually modified metatrochanters (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4189 (2), pp. 291-300 : 292-297

Cephennium (Geodytes) gladiator Jałoszyński & Struyve sp. n.

( Figs 1–22 )

Type material. Holotype: SPAIN (Galicia) : ♂, two labels: " SPAIN Galicia / Áspera , N42.554° W7.937° / 17.03.2015 / leg. Tim Struyve " [white, printed], " CEPHENNIUM / ( GEODYTES ) / gladiator / Jałoszyński & Struyve / HOLOTYPUS " [red, printed] ( MNHW) . Paratypes (32 exs.): 1 ♀, same data as for holotype; 1 Ƌ, Spain, Galicia, Trabada , N43.439° W7.171°, 13.04.2013 ; 4 ƋƋ, 1 ♀, Covelo , N42.267° W8.328°, 19.03.2015 ; 1 Ƌ, Espiño , N41.874° W7.556°, 17.04.2015 ; 2 ƋƋ, Boborás , N42.416° W8.143°, 20.05.2013 ; 1 Ƌ, San Sadurniño , N43.494° W8.047°, 25.04.2013 ; 1 Ƌ, Lamas de Moreira , N43.056° W7.075°, 27.03.2013 ; 1 Ƌ, Moscoso , N42.328° W8.489°, 19.05.2013 ; 1 Ƌ, Sueiro , N43.519° W6.877°, 13.04.2014 ; 1 Ƌ, 1 ♀, Cepeda , N42.250° W8.589°, 19.05.2013 ; 8 ƋƋ, 1 ♀, Portomouro , N42.967° W8.628°, 22.05.2013 ; 2 ƋƋ, 1 ♀, Torre , N43.403° W8.041°, 14.04.2013 ; 2 ƋƋ, 2 ♀♀, Vila da Igrexa , N43.618° W8.014°, 15.04.2013 (cPJ, MNHW, TSCB). Each paratype with yellow printed label " CEPHENNIUM ( GEODYTES ) / gladiator / Jałoszyński & Struyve / PARATYPUS ".

Diagnosis. Metatrochanters in males strongly modified, each with blade-like projection reaching 3/4 length of metafemur; metaventrite in males barely discernibly impressed posteriorly; both sexes with eyes composed of single ommatidium; endophallus slightly elongate, bell-shaped, distinctly divided into lateral halves, in erected state with a pair of subtriangular, pointed distal projections.

Description. BL 0.88–0.90 mm; body of male ( Figs 1, 2 ) strongly elongate and weakly convex, light brown, setae yellowish.

Head broadest at eyes, HL 0.11 mm, HW 0.15–0.16 mm; vertex and frons confluent, covered with fine and inconspicuous punctures and short, sparse and suberect setae; antennal tubercles weakly raised but distinct; eyes composed of single ommatidium ( Fig. 4 ; om), pigmented as lightly as surrounding cuticle, strongly projecting laterally. Antennae ( Figs 1–2 ) long and slender, with indistinctly delimited club composed of antennomeres IX–XI, AnL 0.34–0.35 mm, antennomeres I–II strongly elongate, III–IV about as long as broad, V indistinctly longer than broad, VI–X transverse, XI about as long as IX–X combined, about 1.8 × as long as broad.

Pronotum in dorsal view ( Fig. 1 ) approximately semioval, broadest slightly in front of middle, PL 0.28 mm, PW 0.30 mm; anterior margin and sides in anterior half rounded; lateral margins distinctly convergent posteriorly and weakly rounded in posterior half; hind pronotal corners obtuse and blunt; posterior margin indistinctly bisinuate laterally and nearly straight at middle. Sides of pronotum with distinct lateral carinae ( Figs 1 ) broadest at base and narrowing anteriorly. Punctures on pronotal disc ( Fig. 1 ) very fine, shallow and sparse; setae ( Fig. 1 ) short, sparse and suberect.

Elytra ( Fig. 1 ) oval and evenly but weakly convex, broadest distinctly in front of middle; EL 0.50–0.53 mm, EW 0.35 mm, EI 1.43–1.50; humeral denticles ( Figs 3, 6 ; hd) small and rounded; basal elytral fovea ( Fig. 3 ; bef) on each elytron large and located closer to lateral margin of mesoscutellum than to humeral denticle; apical margin of each elytron ( Fig. 1 ) nearly transverse in relation to the long axis of body. Punctures on elytra ( Fig. 1 ) similar to those on pronotum; setae ( Fig. 1 ) similarly sparse but slightly longer than those on pronotum.

Metaventrite ( Fig. 2 ) with indistinct, very shallow posterior median impression not demarcated from surrounding areas; metaventral intercoxal process ( Figs 6–7 ; mtvp) with its lateral corners projecting posteriorly and forming long and pointed spines.

Legs ( Figs 2 , 5–7 , 20–21 ) moderately long and slender, protibiae ( Fig. 2 ) lacking subapical notches; metatrochanters ( Figs 2 , 7 ) strongly modified, each with long blade-like projection on posteroventral margin, projection reaches 3/4 of metafemur.

Aedeagus ( Figs 8–19 ) elongate, AeL 0.28 mm in repose and 0.30 mm in erected state; median lobe in ventral view oval with truncated apex, endophallus located in subapical region, bell-shaped, elongate and with paired lateral components; parameres slender, each bearing single apical seta. In erected state ( Figs 16–19 ) endophallus completely extruded, subtrapezoidal, with a pair of apical subtriangular projections, each projection with serrate external margin ( Fig. 18 ).

Female. Differs from male in unmodified metatrochanters; BL 0.88 mm; HL 0.10 mm, HW 0.16 mm, AnL 0.34 mm; PL 0.28 mm, PW 0.30 mm, EL 0.50 mm, EW 0.33 mm, EI 1.54.

Variability. The studied males (26 specimens) show variability in the metatrochanteral projection, which is nearly parallel-sided ( Fig. 20 ) to distinctly broadened distally ( Fig. 21 ), with gradual transition between these extreme forms. Differences seen in the shape of endophallus ( Figs 8–15 ) are results of movable apical components being partly displaced in some specimens, and the entire endophallus being slightly tilted dorsally or ventrally. Examination of aedeagi of all available males demonstrated that lateroapical subtriangular components in erected state rotate in such a way that they adopt apical orientation with pointed tips directed laterally ( Figs 16, 18 ) or, in some cases, nearly dorsally. These components can be seen 'folded' inside apical portion of endophallus in repose, with their pointed tips directed toward base of aedeagus, but in most cases these structures are obscured by other endophallic components and are not distinguishable from surrounding sclerites. Differences in the shape of apical margin of aedeagus ( Fig. 10 vs. 14) and the shape of endophallus do not correlate with the shape of metatrochanteral projections.

Distribution. North-western Spain ( Fig. 22 ).

Etymology. Gladiator , Latin 'swordsman', derived from gladius, a sword; used here in its original meaning of a sword-bearer; refers to the sword-like projections of metatrochanters.

Additional collecting data. All specimens were collected from the soil under leaf litter (up to 40 cm deep) in natural acidophilous oak-dominated forests or remains of those within eucalypt plantations.

Figures

FIGURE 22. Distribution of Cephennium gladiator sp. n.

FIGURES 1 – 2. Cephennium gladiator sp. n. Dorsal (1) and ventral (2) habitus of male.

FIGURES 3 – 7. Cephennium gladiator sp. n., male. Humeral region of right elytron in dorsal view (3); head in ventral view (4); prothorax in ventral view (5); pterothorax in ventral view (6); intermetacoxal region and basal portion of left hind leg in ventral view (7). Abbreviations: bef, basal elytral fovea; bst, basisternal part of prosternum; cx, coxa; fe, femur; gp, gular plate; hd, humeral denticle; hyr, hypomeral ridge; mn, mentum; mscc, mesocoxal cavity; msvp, mesoventral intercoxal process; mtvp, metaventral intercoxal process; mxp, maxillary palp; nss, notosternal suture; om, ommatidium; pcr, procoxal rest; pm, prementum; ptp, posterior tentorial pit; smn, submentum; tr, trochanter; v 3, metaventrite.

FIGURES 8 – 15. Cephennium gladiator sp. n., non-erected aedeagus of holotype (8 − 11) and paratype from Covelo (12 − 15) in ventral (8, 10, 12, 14) and lateral (9, 11, 13, 15) views.

FIGURES 16 – 21. Cephennium gladiator sp. n., erect aedeagus (16 − 19) in ventral (16, 18) and lateral (17, 19) views; left hind coxa, trochanter and femur in ventral view, extreme examples of variability (20, 21).