Hylota cryptica Klimaszewski & Webster

Klimaszewski, Jan, Langor, David W., Hammond, H. E. James & Bourdon, Caroline, 2016, A new species of Anomognathus and new Canadian and provincial records of aleocharine rove beetles from Alberta, Canada (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), ZooKeys 581, pp. 141-164 : 153-155

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Staphylinidae

Hylota cryptica Klimaszewski & Webster Figs 60-66

Hylota cryptica Klimaszewski & Webster, in Webster et al. (2016)

Diagnosis.

This species is distinguishable by length 3.2-3.4 mm, body narrowly oval, dark brown except for paler antennae, tarsi, and posterior part of elytra near suture (Fig. 60); forebody densely punctate and pubescent; head about one-third of maximum pronotal width; antennal articles IV-X from slightly elongate to subquadrate (Fig. 60); pronotum broadest at basal third and strongly narrowed apically, at base as wide as elytra (Fig. 60). Hylota cryptica may be separated from Hylota ochracea by its larger, broader and darker body, pronotum at least as wide as elytra at base (slightly narrower in Hylota ochracea ), elongate antennal articles V-X (transverse in Hylota ochracea ), less bent tubus of median lobe laterally (Fig. 61), apical margin of male tergite VIII with minute crenulation (Fig. 62) (with teeth in Hylota ochracea ), and spermatheca with fewer coils (Fig. 66) (8-9 in Hylota cryptica and about 15-17 in Hylota ochracea ).

Distribution.

Natural history.

All New Brunswick specimens of Hylota cryptica were captured in Lindgren funnel traps or flight intercept traps in various forest types ( Webster et al. 2016). These included a red oak forest, an old mixed forest with red oak, mixed forests, a hardwood forest on an island in a river, an old-growth northern hardwood forest, an old-growth white spruce and balsam fir forest, an old jack pine forest, an old red pine forest, and an old white pine stand ( Webster et al. 2016). The Alberta specimens were captured in June in window traps attached to aspen snag in boreal aspen stands harvested and burned 15 years previously.

Comments.

This species is most likely continuously distributed from New Brunswick to Alberta.