Alisalia testacea Casey, 1911

Klimaszewski, Jan, Webster, Reginald, Savard, Karine & Couture, Jérôme, 2009, First record of the genus Alisalia Casey from Canada, description of two new species, and a key to all Nearctic species of the genus (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), ZooKeys 25 (25), pp. 1-18 : 10-13

2. Alisalia testacea Casey

Figs 1, 3, 12–18, Map 2

Alisalia testacea Casey 1911: 221 ; Moore and Legner 1975: 337.

LECTOTYPE (male): UNITED STATES: North Carolina; testacea – 7 , Paratype USNM 38798; male; lectotypus, V.I. Gusarov 1999 [designation not published] ( USNM). We designate this specimen as the lectotype of A. testacea in this paper .

Map Ι. Collection localities in New Brunswick, Canada of Alisalia minuta

MATERIAL EXAMINED: CANADA, New Brunswick: Carleton Co., Belleville, Meduxnekeag Valley Nature Preserve, 46.1889°N, 67.6764°W, 2.VI.2008, R.P. Webster, coll., river margin under cobblestone in grassy area ( RWC) 1 female ; same locality and date but 46.1944ºN, 67.6832ºW, 2.VI.2008, R.P. Webster, coll., river margin under cobblestones in sand / gravel among scattered grasses ( RWC) 2 males, 1 female ; York Co., Dumfries, Slagundy Dry Ponds , 45.8596°N, 67.1849°W, 8.VII.2006, R.P. Webster, coll., large vernal pond, pond margin in moist leaf litter ( LFC, RWC) 2 males, 1 female ; Charters Settlement , 45.8395°N, 66.7391°W, 11.VI.2007, R.P. Webster, coll., at mercury vapour light ( RWC) 1 male .

Description. Alisalia testacea may be distinguished from the other two Alisalia species recorded from Canada by its moderately larger and narrow approximately uniformly coloured body (length 1.7–1.8 mm; maximum width 0.1 mm), slightly elongate elytra (Figs 1, 3), and the characteristic shape of the median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view (Fig. 12). It has more transverse antennal articles than those of A. minuta (Fig. 3). For the differences between this and the other Nearctic species, see the key.

Body length 1.7–1.8 mm, narrowly subparallel; approximately uniformly dark or light brown, head, elytra and posterior part of abdomen may be slightly darker than the remainder of the body, legs and bases of antennae yellowish (Figs 1, 3); punctation on forebody fine and dense; microsculpture inconspicuous; pubescence of head directed obliquely lateroanterad, on pronotum laterad from midline of disc, on elytra obliquely or straight posteriad, and on abdomen approximately straight posteriad (Figs 1, 3); antennae broad as illustrated (Fig. 3); pronotum slightly narrower than elytra, 1.1 times as wide as long; elytra quadrate or slightly transverse (Fig. 3); abdomen with sharply delimited horizontal basal depressions (Figs 1, 3). MALE: tergite 8 truncate apically and may bear shallow emargination (Fig. 13); sternite 8 broadly rounded apically (Fig. 14). Median lobe of aedeagus with moderately elongate and sinuate tubus, subapical part approximately straight and medio-basal part strongly convex, crista apicalis of bulbus moderately broad (Figs 12, 31), flagellum slightly projecting externally, straight in shape (Figs 12, 31). Paramere as illustrated (Fig.15). FEMALE. Terminalia and spermatheca as illustrated (Figs 16–18).

Bionomics

Macrohabitat: river margin and margin of a large vernal pond. Microhabitat: Under cobblestones embedded in moist sand / clay or gravel mix with fine grass roots in areas with grasses within 40 cm of water. Collecting period: June and July. Collecting method: aspirating from under cobblestones and sifting leaf litter. One specimen collected at a light in mixed forest area.

Distribution (Map 2). CANADA: New Brunswick.

Figures Ι2–Ι8. Alisalia testacea Casey : Ι2 median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view Ι 3 male tergite 8 Ι 4 male sternite 8 Ι5 paramere Ι6 spermatheca Ι 7 female tergite 8 Ι 8 female sternite 8.

Map 2. Collection localities in New Brunswick, Canada of Alisalia testacea