Ochthephilus venustulus ( Rosenhauer, 1856 )

Makranczy, György, 2014, Revision of the genus Ochthephilus Mulsant & Rey, 1856 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Oxytelinae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 121 (4), pp. 457-694 : 589-592

Ochthephilus venustulus ( Rosenhauer, 1856) Figs 256, 291-295, 330-331, 543, 582

Trogophloeus venustulus Rosenhauer, 1856: 84 .

Ancyrophorus venustulus (Rosenhauer) . – Kraatz, 1857: 889.

Ochthephilus venustulus (Rosenhauer) . – Mulsant & Rey, 1878: 808. – Pope, 1977: 24. – Makranczy, 2001: 180.

Ancyrophorus mediterraneus Scheerpeltz, 1950: 64 , 74, syn. nov.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED: Ancyrophorus mediterraneus – LECTOTYPE (here designated): “Potamo; Corfu [*+39.63/+19.88*], Woerz \ omalinus \ ex coll.; Scheerpeltz \ Typus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus; O. Scheerpeltz \ venustulus; Rosh. \ Lectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus Scheerpeltz ; (on the back) des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; venustulus Rosenhauer ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( NHMW). – PARALECTOTYPES (6): “Hyères [*+43.12/+06.12*]\ omalinus \ ex coll.; Scheerpeltz \ Typus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus; O. Scheerpeltz \ venustulus; Rosh. \ Paralectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus Scheerpeltz ; (on the back) des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; venustulus Rosenhauer ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( NHMW, 1). – “Hyères \ omalinus \ ex coll.; Scheerpeltz \ Cotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus; O. Scheerpeltz \ venustulus; Rosh. \ Paralectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus Scheerpeltz ; (on the back) des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; venustulus Rosenhauer ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( NHMW, 1). – “Dalmatia; Castelnuovo [*+42.45/+18.53*]; M. Hilf. 1910; coll. O. Leonhard \ longipennis \ ex coll.; Leonhard \ Cotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus; O. Scheerpeltz \ venustulus; Rosh. \ Paralectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus Scheerpeltz ; (on the back) des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; venustulus Rosenhauer ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( NHMW, 1). – “Dalm Castelnuovo; M. Hilf 1910; coll. O. Leonhard \ omalinus \ ex coll.; Leonhard \ Cotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus; O. Scheerpeltz \ venustulus; Rosh. \ Paralectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus Scheerpeltz ; (on the back) des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; venustulus Rosenhauer ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( NHMW, 1). – “ Mogador [Essaouria *+31.51/-09.76*] \ Quedenfeldt \ venustulus Rosh. \ omalinus \ ex. coll.; Scheerpeltz \ Cotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus; O. Scheerpeltz \ venustulus; Rosh. \ Marokko \ Paralectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus Scheerpeltz ; (on the back) des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; venustulus Rosenhauer ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( NHMW, 1). – “H. Pyren.; Argelès [*+43.00/-06.11*] \ omalinus \ ex. coll.; Scheerpeltz \ Cotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus; O. Scheerpeltz \ venustulus; Rosh. \ Marokko \ Paralectotypus; Ancyrophorus ; mediterraneus Scheerpeltz ; (on the back) des. Makranczy, 1999 \ Ochthephilus ; venustulus Rosenhauer ; det. Makranczy, 1999” ( NHMW).

OTHER MATERIAL: see Appendix.

REDESCRIPTION: Forebody as in Fig. 543. Measurements (n=10): HW = 0.50 (0.48-0.53); TW = 0.46 (0.44-0.48); PW = 0.55 (0.52-0.59); SW = 0.67 (0.63-0.73); AW = 0.71 (0.64-0.81); HL = 0.38 (0.37-0.39); EL = 0.18 (0.17-0.19); TL = 0.07 (0.06- 0.07); PL = 0.44 (0.42-0.47); SL = 0.88 (0.82-0.98); SC = 0.80 (0.74-0.90); FB = 1.74 (1.64-1.90); BL = 3.13 (2.97-3.30) mm. Head blackish dark brown, abdomen dark brown, often slightly reddish; at basal ridges with darker brown transversal lines. Pronotum and elytra reddish light to medium brown, elytra frequently with a conspicuous yellowish (more or less heart-shaped) spot at both sides of suture at about 3/4 length that often extends to middle of disc. Legs, mouthparts light to medium brown, antennae medium brown (sometimes darker), except basal articles lighter. Body with greasy lustre mostly due to elytral setation plus forebody punctation and microsculpture. Pubescence rather fine and moderately dense, shorter and stronger (regularly spaced) on elytra, abdominal tergites with finer and longer setae, especially adjacent to laterosternites. Head anteriad eyes and near inner posterior margin of eye with stronger and darker bristles, as well as pronotal margin and middle of tibiae. Elytral apex without conspicuous setae. Last tarsomere with a few setae only.

Forebody. Antenna as in Fig. 582, antennomere 6 shorter and less wide than neighbours (articles 5 and 7). Clypeus almost impunctate (colliculate microsculptured), trapezoid, corners rounded, anterior edge gently arched; separated by impressed transversal line (frontoclypeal suture) across a shinier area. Supraantennal prominences well developed, feebly separated from clypeus/vertex by impressions. Vertex with oblique impressions in middle almost joining in V-shape. Temples bulging, evenly curved, little shorter than half of eye length. Neck separated by an impressed transversal groove, microsculpture much stronger than on head, with transverse cells, no setation. Pronotum with a narrow marginal bead, visible to anterior pronotal corners. Posterior pronotal angles well-formed, just slightly obtuse-angled, sides in posterior 2/3 almost straight. 'Anchor' fully formed, longitudinal midline as a slightly elevated, impunctate, weakly microsculptured line, parallel to this line two gentle, semi-longitudinal elongate elevations in anterior half of disc. In corners of anchor feeble, oblique impressions directed outwards, in middle at sides of midline two smaller impressions. Elytra slightly broadening posteriorly, sutural corners narrowly rounded; apical sides slightly oblique and in inner halves gently convex. Elytral surface rather even with two shallow, very elongate impressions behind scutellum. Head with fine coriaceous/colliculate microsculpture, fading on elevated parts, stronger in impressions, on pronotum microsculpture slightly stronger and more even. Punctation on head sparse, mostly confined to posterior part and sides, on pronotum more evenly spaced, average interspaces much larger than puncture diameters; elytral punctation more even and regularly spaced, average interspaces (with indistinct coriaceous microsculpture) about as puncture diameters, punctures discrete.

Abdomen. Compared to forebody, abdomen with much more sparse, finer, less distinct punctation, microsculpture on tergal apices fine coriaceous with moderately transverse cells. Tergite VII posterior margin with palisade fringe unmodified in middle (nearly uniform breadth). Tergite VIII (Fig. 256) basal edge evenly arched, with small concavity in middle of basal sclerotized band; apical edge with sinuate (protruding) corners, and almost straight in between. Sternite VIII with rounded apical corners, apex in males shallowly concave laterally, gently sinuate in middle; in females slightly more sinuate (convex) in middle. Tergite X strongly modified, in males as in Fig. 330, in females as in Fig. 331. Aedeagus as in Fig. 291, inner sclerites as in Figs 292-293. Female ringstructures as in Figs 294-295.

COMPARATIVE NOTES: Can be distinguished from the related O. andalusiacus and O. omalinus by the apical formation of tergite X; among the three, O. venustulus is the most frequent to have lighter elytra and a distinct light spot around the suture behind the middle (in the other two species specimens with similar elytra are also FIGS 365-378

(365-368) Ochthephilusenigmaticus sp. n.; aedeagus (365), spermatheca (366), femaleringstructures (367-368). (369-373) O. incognitus sp. n.; aedeagus (369), innersclerites (370-371), femaleringstructures (372-373). (374-378) O. nepalensis (Scheerpeltz) ; aedeagus (374), inner sclerites (375-376), femaleringstructures (377-378). Scalebar = 0.045 mmfor 367-368, 0.075 mmfor 366, 372-373, 0.1 mmfor 365, 369-371, 376-378.

occasionally found). Another peculiar feature of O. venustulus is the formation of tergite VIII with the apical corners much less protruding (as opposed to the other two species), shallowly concave in between, almost straight (not slightly convex as in O. andalusiacus and without the slight incision of O. omalinus in centre).

NOTES: Genuine syntypic material was not found for ' Trogophloeus venustulus '. This was not seen as a problem as even O. Scheerpeltz recognized his ' Ancyrophorus mediterraneus ' as synonymous with venustulus as is evident in his labelling. With the existing type material for the junior synonym no neotype designation for ' Trogophloeus venustulus ' was deemed necessary.

DISTRIBUTION: Known from North Africa, Portugal, Spain and all along the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Basin.

BIONOMICS: Specimens were collected on streambank and sandy riverbank, also from flood debris. Exemplars were gathered by the flotation method from fine gravel at the bank of a small temporary stream.

VIII. Ochthephilus vulgaris species group