Anillinus felicianus, Sokolov, 2021

Sokolov, Igor M., 2021, Two new species of the genus Anillinus Casey (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Anillini) from the southern United States, ZooKeys 1016, pp. 63-76 : 63

Anillinus felicianus sp. nov. Figs 1 , 2 , 5

Type material.

Holotype male (NMNH), dissected, labeled: \ USA-LA: West Feliciana Par., ~4mi SW Jackson at 30.794°N, 91.254°W, mixed pine-hardwood forest, soil washing/berlese Sokolov I.M. 19-25 Apr 2018 \. Paratype: one female, labeled as holotype (NMNH); three males and three females labeled: \USA, LA, W. Feliciana Par. Feliciana Preserve Natural Area, Orange Trail, 30.792649°N, 91.253382°W, 29 Oct. 2015 \ Soil washing in hardwood forest B.E. Owens and C.E. Carlton \(LSAM).

Etymology.

The name of this species is a Latinized adjective based on the name of Feliciana Preserve, in which this species occurs. Feliciana Preserve is a privately owned nature reserve created by several professors of the Louisiana State University (principal developer Dr. Dorothy Prowell) and located in the Tunica Hills area of southeastern Louisiana.

Type locality.

USA, Louisiana, West Feliciana Parish, Tunica Hills, 4 mi SW of Jackson.

Recognition.

Adults of A. felicianus can be distinguished from those of other subterranean members of Anillinus by the combination of smooth pronotum and completely microsculptured head. Males of A. felicianus can be also distinguished from those of other congeners by the structure of the median lobe.

Description.

Moderate-sized for genus (ABL 1.59-1.68 mm, mean 1.64 ± 0.064 mm, n = 2).

Habitus: Body form (Fig. 1A ) moderately convex, subparallel, elongate (WE/ABL 0.36 ± 0.001), head moderately large in comparison to pronotum (WH/WPm 0.77 ± 0.008), pronotum of moderate width in comparison to elytra (WPm/WE 0.82 ± 0.006).

Integument: Body color brunneo-rufous, appendages testaceous. Microsculpture (Fig. 1B-D ) present across all head and elytra, where it is represented by isodiametric polygonal sculpticells; and absent from disc of pronotum. Body surface shiny, surface sparsely and finely punctate, covered with sparse, yellowish, short setae. Vestiture of elytra (Fig. 1D ) short (~0.3 length of discal setae). Elytral chaetotaxy typical for Anillinus , umbilicate series of type A (sensu Jeannel 1963a and Giachino and Vailati 2011): nine setae arranged in three groups, subhumeral (3+1), middle (2) and subapical (1+2), with the last two (8th and 9th) pores of umbilicate series “geminate”, much closer to each other than 7th pore is to 8th; in subapical group the 8th pore is the longest.

Prothorax: Pronotum (Fig. 1C ) moderately convex, of moderate size (LP/LE 0.41 ± 0.010) and moderately transverse (WPm/LP 1.26 ± 0.009), with lateral margins almost rectilinearly and moderately constricted posteriorly (WPm/WPp 1.26 ± 0.009). Anterior angles indistinct, posterior angles slightly obtuse (105-110°). Width between posterior angles equals width between anterior angles (WPa/WPp 0.97 ± 0.001). Basal margin slightly concave in middle.

Scutellum: Externally visible, triangular, with pointed apex.

Elytra: Slightly convex, of average length (LE/ABL 0.58 ± 0.012) and width (WE/LE 0.63 ± 0.015) for genus, with traces of 4-5 striae. Humeri distinct, rounded, in outline forming obtuse angle with longitudinal axis of body. Lateral margins subparallel in middle, slightly convergent at basal fourth, evenly rounded to apex at apical third, with shallow subapical sinuation. Basal margination distinct.

Legs: Protarsi of male with moderately dilated tarsomere 1. Profemora moderately swollen. Metafemora unmodified.

Male genitalia: Median lobe (Fig. 2A ) of aedeagus anopic, slightly arcuate and moderately twisted. Shaft dilated in apical two-thirds, with moderately elongate apex, slightly tapered to rounded tip. Ventral margin of median lobe straight, not enlarged, with few poriferous canals, curved downward close to basal orifice. Endophallus with dorsal copulatory sclerites fused to form slightly curved dorsal blade-like structure and straight, apically-pointed ventral plate of moderate length. Spines and scaled membranous folds of endophallus absent. Left paramere (Fig. 2B ) of shape common in genus, paramere apex with four setae getting longer toward apex. Right paramere (Fig. 2C ) of moderate length, bearing three long setae of approximately same length as paramere.

Female genitalia: Spermatheca (Fig. 2E ) unsclerotized, shaped as a question mark, with sharply dilated bean-like distal part. Length of spermathecal gland shorter than length of spermatheca. Spermathecal duct uncoiled. Gonocoxites and laterotergite as in Fig. 2D . Gonocoxite 2 falciform, more than 2 times longer than wide basally, with acute ensiferous setae. Laterotergite with 7-8 setae.

Geographic distribution.

This species is known only from the type locality in the Tunica Hills area of West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana (Fig. 5 , green circle).

Habitat.

All specimens of this species were collected from loess soil samples using soil washing techniques ( Southwood and Henderson 2000). These samples were taken under forest canopy on the top of a hill between two gullies with temporal creeks. Anillinus felicianus is a true endogean species and has never been found in litter samples.

Relationships.

The species belongs to group V of endogean species (sensu Sokolov et al. 2004), characterized by a combination of a completely microsculptured head and smooth disc of pronotum. Within this group, A. felicianus is most closely related to the endogean A. sinuaticollis Jeannel ( Jeannel 1963b), differing from the latter by a smooth - not microsculptured - base of the pronotum, a bigger size, and details of the pronotum shape and body proportions. The range of A. sinuaticollis is confined to Roane County of Tennessee (Fig. 5 , green area with vertical line pattern); thus, its range lies about 500 miles north of the type locality of A. felicianus .

Figures

Figure 1. Digital images of external features of Anillinus felicianus sp. nov. (male, 4 mi SW of Jackson, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana) A habitus, dorsal aspect B head, dorsal aspect C pronotum, dorsal aspect D elytral vestiture, left lateral aspect. Scale bars: 0.5 mm (A, D); 0.2 mm (B, C).

Figure 2. Digital images of male and female genitalia of A. felicianus sp. nov. (4 mi SW of Jackson, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana). Male genitalia A median lobe, right lateral aspect B left paramere, left lateral aspect C right paramere, right lateral aspect. Female genitalia D ovipositor sclerites E spermatheca (spermathecal gland manually restored). Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figure 5. Map of the South of eastern United States, showing positions of locality records for the newly described species of Anillinus and the ranges of their presumed relatives (localities of the same color reflect supposed relatedness). A. felicianus, green circle; A. relictus, red circle. Green area with vertical line pattern - range of A. sinuaticollis. Black cross - type locality of A. sinuatus. Red areas with diagonal line pattern - ranges of the species of Anillinus whose males have a spine-like structure in the endophallus of the median lobe (after Sokolov et al. 2004; Sokolov and Watrous 2008; Sokolov 2011; Sokolov et al. 2014; Sokolov et al. 2017). Blue line - Mississippi River. State abbreviations follow Federal Information Processing Standards (https: // www. nlsinfo. org / content / cohorts / nlsy 79 / other-documentation / codebook-supplement / nlsy 79 - attachment- 102 - federal).