Astenus (Astenus) pallidulus ( WOLLASTON 1864)

Assing, V., 2008, On the taxonomy and zoogeography of some Palaearctic Paederinae and Xantholinini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 40 (2), pp. 1237-1294 : 1242-1243

Astenus (Astenus) pallidulus ( WOLLASTON 1864)

Sunius pallidulus WOLLASTON 1864: 591 f.

Astenus parviceps RAGUSA 1891: 239 .; nov.syn.

Astenus antoinei COIFFAIT 1980: 261 ; nov.syn.

Astenus murreus BORDONI 1994: 24 ff.; nov.syn.

T y p e m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Holotype: " I - Lazio: Mezzomonte, Lago di Paola , 16.IX.1989, Assing / Holotypus / Astenus murreus n. sp. det. Bordoni 1992 / Astenus pallidulus (Wollaston) det. V. Assing 2008" (cAss) . Paratypes: 2: same data as holotype (cAss) ; 1: " I - Sicilia [recte: Sardegna], am Licht, 25.IX.1987, Schmidt" (cAss). A d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Spain: CanaryIslands : 2 exs., La Gomera ,

Hermigua, 17.II.1974, leg. Oromí (cOro, cAss); 1 ex., La Gomera, Hermigua, 27.VI.1974, leg.

Oromí (cAss). Spain, mainland: 2 exs., Andalucía, Huelva, El Rocio, Arroyo La Rocina,

24.IV.2003, leg. Ribera et al. (cAss)

C o m m e n t: The original description of A. pallidulus is based on three syntypes from Tenerife and La Gomera ( WOLLASTON 1864). ISRAELSON (1971) designated a lectotype from Tenerife. He also - correctly - suspected A. parviceps RAGUSA , a name previously synonymised with A. indicus ( KRAATZ 1859) by FAUVEL (1895) and still listed in the synonymy of that name ( SMETANA 2004), to represent a junior synonym of A. pallidulus . An examination of the type material of A. murreus BORDONI revealed that they, too, are conspecific with A. pallidulus . The original description of A. antoinei is based on a holotype male from " Maroc, Casablanca" deposited in the Jarrige collection at the MNHNP ( COIFFAIT 1980). The specimen was not examined, but the figures of the aedeagus and the descriptive details provided by COIFFAIT (1980, 1984) leave no doubt whatsoever that the holotype of A. antoinei in conspecific with A. pallidulus . Hence the synonymies proposed above.

SMETANA (2004) reports the species only from the Canary Islands. The above material includes the first records from Morocco, the Spanish mainland, and Italy.