Leistus (Leistus) elpis Ortuño & Arribas, 2021

Ortuño, Vicente M., Arribas, Oscar, Muñoz-Santiago, José & Peña-Aguilera, Pablo, 2021, A case of allopatric speciation in the Central System (Iberian Peninsula): Leistus elpis sp. nov., a sibling species of Leistus constrictus (Coleoptera Carabidae), Zootaxa 4995 (3), pp. 452-470 : 459-463

Leistus (Leistus) elpis Ortuño & Arribas sp. nov.

( Figs. 3‒5)

Holotype. 1♂, Martín Muñoz de Ayllón , Las Aleguillas-Cerro Gordo (Segovia), 11-V-2019, V. M. Ortuño, J. Mu- ñoz-Santiago, P. Peña-Aguilera leg.

Paratypes. 35♂♂, 11♀♀, Martín Muñoz de Ayllón, Las Aleguillas-Cerro Gordo ( Segovia ), 11-V-2019, V. M. Ortuño, J. Muñoz-Santiago, P. Peña-Aguilera leg. 1♂, Somosierra , dehesa boyal (Madrid), 19-V-2001, V. M. Ortuño leg. ; 3♂♂, 1♀, ídem, 16-IX-2001 . 2♂♂, 2♀♀, Cabeza del Tempraniego (Madrid), 3-IX-2016, V. M. Ortuño leg. 1♂, Horcajuelo de la Sierra, La Garita (Madrid), 24-III-2019, E. Ledesma leg. 1♀, Hayedo de Montejo de la Sierra (Madrid), 24-VI-1987, R. Outerelo leg. 1♂, Pico Tres Provincias (Madrid), X-2012, E. Ledesma leg. 2♂♂, 4♀♀, Hayedo de La Pedrosa ( Segovia ), 28-V-1988, V. M. Ortuño leg. ; 1♂, 1♀, ídem, 16-V-1992 ; 1♀, ídem, 18-VII-1992 ; 2♂♂, 1♀, ídem, 12-X-2018, J. Muñoz-Santiago leg. 2♂♂, 2♀♀, Puerto de la Quesera ( Segovia ), 28-V-1988, V. M. Ortuño leg. 3♂♂, 1♀, Cantalojas, Peñón de los Arcos ( Guadalajara ), 6-VI-2019, V. M. Ortuño, J. Muñoz-Santiago, P. Peña-Aguilera leg.

The holotype and seventy-eight paratypes were deposited in the Department of Life Sciences , Faculty of Biology , Environmental Sciences and Chemistry , University of Alcala, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain ( V. M. Ortuño collection) ; in the collection of the National Museum of Natural Sciences (Madrid, Spain); and in the collection of Oscar Arribas (Soria, Spain), José Muñoz Santiago (Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain), and Pablo de la Peña Aguilera (Alcalá de Henares, Spain) .

Diagnosis. Species belonging to the “ Leistus angusticollis group” (sensu Perrault 1979). Body length <10 mm, elongated, with strongly pigmented tegument (dark brown to reddish-brown); long antennae and legs; cordiform pronotum with rounded sides; elytra with pyriform appearance as a whole, as a result of showing obliterated shoulders; brachypterous; aedeagus with a curved middle lobe and a long, acuminate apical lamina.

Description. Body slender ( Fig. 3), length 7.8‒9.2 mm (from the mandibles apex to the elytra tip), holotype length 8.4 mm. Dark brown to reddish brown colour with the appendages slightly lighter. Dorsal surface tegument with fine isodiametric microsculpture on the head and pronotum, elytra with transversal meshes.

Head ( Fig. 3) wide, with convex cephalic disc, not stippled, occasionally slightly rough. Very convex and protruding medium-size eyes. Prominent oblique temples, less than half the diameter of the eye. Mandibles strongly widened. Labrum with slightly curved anterior margin. Transverse labium with widely cleft tooth and tridentate ligula. Long and narrow maxillary and labial palps, with the last palpomeres broadening toward apex. Long and narrow antennae (two thirds of the length of the body), almost filiform. Taking as reference antennomere I (value 1), antennomere V‒VII mean lengths slightly longer (V=1.16; VI=1.03; VII=1.03); other antennomeres shorter (II=0.42; III=0.84; IV=0.58; VIII=0.93; IX=0.93; X=0.77; XI=0.90). Setae of the mouthparts and antennae typical of the “ Leistus angusticollis group”. Four setae near the anterior margin of the labrum; numerous spiniform setae on the labium; maxilla with outer edge armed with strong spiniform processes; a row of seven or eight setae inserted along a transversal cariniform elevation in the submentum (= prebasilar); one seta on each side of the clypeus; one supraocular seta on each side, located towards the middle of the eye.

Pronotum ( Fig. 3) cordiform with uniformly rounded sides, but strongly narrowed near the posterior angles, which appear acute; deep and narrow lateral furrow; disc divided by a narrow and pronounced longitudinal median impression, which does not reach either of the two margins. Anterior margin visibly wider than the posterior, both with densely dotted contiguous areas. Anterior margin with a transverse fold. Pronotal chaetotaxy consisting of a marginal seta on each side, inserted at the maximum width of the pronotum.

Elytra ( Fig. 3) generally ellipsoidal, almost pyriform; maximum width in the middle, with a mean EL (mW)/EL index ( Table 1) of 0.459 mm, and with indiscernible shoulders; the basal margin meeting the lateral margin as a very obtuse angle, topped by a small humeral tooth. Oblique apical margin, acuminated elytra as a whole. Strongly and deeply punctate striae, becoming much weaker towards the apical half, while towards the lateral margins the punctures of the external striae are widely spaced and inconspicuous. Interstriae convex. Parascutellar setigerous pore at the base of the first stria; three setigerous pores in the 3rd interstria (sometimes four due to the appearance of a supernumerary one), displaced towards the third stria (first in the middle of the anterior third, second in the middle of the total length, third in the middle posterior third); a small apical setigerous pore next to the second stria; umbilical series with 8 setigerous pores (sometimes 7) more densely packed at the anterior half. Wings significantly atrophied.

Legs ( Fig. 3) very long and thin; tarsi and distal third of tibiae pubescent; tarsi long and narrow. Protarsi of male with tarsomeres 1‒3 widened.

On male genitalia ( Fig. 4 ) aedeagus with a moderately arched middle lobe in lateral view describing a sinuous curve; large basal bulb ( Fig. 4a ); long apical lamina, outline characterized by a thick ridge extending from sides to an acuminate apex ( Figs. 4b, c, g, h ). The inner sac at rest with two highly sclerotized parasagittal laminar areas; when evaginated, with six membranous lobes (four large and two small) and some other sclerotic areas, especially a central one with a trapezoidal outline ( Fig. 4h ). Left paramere wide, with a widely truncated apex ( Fig. 4d ). Right paramere with an asymmetric “boomerang” shape ( Fig. 4e ). Aedeagal ring sclerite of the male genital segment slightly oblong ( Fig. 4f ).

Female genitalia ( Fig. 5 ) with trimerous genital shield ( Figs. 5c, d ); gonocoxite IX unguiform and highly sclero- tized, without thorn-shaped setae and with only a small fovea near apex and above the ventral surface, with two fine and short sensorial setae (nematiform setae); gonosubcoxite IX trapezoidal in ventral view, rectangular in internal view, longer than wider, with a diagonal row of four or five spiniform setae on the ventral surface, and 12 thinner setae located towards the inner margin; laterotergite IX almost trapezoidal, slightly sclerotised, with one group of approximately 15‒20 small setae on the area near the gonosubgoxite.

Membranous spermathecal complex ( Figs. 5a, b ) possessing short vagina (va) with a dorsal fold, as a flap, where the spermathecal duct (du) connects. The spermathecal duct length somewhat longer than the length of the spermatheca (spm), which is digitiform and slightly ringed; spermathecal gland lacking. Vagina prolonged in a membranous sac, or bursa copulatrix (bur), which has a poorly sclerotized helminthoid sclerite (scl.h) situated on the dorsal wall. Bursa copulatrix distally with a dorsal fold in relation to the area of connection with the uneven oviduct (ov).

Etymology. The specific epithet is after Elpis (ἐλπίς), who was in Greek mythology the personification of hope, being the daughter of Nyx (night) and the sister of Morpheus (dream). Elpis remained in Pandora’s box to help people to bear the misfortunes (appropriate in the times of Covid19). More specifically, Elpis (Esperanza in Spanish) is in honor of our colleague, the anthropologist Dra. Esperanza Gutiérrez Redomero, to whom we dedicate this new species.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Leistus (Leistus) elpis sp. nov., details of male genitalia of holotype (Las Aleguillas-Cerro Gordo, Martín Muñoz de Ayllón): a) median lobe in left lateral view; b) apex of the median lobe in anterior view; c) median lobe in dorsal view; d) left paramere; e) right paramere; f) ring sclerite. Median lobe in dorsal view: g) from Peñón de los Arcos, Cantalojas; h) with inner sac evaginated, from Dehesa Boyal de Somosierra. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 5. Female genitalia. Leistus (Leistus) elpis sp. nov. from Las Aleguillas-Cerro Gordo, Martín Muñoz de Ayllón: a) genital shield and spermathecal complex in dorsal view; b) spermathecal complex in left lateral view; c) genital shield in ventral view; d) gonocoxite and gonosubcoxite in internal side view. Leistus (Leistus) constrictus from Puerto de Navacerrada: e) spermathecal complex in dorsal view.Abbreviation: bur, bursa copulatrix; du, spermathecal duct; gcox, IX gonocoxite; gsub, IX gonosubcoxite; lat, IX laterotergite; ov, odd oviduct; scl.h, sclerite helmintoide; spm, spermatheca; va, vagina.