Satrapister Bickhardt, 1912

Lackner, Tomas, 2016, Satrapisternitens Bickhardt, 1912: redescription and tentative phylogenetic placement of a mysterious taxon (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Saprininae), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 63 (1), pp. 1-8 : 1-2

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Histeridae

Satrapister Bickhardt, 1912

Satrapister Bickhardt, 1912: 231. Type species Satrapister nitens Bickhardt, 1912: 232, by monotypy. Satrapister : Bickhardt (1926): 81, 82, table 4, fig. 27; Mazur (1984): 64; Mazur (1997): 232; Mazur (2011): 189.

Diagnosis.

Very small elongate-oval non-metallic Saprininae beetle with sparsely punctate dorsum and reduced dorsal elytral striae. Venter of body with sparse microscopic setae; carinal prosternal striae very reduced or obsolete; lateral prosternal striae divergent anteriorly; prosternal foveae absent; apex of prosternal process with sulcus. Meso- and metaventrite almost impunctate; lateral disc of metaventrite + metepisternum punctuate and setose. Mandibles of unequal length, left mandible slightly longer than right. Eyes completely flattened, reduced, invisible from above. Sensory structures of antenna in form of a single stipe-shaped vesicle situated under round sensory area on internal distal part of the antennal club complemented by another round sensory area. Protibiae with 9-11 low teeth topped by rather long, curved thin amber denticles.

Differential diagnosis.

As I am not familiar with most of the South American taxa of the species-rich genus Euspilotus , I hesitate to provide a clear-cut differential diagnosis of the genus Satrapister . It is, however, most readily distinguishable from the majority of the South American species of the subfamily that I am familiar with by its elongate-oval body form, reduced and flattened eyes and almost complete lack of elytral striation.

Biology.

Unknown, the type specimens were found in guano originated from Peru; reduced eyes can indeed indicate its inquilinous habits. The other three specimens do not carry any biological data on their labels.

Distribution.

Bickhardt (1912: 232) following the description of Satrapister nitens in Latin gave 'South America?' as its terra typica, but explained further in the text in German that the two specimens he examined were found in Göttingen by Dr. A. Reclaire in ‘Peru-Guano’, and that was why he opted for South America as the continent of origin. The type locality 'South America?' was repeated by Mazur (1984, 1997, 2011), followed by 'Peru?'. The three non-type specimens collected in the years before and after WWII originate from two tiny islands off the Peruvian coast: Isla Don Martín and Isla de Pescadores [=Isla Grande]. Both these islands serve as important refugia and nesting grounds for numerous species of seabirds and are known to contain large amounts of guano ( Cushman 2014).

Remarks.

Bickhardt (1912) described the type species of this genus based on two specimens: one of them was to be kept in his private collection (now ZMHUB) and the second one was to be kept at the private collection of Dr. H.J. Veth (later acquired by NCB), who had sent him the two type exemplars found in guano allegedly originating from Peru in Göttingen, Germany by Dr. A. Reclaire (see also above). During my visit of ZMHUB, I found one of the two specimens of Satrapister nitens (a female) that had been designated a lectotype by G. Arriagada (Santiago de Chile, Chile); however, this designation has apparently never been published. Recently, I discovered the second specimen, kept in the collection of NCB; this was most likely Veth’s specimen. The specimen in ZMHUB is almost completely fallen apart and its body parts are glued on two separate mounting cards. The other specimen, housed in NCB was also observed to be badly damaged and very fragile. Judging from the state of the type specimens, I infer that they arrived to Europe from their alleged homeland (South America, Peru) already dead.