Adelopsis azzalii Szymczakowski, 1975

Gnaspini, Pedro & Peck, Stewart B., 2019, Redescription of the ‘ older Adelopsis’ species (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae: Ptomaphagini) based on the analysis of type specimens, Zootaxa 4696 (1), pp. 1-62 : 15-16

Adelopsis azzalii Szymczakowski, 1975 new status

( Figs. 28–40 )

Adelopsis brunneus azzalii Szymczakowski, 1975: 18 [and Figs. 8–11 ].

Adelopsis brunnea azzalii ; Gnaspini, 1996: 539 (spelling corrected to feminine gender).

Type material examined: (Probable) Holotype male and 1 female in CBCV. Labels : “Sierra de S. Luis Hueque / Cueva 1 / m. 700 Edo. FA. [Falcón State] // Venez. Bordón / leg. 18iv1971 // en guano de Phillostomus ” [ Phyllostomus ]. One additional male with same data except for date 26vi1971 (the specimen was previously dissected, and the genital segment was missing). Note: The original description listed holotype male and 2 male paratypes in CBCV (and 1 male paratype in ISZP), but we had access to 2 males and 1 female from CBCV—we accepted the male with the date published to be the holotype; and we are not sure if the three specimens examined from CBCV are those listed in the original publication (resulting, in this case, that the author did not mention that the ‘second’ male had a different date of collection and that he misidentified a female as a male) or if there are two other male paratypes with same data as the holotype elsewhere. All three specimens are here illustrated.

Length: 2.05–2.2 mm (original description); 2.0 (‘holotype’) and 1.7 mm (male) and 1.9 mm (female) (our measurements).

Type locality: Cueva de Hueque (“cueva 1”), 700 m, Sierra de S. Luis, Falcón State, Venezuela .

Short Redescription. Eyes normal ( Fig. 36 ). Last antennomere wide, with a conic projection medially ( Fig. 29 ). Data on wings not observed. No posterior projections on male ventrites. Apex of the right lobe of the aedeagus as an upside-down trapezoid with the apical margin curved outward, with a pronounced curve to its left end ( Figs. 34, 35 ). Flagellum shorter (about half the length) than aedeagus, with apex bent at 90º, and bearing a basal piece ( Fig. 32 ). Proportion aedeagus/elytron = 0.32–0.34. Anterior sides of spiculum gastrale of the genital segment widening towards the apex, resulting in a pawn-shaped spiculum gastrale, with the apical width about twice as wide as the rounded base ( Fig. 28 ). Male mesotibia regularly curved internally ( Fig. 38 ). Spermatheca with 2-turns placed close to the spermatheca base, followed by a short and curved body ending in a sharp curve before the elongate apical bulb ( Fig. 40 ). Proportion spermatheca/elytron = 0.13.

Distribution. Venezuela: Falcón State: known only from type locality (original description; here).

Taxonomic Remarks. As proposed in Gnaspini (1996: 539) and Peck et al. (1998: 62), all subspecies of A. brunnea Jeannel 1936 are here raised to species status. The combination of the variation observed on aedeagus, genital segment, eyes, antenna, male mesotibia, and spermatheca allow taxon recognition (see discussion under each of these taxa).

The aedeagus of A. azzalii Szymczakowski, 1975 n. stat. ( Figs. 31–35 ), A. brevicollis Szymczakowski, 1975 n. stat. ( Figs. 41–45 ), and A. ovalis Jeannel, 1936 ( Figs. 17–20 ) are very similar to each other. The first two species have male mesotibia curved ( Figs. 38 , 51 ) whereas the latter species has it bent medially ( Fig. 24 ), and this is used to separate the first two from the latter (see also Taxonomic Remarks under A. ascutellaris , above). The eyes of A. brevicollis seem to be larger than those of A. azzalii ( Figs. 47 , 36 ) and the spermathecae seem different too ( Figs. 53 , 40 ). Yet, A. azzalii is recorded from a cave in Venezuela, whereas A. brevicollis is recorded from a cave in Trinidad. Therefore, we here prefer to keep the species cited above as a separate species, but we intend to make a more careful examination, including the analysis of the types of all species in the group.

Figures

FIGURES 28–40. Adelopsis azzalii Szymczakowski, 1975 new status. 28–30, (probable) holotype male in CBCV, from Cueva de Hueque. 28, genital segment; 29, antenna, dorsal view; 30, meso and metathorax, ventro-lateral view (of left side of specimen); 31–39, additional male (same data). 31–35, aedeagus, left lateral, dorsal, right lateral, and ventral views, and frontal view of aedeagus apex; 36, head, lateral view; 37, protarsus and protibia; 38, mesotarsus and mesotibia; 39, metatarsus and metatibia; 40, female (same data), spermatheca. Scale lines = 0.5 mm; a for figs. 28, 31–35, 40; b for figs. 29, 30, 36–39.

FIGURES 4–16. Adelopsis ascutellaris (Murray, 1856). 4-15, lectotype male in BMNH, from Caracas. 4, habitus; 5–9, aedeagus, left lateral, dorsal, right lateral, and ventral views, and frontal view of aedeagus apex; 10, last ventrite; 11, genital segment; 12, head, lateral view; 13, meso and metathorax, ventro-lateral view (of left side of specimen) [as = anapleural suture; cc = coxal cavity; mc = metastemal carina; msep = mesepimeron; mset = mesepisternum; mte = metasternum; mtet = metepisternum]; 14, mesotarsus and mesotibia; 15, metatarsus and metatibia; 16, paralectotype female in BMNH (same data), spermatheca. Scale lines = 0.5 mm; a for figs. 5–11, 16; b for figs. 4, 12–15.

FIGURES 41–53. Adelopsis brevicollis Szymczakowski, 1975, new status. 41-52, topotype male in SBPC, from Oilbird Cave. 41–45, aedeagus, left lateral, dorsal, right lateral, and ventral views, and frontal view of aedeagus apex; 46, genital segment; 47, head, lateral view; 48, antenna, dorsal view; 49, meso and metathorax, ventro-lateral view (of left side of specimen); 50, protarsus and protibia; 51, mesotarsus and mesotibia; 52, metatarsus and metatibia; 53, topotype female (same data), spermatheca. Scale lines = 0.5 mm; a for figs. 41–46, 53; b for figs. 47–52.

FIGURES 17–25. Adelopsis ovalis Jeannel, 1936, holotype male in MNHN, from ‘Venezuela’. 17–20, aedeagus, left lateral, dorsal, and right lateral views, and frontal view of aedeagus apex; 21, head, lateral view; 22, antenna, dorsal view; 23, protarsus and protibia; 24, mesotibia; 25, metatibia. Scale lines = 0.5 mm; a for figs. 17–20; b for figs. 21–25.