Oxypoda (Deropoda) pungens, Assing, 2012

Assing, V., 2012, On the taxonomy and zoogeography of some Oxypoda species of the West Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (1), pp. 365-399 : 381-383

Oxypoda (Deropoda) pungens nov.sp.

( Figs 31-34 )

Type material: Holotype: "TR - Mu la, No. 10, 20 km NNE Fethiye , N-exp. oakwood, 970 m, 36°47'28N, 28°11'29E, 27.III.2002, V. Assing / Holotypus Oxypoda pungens sp.n. det. V. Assing 2011" ( cAss) . Paratypes: 1: same data as holotype ; 2: "TR [36] - Adana, NE Kozan, P narba - Eyüplü , 37°56'45N, 36°06'22E, 1560 m, 27.IV.2005, leg. Brachat & Meybohm " (cAss) ; 1: " N37°35'25 E935°39'09, Türkei Adana Kozan, Mansurlu 500 m 18.4.2009, Brachat & Meybohm (21)" (cAss) ; 1: "TR [44] - Osmaniye, 11 km And r n, -> Geben , 37°38'42N, 36°25'51E, 1280 m, 3.V.2005, leg. Brachat & Meybohm " (cAss) ; 1: "TR [5] - Sinop, 35 km SSW Sinop , 41°42'33''N, 34°55'25''E, 660 m, oak forest, sifted, 29.III.2009, P. Wunderle " (cWun) ; 1: "TR [36a] - Kastamonu, 40 km NW Kastamonu , 41°42'05''N, 33°28'17''E, 1090 m, calcareous slope, 9.IV.2009, V. Assing " (cAss) ; 1: "TR [38a] - Kastamonu, 30 km SE Inebolu , 41°45'39''N, 34°02'36''E, 1370 m, calcareous slope, 10.IV.2009, V. Assing " (cAss) ; 1: same data, but leg. P. Wunderle (cWun) .

Description: Body length 2.7-3.0 mm. Coloration: head dark-brown to blackishbrown, distinctly constrasting with the bright reddish pronotum and elytra; abdomen bright reddish, with segment VI (except for posterior and lateral margins), the anterior portion of segment VII, and sometimes also the middle of segment V weakly infuscate; legs yellowish; antennae pale-reddish.

Habitus and other external characters as in O. mutata , except as follows:

Elytra apparently monomorphic, as long as in brachypterous morph of the dimorphic O. mutata , slightly shorter than pronotum. Hind wings of reduced length, less than twice as long as elytra.

: sternite VIII posteriorly convex; median lobe of aedeagus 0.53 mm long, of similar general morphology as in O. mutata , but apex of ventral process longer and more acute ( Fig. 31 ); paramere ( Fig. 32 ) with base of apical lobe gradually narrowed towards apex (abruptly narrowed in O. mutata ).

: spermatheca as in Figs 33-34.

Etymology: The specific epithet is the present participle of the Latin verb pungere (to sting) and alludes to the conspicuously acute apex of the ventral process of the aedeagus.

Intraspecific variation: In the male paratype from Sinop, the apex of the ventral process of the aedeagus is somewhat less acute than in the holotype. However, since the shape of the ventral process is subject to some intraspecific variation also in O. mutata (see Figs 24-26 ), this difference is interpreted as an expressions of intra- rather than interspecific variation. The shape of the apical lobe of the paramere is identical in both specimens.

Comparative notes: Oxypoda pungens is distinguished from the similar O. mutata particularly by the bright reddish pronotum, elytra, and abdominal segments III-V, the more acute apex of the ventral process of the aedeagus, and particularly the different shape of the base of the apical lobe of the paramere. In O. mutata , the base is abruptly narrowed towards the apex (numerous males from various regions examined). For illustrations of the aedeagus of O. mutata see Figs 24-30 ; for figures of other species allied to O. mutata ( O. reyi , O. mutatoides , O. amplipalpis ) see ZERCHE (1994). Oxypoda pungens is readily distinguished from other Turkish representatives of the subgenus by the broader body, the shape of the pronotum (broader and more strongly narrowed anteriorly), as well as by the longer, broader, and less depressed elytra.

Distribution and natural history: The known distribution of O. pungens is confined to Turkey. Some of the female paratypes were previously reported as O. mutata . One female possibly belonging to O. pungens , but not included in the type series, was seen from Greece (Evritania, Oros Kaliakouda SSW Karpenisi). The type specimens were found in oak forests and on calcareous slopes at altitudes of 500-1560 m. One female collected in April is teneral.

Figures

Figs 24-34: Oxypoda mutata SHARP (24-30) from Germany (24-25, 27, 30) and Italy (26, 28-29), and O. pungens nov.sp. (31-34): (24-26, 31) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (27-28, 32) paramere; (29-30) apical lobe of paramere; (33-34) spermatheca. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.