Allotyphlus (Moreotyphlus) candicus, Assing, 2018

Assing, Volker, 2018, On the Staphylinidae of Crete III. The first records of endogean fauna (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Leptotyphlinae, Aleocharinae, Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1), pp. 7-15 : 9-12

Allotyphlus (Moreotyphlus) candicus nov.sp. ( Figs 1-13 )

Holotype ♂: "GR - Crete [17], SW Sitia, Kimouriotis, 35°10'40''N, 26°03'00''E, 110 m, soil washing, 28.XII.2017, V. Assing / Holotypus ♂ Allotyphlus candicus sp.n. det. V. Assing 2018" (cAss) . Paratypes: 5♂♂, 1♀: same data as holotype (cAss) ; 1♂, 1♀: "GR - Crete [12], W Kritsa, 35°09'11''N, 25°35'20''E, 1050 m, soil washing, 27.XII.2017, V. Assing" (cAss) ; 2♀♀: "GR - Crete [16], S Kritsa, SW Kroustas, 35°06'40''N, 25°37'31''E, 960 m, soil washing, 27.XII.2017, V. Assing" (cAss) ; 1♀: "GR - Crete [18], SW Sitia, NW Makrigialos, 35°03'31''N, 25°56'49''E, 70 m, soil washing, 30.XII.2017, V. Assing" (cAss) .

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet is an adjective derived from Candia, the Latin and Venetian name for Crete and Iraklion.

D e s c r i p t i o n: 1.3-1.5 mm (abdomen extended), length of forebody 0.5-0.6 mm. Forebody as in Fig. 1 . Colour of body dark-yellowish.

Head with pronounced microsculpture. Pronotum and elytra without microsculpture. Abdomen with very shallow microreticulation.

♂: posterior margin of tergite VIII distinctly convex; sternite VIII with semi-circular posterior excision in somewhat asymmetric position ( Figs 2-3 ); sclerotized part of aedeagus 0.25-0.27 mm long and distinctly asymmetric, shaped as in Figs 4-11 .

♀: tergite VIII with very weakly convex, practically truncate posterior margin; sternite VIII triangularly produced posteriorly.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: This species is reliably distinguished from other Moreotyphlus species only by the shape of the aedeagus. For illustrations of species of this subgenus previously recorded from Greece see COIFFAIT (1972, 1973) and PACE (1983).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o r y: This species is endemic to Crete, where it is apparently rather widespread in the eastern parts of the island, from the eastern slope of the Oros Dikti to the environs of Sitia. The specimens were collected in quite different habitats and at a wide range of altitudes (70-1050 m): beneath Platanus and other trees and bushes near a small stream ( Fig. 12 ) and in a dry stream valley with Platanus, bushes, and undergrowth at low elevations (70-110 m), and in old Quercus ilex forests on rocky slopes at higher elevations (960-1050 m), partly under snow ( Fig. 13 ). The only evident characteristic that the habitats seem to have in common is that old trees were present at the sites.

Figures

Figs 1-11: Allotyphlus candicus nov.sp. from the type locality (1, 3-5, 7-9, 11) and from sample locality 12 (2, 6, 10): (1) forebody; (2-3): male sternite VIII; (4-6) aedeagus in lateral view; (7-10) aedeagus in ventral view; (11) apical portion of aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bars: 1: 0.2 mm; 2- 11: 0.1 mm.

Figs 12-13: Habitats of Allotyphlus candicus nov.sp.: (12, above) type locality; (13, below) sample locality 12.