Leptusa (Roubaliusa) soriciformis, Assing, 2009

Assing, V., 2009, New species, new synonymies, and additional records of Leptusa from Turkey and Iran (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2), pp. 1285-1305 : 1294-1296

Leptusa (Roubaliusa) soriciformis nov.sp. ( Figs 21-30 , 46-48 , Map 4 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype 3: " Iran, Prov. Mazandaran [IR08-01], Sari County, Mohammabad, Elburz Mts., N-Slope, NE Sangdeh, 1533 m, 36°04'06.6"N, 53°09'57.8"E [recte: 36°04.066'N, 53°09.578'E], Fagus forest , leaves debris, sifted, 29.V.2008, leg. A. Pütz / Holotypus 3 Leptusa soriciformis sp.n. det. V. Assing 2009" (cPüt) . Paratypes: 14 exs.: same data as holotype (cAss, cPüt) ; 1 ex.: " Iran, Prov. Mazandaran [IR08-01A], Sari County, Mohammabad, Elburz Mts., N-Slope, 2,2 km NE Bendela, 1533 m, 36°04'06.6"N, 53°09'57.8"E [recte: 36°04.066'N, 53°09.578'E], Fagus forest , leaves debris, sifted, 30.V.2008, leg. A. Pütz " (cPüt); 1♀ [tentatively attributed to this species]: " Iran, Prov. Mazandaran [IR08-03], Sari County , Mohammabad, Elburz Mts., N-Slope, E Qolqol, 36°10'26.7"N, 53°16'29.2"E [recte: 36°10.267'N, 53°16.292'E], 916 m, leaves debris, sifted, 29.V.2008, leg. A. Pütz " (cPüt) .

D e s c r i p t i o n: 2.5-3.3 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 21 . Coloration: body reddish, with the head usually slightly darker at least in posterior half, abdominal segment VI and anterior half of VII blackish, and antennomeres IV-XI reddish-brown.

Head as wide as long or weakly transverse; punctation rather dense, shallow, barely visible in the pronounced microsculpture; eyes moderately protruding from lateral contours of head, approximately as long as postocular region in dorsal view ( Fig. 22 ). Antenna slender, weakly incrassate apically; antennomere IV weakly oblong, X barely 1.5 times as wide as long ( Fig. 23 ).

Pronotum approximately 1.25 times as wide as long and 1.25 times as wide as head; maximal width in anterior half; punctation fine and dense, barely noticeable in the pronounced microreticulation ( Fig. 22 ).

Elytra without sexual dimorphism; slightly wider than pronotum, at suture approximately 0.9 times as long as pronotum; humeral angles moderately marked ( Fig. 22 ); punctation rather dense, much more pronounced than that of pronotum, but not granulose; microsculpture indistinct, interstices shiny. Hind wings reduced.

Abdomen subparallel, widest at segments V-VI, slightly wider than elytra; punctation fine, sparser on posterior than on anterior tergites; microsculpture distinct everywhere; tergites VII-VIII without sexual dimorphism, tergite VIII posteriorly weakly concave in the middle ( Fig. 24 ); posterior margin of tergite VII with narrow palisade fringe.

3: sternite VII anteriorly with numerous gland openings, posterior margin weakly, but distinctly concave in the middle, on either side of middle with conspicuous long setae ( Fig. 25 ); posterior margin of sternite VIII obtusely pointed and with dense marginal setae ( Fig. 26 ); median lobe of aedeagus ( Figs 27-28 , 46-48 ) approximately 0.40 mm long, with moderately long flagellum and apical structures of characteristic shape; apical lobe of paramere as in Fig. 29 .

♀: posterior margin of sternite VIII strongly convex; spermatheca as in Fig. 9.

I n t r a s p e c i f i c v a r i a t i o n: Size, shape, and internal structures of the aedeagus are rather constant; for illustrations of the range of variation of the aedeagus see Figs 27-28 and 46-48.

E t y m o l o g y: The name (adjective) alludes to the shape of the apical internal structures of the aedeagus, which somewhat resemble the head of a shrew (Latin: sorex).

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: The only species of the subgenus Roubaliusa SCHEERPELTZ 1966 previously known from Iran is L. sengleti PACE 1984 from Gilan province, whose original description is based on a single male and whose female sexual characters are unknown. Leptusa soriciformis is distinguished from this species by the morphology of the aedeagus, particularly the shapes of the ventral process (lateral view) and of the apical internal structures. For illustrations of L. sengleti see Figs 53-54 and PACE (1984, 1989).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: The type locality is situated in the Elburz range in northern Iran, some 60 km to the south of Sari ( Map 4 ). The specimens from the type locality were collected by sifting the leaf litter of a beech forest at an altitude of approximately 1530 m. One paratype was sifted from leaf litter at an altitute of approximately 920 m.

Figures

Map 4: Distributions of the Leptusa species of the subgenus Roubaliusa SCHEERPELTZ in northern Iran: L. sengleti PACE (filled square), L. piciformis nov.sp. (open circle), L. flagrifera nov.sp. (open circle), L. delphiniformis nov.sp. (filled circle), and L. soriciformis nov.sp. (open square). Localities where only females were found are omitted.

Figs 21-30: Leptusa soriciformis nov.sp.: (21) habitus; (22) forebody; (23) antenna; (24) male tergite VIII; (25) male sternite VII; (26) male sternite VIII; (27-28) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (29) apical lobe of paramere; (30) spermatheca. Scale bars: 21: 1.0 mm; 22: 0.5 mm; 23-26: 0.2 mm; 27-30: 0.1 mm.

Figs 41-48: Leptusa delphiniformis nov.sp. (41-42), L. piciformis nov.sp. (43), L. flagrifera nov.sp. (44-45), and L. soriciformis nov.sp. (46-48): (41, 43-44, 46-48) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (42, 45) spermatheca. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

Figs 1-9: Leptusa janczyki PACE, holotype (1-3) and L. flagellulifera nov.sp. (4-9): (1) pronotum and elytra; (2) male tergite VII; (3, 6-7) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (4) habitus; (5) forebody; (8) apical lobe of paramere; (9) spermatheca. Scale bars: 4: 1.0 mm; 1-2, 5: 0.5 mm; 3, 6- 9: 0.1 mm.

Figs 49-54: Leptusa ionopolitana PACE (49-51), L. amisensis PACE (52), and L. sengleti PACE (53- 54): (49, 53) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (50-52) spermatheca; (54) male sternite VII. Scale bars: 54: 0.2 mm; 49-53: 0.1 mm.