Quedius hermonensis COIFFAIT, 1963: 417 Quedius FAGEL, 1968a: 11 Quedius FAGEL, 1969: 115 Quedius hermonensis Coiffait On the taxonomy and zoogeography of some West Palaearctic Quedius species, with a focus on the East Mediterranean and the species allied to Quedius umbrinus and Q. nivicola (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) Assing, Volker Linzer biologische Beiträge 2018 2018-07-27 50 1 149 182 4R35C Coiffait 1963 [178,526,496,518] Insecta Staphylinidae Quedius Animalia Coleoptera 5 154 Arthropoda species hermonensis Raphirus      Quedius hermonensis COIFFAIT, 1963: 417f.    Quediuscoiffaitianus  FAGEL, 1968a: 11ff.; nov.syn.    Quediusrugosipennis  FAGEL, 1969: 115ff.; nov.syn. T y p e m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Q. coiffaitianus: Paratypes: 15 exs.: " LIBAN: Nabeh Safa, mousses gorges d'eau [ 1 specimen: "bois marécageux"], 1000 m, V.1966G. Fagel / G. Fagel det., coiffaitianusn.sp. / Paratype/  Quedius hermonensisCoiffait, det. V. Assing 2018" (IRSNB).   Q. rugosipennis:  Holotype ♂[dissected prior to present study; aedeagus missing]: " Anatoliemér., Antalya,  V.1968 G. Fagel/ G. Fageldet., rugosipennisn.sp. / Type/  Quedius hermonensisCoiffait, det. V. Assing 2018" ( IRSNB). Paratypes: 1♂, 3♀♀: same data as holotype(IRSNB).  A d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Turkey: 2♂♂[1teneral], Antalya, Anamur- Gazipaşa, Kalandere, 36°07'N, 32°34'E,  40 m,  24.IV.2008, leg. Brachat& Meybohm(cAss).  Cyprus: 1♂, Troodos, 34°55'N, 32°52'E,  1550 m,  9.IV.2008, leg. Lompe(cAss).  Israel: 1♂, Sea of Galilee, Beit Tsaida Reserve, 32°53'N, 35°38'E, 0 m,  19.IV.2005, leg. Assmann(cFel);  1♀, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, bank of Jordanriver,  26.III.2008, leg. Assmann(cFel);  1♂, HulaN. R., 33°04'N, 35°36'E,  65 m, shore of pond,  13.XI.2010, leg. Drees(cFel);  1♀, S Ashdod, Nitzanim, 31°45'N, 34°37'E, sand dunes, pond shore,  12.IV.2013, leg. Buse(cFel);  1♀, Sea Genezareth, Jordan River, 32°54'N, 35°37'E, -  215 m,  19.III.2011, leg. Meybohm(cAss). C o m m e n t: The original description of  Q. hermonensisis based on a male holotypeand a female paratypefrom " Liban: Hasbaya" and one female paratypefrom "Nahr es Safa" ( COIFFAIT 1963), that of Q. coiffaitianuson a male holotypeand 27 paratypesfrom "Nabeh Safa" ( FAGEL 1968a) (i.e., from the same locality as that of one of the paratypesof  Q. hermonensis), and that of Q. rugosipennison a male holotypeand four paratypes(one male and three females) from "Anatolie méridionale: Antalya, route de Lara" ( FAGEL 1969). An examination of the type material of Q. coiffaitianusand Q. rugosipennis, as well as of additional material from various regions revealed that in both external and the male sexual characters they are within the range of intraspecific variation of  Q. hermonensisby COIFFAIT (1963). Hence the synonymy proposed above. Based on similar external characters (coloration, punctation, habitus, etc.), on the similar general morphology of the aedeagus, and a similar ecology,  Q. hermonensisis closely allied to  Q. umbrinus, not to Q. nigriceps KRAATZ, 1857as suggested by COIFFAIT (1978a). Like  Q. umbrinus,  Q. hermonensisis subject to pronounced variation of coloration and of the shape of the aedeagus ( Figs 1-14). The colour of the forebody ranges from brown to black, often with the anterior and posterior margins of the elytra narrowly yellowish to reddish (especially in material from Cyprus). The length of the aedeagus ranges from 1.0- 1.3 mm. The width of the paramere is rather variable, too; in material from Cyprusit is more slender and basally sometimes slightly constricted, whereas in material seen from other regions it is less slender and basally not constricted.   Figs 1-12:  Quedius hermonensisfrom Samos ( 1-3), Israel( 4-6), and Cyprus( 7-12): ( 1, 4, 7, 10) aedeagus in lateral view; ( 2, 5, 8, 11) median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; ( 3, 6, 9, 12) paramere. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.   Figs 13-24:  Quedius hermonensisfrom Cyprus ( 13-14),  Q. orientalis( 15-17), and  Q. microcapillatus( 18-24) from Iraq ( 18-20), Turkey ( 21), and Iran ( 22-24): ( 13, 15, 22) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; ( 14, 17, 20, 24) paramere; ( 16, 19, 23) median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; ( 18, 21) aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.   Figs 25-27:  Quedius orientalis( 25) and  Q. microcapillatus( 26-27): ( 25-26) habitus; ( 27) posterosutural portion of elytra. Scale bars: 25-26: 1.0 mm; 27: 0.1 mm. The habitat is similar to that of  Q. umbrinus. The examined specimens were primarily collected in moist substrates: in moist leaf litter, swamps, on the shores of lakes and ponds, and on the banks of rivers and streams. The revised distribution ( Map 1) ranges from the Aegean Island Samos in the west across Turkeyand Cyprusto the Middle East ( Lebanon, Israel). While the species is fairly common in Cyprus(ASSING & WUNDERLE 2001), it appears to be rather rare elsewhere. For previous records from Cyprus(as Q. rugosipennis), Samos (as Q. rugosipennis), and Israelsee ASSING & WUNDERLE (2001), ASSING (2015), SMETANA (1978), and ASSING (2014), respectively. A previous record of  Q. hermonensisfrom Iraq( ASSING 2014), however, which was overlooked by SCHÜLKE & SMETANA (2015), refers to  Q. microcapillatus(see below). 2846796350 1968-05 IRSNB G. Fagel G. Fagel Anatolie 5 154 1 1 Antalya holotype 2846796312 2008-04-24 2008-04-24 2005-04-19 Brachat & Meybohm Turkey Gazipasa 40 32.883335 Kalandere 1208 35.633335 Kalandere 5 154 2 2 Antalya 2846796348 [223,927,824,846] 2005-04-19 2008-04-24 2005-04-19 Brachat & Meybohm & Lompe & Assmann Turkey Gazipasa 40 32.883335 Troodos 1208 35.633335 Kalandere 5 154 4 4 Antalya 2846796357 2005-04-19 2008-04-24 2005-04-19 Brachat & Meybohm & Lompe & Assmann Turkey Gazipasa 40 32.883335 Troodos 1208 35.633335 Kalandere 5 154 4 4 Antalya 2846796364 2008-03-26 Assmann Jordan Capernaum Sea of Galilee 5 154 1 1 2846796391 2010-11-13 Drees Jordan 65 33.066666 Hula 1207 35.6 5 154 1 1 2846796362 2013-04-12 S Ashdod & Buse Jordan 31.75 Nitzanim 1214 34.616665 5 154 1 1 2846796310 2011-03-19 Meybohm Jordan 215 32.9 River 1208 35.616665 Sea Genezareth 5 154 1 1