Oedichirus boehmi Bernhauer

Herman, Lee H., 2013, Revision Of The New World Species Of Oedichirus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Pinophilini: Procirrina), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2013 (375), pp. 1-137 : 46-50

Oedichirus boehmi Bernhauer

Figures 40 , 61–67

Oedichirus boehmi Bernhauer, 1927: 156 .

— Scheerpeltz, 1933: 1217 (catalog). — Blackwelder, 1944: 131 (checklist).

TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype, female. ‘‘ Bahia, Bras. Cap. Boehm/don. (letter indecipherable) Müller/ Oedichirus boehmi Bernh. Typus unic./Chicago NHMus M.Bernhauer Collection/ Oedichirus boehmi Bernhauer det. L. Herman, 2011.’’ Deposited in Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. (Left antennomeres 4–11, right antennomeres 7–11, left protibia and protarsus, and right metatarsomeres 1–3 are missing. Metatarsomeres 4 and 5 are still glued to the card.) (The holotype was designated by Bernhauer [1927: 157] with the statement ‘‘Ein einziges Stück,…’’ [Article 73.1.2].)

TYPE LOCALITY: Brazil: Bahia: Bahia (5 Salvador de Bahia) (12 ° 579S, 38 ° 259W). (Coordinates from Times Books, 1999.)

DIAGNOSIS: Oedichirus boehmi is separated from other New World species by color, pronotal and abdominal punctation, and characters of the aedeagus (figs. 61–63) and sternum VIII for the males (fig. 65) and the genital sclerites for the females (figs. 64, 67). Externally the species is distinguished from all other New World species by the strongly concave elytral disc, sparse abdominal punctation arranged in transverse rows, V-shaped cephalic depression, and deep, submedial, punctate, pronotal groove; the remainder of the pronotum is sparsely punctate. These cephalic, pronotal, and elytra characters render the species one of the most easily recognized New World species. The species is one of 13 with a dark spot at the femorotibial joint.

Only O. boehmi , O. ohausi , and O. procerus have elytra that are longer than wide and a strongly concave elytral disc. The deep, submedial, punctate, pronotal groove of the large, robust, nearly black O. boehmi separates it from O. ohausi and the small, slender, reddish-brown O. procerus and both of the latter two species lack the V-shaped cephalic depression present on O. boehmi . Oedichirus procerus , known only by females, is separated from females of O. boehmi by the configuration of the vulvar lobes (cf. figs. 197, 198 with 64, 67) and the medially fused anteroventral angles of tergum IX (fig. 197), which are separated in the latter (fig. 64). The elytra of three other species, O. brunneus , O. hamatus , and O. neotropicus , have a feebly concave disc, the length and width are subequal, and in some individuals the length is marginally less than the width; both species are clearly separated from O. boehmi by the aforementioned characters and others found in the respective species accounts.

The males are distinguished from all others by the broad emargination of sternum VIII (fig. 65) that is shallow laterally and much deeper medially; the base of the emargination is rounded. The surface of sternum VIII lacks punctures or setae adjacent to the emargination (fig. 65). The apical third of the median lobe of the aedeagus is broad, flattened, strongly bent ventrally (figs. 61, 63), and slightly twisted. The parameres are moderately long, sinuous, tapered apically, and the left is shorter than the right (fig. 62).

The females are easily separated from females of all the other species by the large, moderately sclerotized posterior vulvar lobe (figs. 64, 67), the small, unadorned, membrane surrounding the vulva, and the partially sclerotized anterior vulvar lobe wrapped around the right lateroapical margin of the posterior lobe. The anteroventral angles of tergum IX are separated.

DESCRIPTION: Length: 9–10.5 mm. Length of head: 1.0– 1.1 mm. Width of head: 1.1– 1.3 mm. Pronotal length: 1.4–1.7 mm. Pronotal width: 1.1–1.3 mm. Elytral length: 1.4– 1.6 mm. Elytral width: 1.1–1.4 mm.

Body concolorous, dark reddish brown to black. Legs bicolored, yellowish brown with femorotibial spot dark reddish brown to nearly black; tibial spot paler basally.

Head wider than long (HW/HL: 1.1–1.2). Frontoclypeal ridge complete, not separated medially. Dorsal surface polished and with shallow depression extending posteromedially from near anterior margin of eye, arms forming broad V; surface with two coarse punctures middorsally, remaining surface with sparse, fine punctation, and basal half with two fine punctures at base near neck. Labrum quadridentate; surface without tubercle near submedial denticle.

Pronotum about a third longer than wide (PL/PW: 1.3). Pronotal surface polished and with a few scattered groups of coarse punctures laterally; surface with prominent, coarsely punctate, deep, submedial, slightly sinuate groove extending from near anterior margin to near posterior margin. Elytra longer than wide (EW/EL: 0.8–0.9); surface of disc strongly concave and with moderately coarse punctation.

Abdomen with sparse, indistinct punctation; punctures arranged in transverse, ridged rows dorsally. Terga III to VII with subanterior row of punctures near middle, not reaching lateral margin and with sparsely punctate apical row; medial row well developed. Segment III without paratergite; paratergal carina present and extending to spiracle, but poorly developed beyond spiracle. Tergum III without median point extending from transverse basal ridge. Tergum VIII with posterior margin broadly and shallowly emarginate; emargination extending from one lateroapical angle to other; transverse basal ridge broadly curved anteriorly, slightly sinuate, and without median point. Tergum IX with lateroapical process nearly twice as long as midbasal length (LLaP/L9 5 1.8–2.0), slightly bent ventrally, and approximately parallel to other process; ventromedial margin without posteriorly directed spur (cf. fig. 158).

MALE: Sternum VI unmodified. Sternum VII with feeble, ovoid, median depression near posterior margin; depression bordered by setae, more setae near posterior margin of depression than near lateral or anterior margins. Sternum VIII (fig. 65) with broad, symmetrical emargination of posterior margin; emargination about one sixth of length of sternum, wider than deep, and with rounded basal margin; margin of emargination not membranous and with anterior portion more strongly sloped than posterior portion; base of emargination rounded; surface impunctate and without setae midsubapically and adjacent to emargination; surface without comb or depression, but median surface adjacent to base of emargination beveled to posterior margin; transverse basal ridge curved medially and without median point. Tergum IX with moderately large process extending from anterior margin of anteroventral angle. Sternum IX (fig. 66) moderately asymmetrical; anterior margin wide and emarginate; posterior margin broadly rounded; lateral margins of basal third slightly irregular.

Aedeagus asymmetrical (figs. 61–63). Ventral sclerite with apical third narrowed near base, strongly flattened, strongly bent ventrally, and surface twisted diagonally; posterior margin of ventral sclerite sinuate (fig. 62); ventral sclerite without apicoventral process extending from posterior margin. Parameres separated from median lobe for most of length, slender, sinuate, and tapered apically; right paramere longer than left. Internal sac with cluster of long spinelike processes (visible through cuticle, but not illustrated).

FEMALE: Tergum IX with anteroventral angles separated from each other (figs. 64, 67). Median gonocoxal plate absent anteriad of vulvar plate (fig. 64); gonocoxal plate posteriad of vulvar plate large, wide basally and gradually tapered posteriorly (fig. 64), anterior margin deeply emarginate (fig. 64), and posterior margin slightly produced medially. Vulvar lobes anteriad of median gonocoxal plate, not embedded. Anterior vulvar lobe wrapped around right anterolateral margin of posterior vulvar lobe (figs. 64, 67) and with surface lightly and partially sclerotized. Posterior vulvar lobe moderately sclerotized, without adornment (fig. 67). Vulva with indeterminate orientation.

MATERIAL EXAMINED: 2 males, 3 females. Brazil: Bahia: Bahia (5 Salvador), Cap. Boehm (collector) (holotype female, FMNH) ; Bahia, Reed (collector), Fry coll. (1 male, 1 female, FMNH). Brazil (no further locality data) (1 male, FMNH; 1 female BMNH) .

DISTRIBUTION: The species is known only from Bahia, Brazil (fig. 40). Nothing is known of the habitat or date of collection.

REMARKS: The aedeagus of the only dissected male is pale, weakly sclerotized, seems easily liable to distortion, and appears to be what would be found with a teneral specimen. However, the specimen from which it was dissected is well sclerotized and pigmented and appears to be fully matured.

Figures

Figs. 39–40. Oedichirus species. Distribution. 39. Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. 40. South America. (Species described prior to present work preceded with *. Symbols ³ or ♀ signify species known only by the sex indicated. Open circle denotes multiple collecting sites.)

Figs. 61–66. Oedichirus boehmi. 61. Aedeagus, right lateral. 62. Aedeagus, ventral. 63. Aedeagus, left lateral. 64. Segment IX, ventral, apex of lateroapical processes omitted, female. 65. Sternum VIII, male. 66. Sternum IX, male.

Fig. 67. Oedichirus boehmi. Segment IX, vulvar plate, enlarged (CLSM).