Quedius balticus Korge, 1960

Hansen, Aslak Kappel, Brunke, Adam, Simonsen, Thomas & Solodovnikov, Alexey, 2022, Revision of Quedius sensu stricto (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) 62 (1), pp. 225-299 : 255-257

Quedius balticus Korge, 1960

( Figs 1 , 4 , 8E , 13E , 19 )

Quedius balticus Korge, 1960a: 52 [Type locality: Südspitze der Insel Hiddensee bei Rügen]

References. Lൺඌඍ (1952): 148 (characters; cited as Q. molochinus , but misidentified according to KඈඋGൾ 1960a); (1963): 43 (characters); KඈඋGൾ (1960a): 67 (characters and notes); (1963): 87 (biology); Cඈ-ංൿൿൺංඍ (1961): 50 (characters); (1978): 192 (characters, distribution and biology); Sආൾඍൺඇൺ (1962): 135 (characters); Hൺඇඌൾඇ (1962): 319 (characters); Pൺඅආ (1963a): 160, (1963b): 117 (characters); LඈHඌൾ (1964): 212 (characters); Hඈඋංඈඇ (1965): 277 (distribution); Sඓඎඃൾർĸං (1966): 36 (distribution); Pඈඉൾ (1977): 31 (distribution); TඬඍH (1984): 119 (characters); LඎർHඍ (1987): 109 (distribution); Gඎඌൺඋඈඏ (1989): 12 (distribution); Jൺඇගĸ (1992): 91 (distribution); Sආൾඍൺඇൺ (1993): 50 (distribution); Hඒආൺඇ (1994): 194 (distribution); HඈൽGൾ & Jඈඇൾඌ (1995): 41 (characters); Mඈඋൺඏൾർ & Vඈඇංඹĸൺ (2000): 39 (distribution and biology); Jൾඅටඇൾĸ (2001): 200 (distribution); KඈආඈඌංŇඌĸං (2001): 19 (distribution); Fඳඅදඉ (2005): 144 (distribution); UHඅංG et al. (2006): 41 (distribution); NൺඌH (2009): 23 (distribution and biology); Cඎඉඉൾඇ et al. (2011): 12 (distribution); Mඈඇඌൾඏංඹංඎඌ (2013): 27 (distribution); Mൺඃඓඅൺඇ & Lංඍൺඏඌĸප (2017): 19 (distribution and biology); Hඈൿൿආൺඇඇ et al. (2018): 199 (biology).

Material examined. AUSTRIA: Purbach, Burgenland, [47.90, 16.70], 6.VIII.1985, leg. V. Kovits (1 J NMW). BULGARIA: Sozopol, Black Sea coast, [42.42, 27.68], 16.VI.1972, leg. M. Uhlig (1 J ZMHB). CZECH REPUBLIC: Poděbrady, [50.13, 15.12], 3.IX.1936 (1 J NHMD). DENMARK: Bognaes Skov på Tuse Naes, 55.7511, 11.7695, sifted from sea debris on saline marsh, 30.XII.2013, leg. K.B. Nielsen (1 J NHMD); Engestofte, [54.76, 11.56], 20.VIII.1976 (2 JJ 1♀ NHMD); Sundby Storeskov, [54.78, 11.81], 29.VII.1962, leg. V. Hansen (9 JJ 2 ♀♀ NHMD); Vålse Vesterskov, 54.9592, 11.7728, sifted from fresh sea debris on saline marsh, 7.XII.2013 leg. K.B. Nielsen (1 ♀ NHMD). FIN-LAND: Kiiminki, [65.13, 25.78], 2011, leg. M. Mutanen (1 ♀ ZMUO). GERMANY: Degensmoor,Wesenberg, [53.27, 13.03], 31.VII.1978, leg. Stöcke (1 ♀ ZMHB); Döbitzer Heide, Ferbitzer Bruch, [52.50, 13.01] (1 J 1♀ ZMHB); Federsee,Württenberg, [48.08, 9.62], 28.VII.1977 (2♀♀ ZMHB); Korswandt n. Wolgast, [53.92, 14.16], 25.VIII.1989, leg. Kleeberg (1J 1♀ NMW); Lübars, Berlin, [52.62, 13.36], 14.VII.1969, leg. H. Korge (3JJ 4♀♀ ZMHB); Müritz,Waren, [53.44, 12.74], sifting, spaghnum with grass and leaf litter, 17.VI.1976, leg. M. Uhlig (2 JJ ZMHB); Teufelbruch n. Spandau, [52.57, 13.21], 22.VIII.1964 (1 J ZMHB). HUNGARY: Pest nr. Mariabesnyö, [47.61, 19.41], 23.VIII.1931, leg. J. Fodor (1 ♀ NHMD); Pest nr. Pécel, [47.49, 19.34], IX. -XI.1929 leg. J. Fodor (1J NHMD). ITALY: Zeccone n. Pavia, [45.26, 9.19], 17.X.1977, leg. P. Kanaar (1 J ZMHB). KAZAKHSTAN: Karatal river, [45.41, 77.81], 1.VII.2004, leg. V.A. Kastcheev (2 JJ ZIN); Kyrgyz Alatau, Koshirme konezanod, [43.04, 76.84], 9.VII.2010, leg. V.A. Kastcheev (2 JJ ZIN). NORTH MACEDONIA: Ohrid Lake, n. Struga, [41.17, 20.66], 7.VI.1980, leg. F. Hieke (1 J 2 ♀♀ ZMHB). SWEDEN: Arlöv, [55.64, 13.05], grass roots on mossy soil near sea, 3.X.1962, leg. Palm (1 J MZLU); Fotevik, [55.45, 12.95] (1 MZLU). UKRAINE: Peter & Paul, VII.-VIII., leg. A. Spaney (1 J ZMHB).

Redescription. Measurements JJ (n = 5): HW = 1.64– 1.78 (1.68); HL = 1.38–1.47 (1.41); HL/HW 0.81–0.88 (0.84); PW = 2.13–2.38 (2.22); PL = 1.98–2.00 (1.98); PL/PW 0.84–0.93 (0.89); EW = 2.11–2.40 (2.21); EL = 1.91–2.27 (2.07); EL/EW 0.88–0.96 (0.93); EL/PL 0.97– 1.13 (1.04); PW/HW 1.48–1.65 (1.57); forebody length 5.36–5.71 (5.46). ♀♀ (n = 5): HW = 1.62–1.71 (1.66); HL = 1.33–1.44 (1.40); HL/HW 0.82–0.87 (0.84); PW = 2.00–2.22 (2.13); PL = 1.78–2.00 (1.88); PL/PW 0.86–0.90 (0.89); EW = 2.13–2.24 (2.20); EL = 2.02–2.18 (2.08); EL/EW 0.90–0.98 (0.94); EL/PL 1.01–1.15 (1.10); PW/ HW 1.29–1.56 (1.47); forebody length 5.18–5.51 (5.36).

Medium sized, robust species; body dark brown to black ( Fig. 8E ).

Head black, distinctly transverse, with eyes medium sized (EyL/TL = 2.00–2.27 (2.14)); microsculpture of transverse waves; no interocular punctures between anterior frontal punctures (cf. Fig. 6F ); antennae pale reddish with base of antennomeres 1–3 clearly darkened, all antennomeres elongate; palpi pale reddish.

Thorax: pronotum dark brown to black, slightly wider than long, wider than head, with microsculpture of transverse waves; three punctures in dorsal row and one to two in sublateral row with its posteriormost puncture reaching just beyond the first puncture of dorsal row; scutellum punctured and pubescent; elytra most often reddish brown rarely fully darkened, uniformly pubescent, with punctures clearly separated, slightly wider than long, roughly as long as pronotum; legs reddish brown with inner face of tibia and femur darkened, tarsi paler.

Abdomen dark brown to black, tergites uniformly punctured, without clear iridescence.

Male. Aedeagus ( Fig. 13E ): paramere rather broad, with clear medial expansion and extending into a point at apex, reaching just beyond apex of median lobe, with sensory peg setae forming two short broad rows fusing together towards apex, in lateral view peg setae are easily seen on protruding medial part of parameral apex; median lobe broad with sudden constriction to a point at apex, on parameral side with two well-defined teeth directed almost medially, positioned at level near end of peg setae rows of paramere; internal sac without extension of the C-sclerite.

Differential diagnosis. Quedius balticus is very similar to Q. molochinus , Q. meridiocarpathicus and Q. vicinus , but can be distinguished by the antennomeres 1–3 being at least partially darkened. For confident identification genitalia should be examined, especially when specimens are teneral or faded (from old collections) and thus with unnatural coloration. The aedeagus of Q. balticus differs from Q. molochinus in the absence of an extension of the C-sclerite in the internal sac, in the broad median lobe suddenly constricted at tip and in the medial broadening of paramere.It can be distinguished most easily from Q. meridiocarpathicus by the shape of the paramere, which is medially broadened in Q. balticus and broadened towards apex in Q. meridiocarpathicus . Quedius balticus can be confused with Q. picipes from the subgenus Raphirus , which may occur in similar environments. It can be readily distinguished from the latter by the labrum being entire, the darkened base of antennomeres 1–3 and the abdomen being more parallel-sided.

Color variation. Quedius balticus var. funebris Coiffait, 1971 was described from a female specimen from ‘Sarthe, La Ferté-Bernard’ as a variant of Q. balticus with black elytra (Cඈංൿൿൺංඍ 1971). Based on the images of that specimen kindly made on our request by Vinicius Ferreira at the MNHP, it is Q. molochinus with dark elytra. According to the ICZN Article 45.6 Quedius funebris is unavailable name.

Quedius picipennis ab. nigribasis Korge, 1960 , another unavailable name, was described from a female from Germany (“Sweertia Weise Bin Lübais”) and characterized by darkened antennomeres. So far, the form has been considered a color form of Q. molochinus (e.g., Hൾඋආൺඇ 2001), but we are inclined to believe that this is indeed Q. balticus . At the time of description H. Korge considered Q. balticus restricted to an area near the Baltic Sea, but it is now known that the species is much more widespread.

Bionomics. Quedius balticus was originally considered a littoral species found only in sea debris (KඈඋGൾ 1960a, Hൺඇඌൾඇ 1962) and litter washed up on beaches (Pൺඅආ 1963). Later it was discovered in reed litter in swamps, moors, wet meadows, as well as riverine areas subject to flooding (KඈඋGൾ 1963, Mඈඋൺඏൾർ & Vඈඇංඹĸൺ 2000, NൺඌH 2009, Mൺඃඓඅൺඇ & Lංඍൺඏඌĸප 2017). Based on the earlier published data and our observations, Q. balticus is not common.

KඈඋGൾ (1963) noted that specimens, which he kept in a terrarium were hiding in wet meadow litter and could not even be expelled from it by flooding. While other beetles, including closely related representatives of the same genus, quickly moved out when debris were flooded, Q. balticus stayed behind. In a study conducted in a valley of the river Peene in NE Germany, Hඈൿൿආൺඇඇ et. al (2018) found Q. balticus to live only near natural fens and be the strongest indicator of these natural habitats. Given these observations the species seems to be highly adapted to environments subject to flooding and it can be a good indicator of a natural hydrology of an area.

Distribution. Quedius balticus is currently known to occur across large parts of Europe except the Iberian and the Italian peninsulas ( Fig. 19 ). The species is currently known from Southern Finland and Sweden in the north to Italy, Bulgaria and Macedonia in the south, and from the British Isles and Northern France in the west to Kazakhstan in the east. Newly studied material herein extends the range north- and southwards, from Finland to Italy and Macedonia.

Figures

Fig. 1. Phylogenetic tree of Quedius s. str. based on preliminary target capture molecular dataset of Bඋඎඇĸൾ et al. (2021) and Hൺඇඌൾඇ et al. (in prep). Species groups shown in color. Q. altanai Hansen & Brunke, sp. nov. of the Q. molochinoides-group was not included in the dataset. Habitus sketch is of Q. fuliginosus (Gravenhorst, 1802). Lettering denotes species distribution within their respective groups.

Fig. 4. Phylogeny of Quedius s. str. species based on Bayesian Inference (BI) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) COI barcodes (part 2). BI posterior probabilities (PP), ML ultrafast bootstrap support (UFB) and ML SH-aLRT test are shown. Nodes coloured as: green, PP ≥ 0.90, and either UFB ≥ 95 or SH-aLRT ≥ 80; yellow, one of PP ≥ 0.90, UFB ≥ 95 or SH-aLRT ≥ 80; red, PP <0.90, UFB <95 and SH-aLRT <80.

Fig. 8. Habitus of Quedius s. str. A – Q. vicinus (Ménétriés, 1832); B – Q. meridiocarpathicus Smetana, 1958; C – Q. molochinus (Gravenhorst, 1806) (red elytra variant); D – Q. molochinus (black elytra variant); E – Q. balticus Korge, 1960; F – Q. sundukovi Smetana, 2003.

Fig. 13. Aedeagus of Quedius s. str. A – Q. vicinus (Ménétriés, 1832); B – Q. sundukovi Smetana, 2003; C – Q. subunicolor Korge, 1961; D – Q. molochinus (Gravenhorst, 1806); E – Q. balticus Korge, 1960; F – Q. meridiocarpathicus Smetana, 1958. I – parameral view of whole aedeagus; II – apices of paramere in antiparameral view with peg setae; III – lateral view of whole aedeagus; IV – apices of median lobe in parameral view.

Fig. 19. Distribution of Quedius levicollis Brullé, 1832 (top), Q. hispanicus Bernhauer, 1898 and Q. pallipes Lucas, 1846 (middle), and Q.balticus Korge, 1960 (bottom).

Fig.6. Head and pronotal chaetotaxy of Quedius s. str.A – general scheme; B – Q. curtipennis Bernhauer, 1908, C – Q. fuliginosus (Gravenhorst, 1802); D – Q. levicollis Brullé, 1832; E – Q. afrofuliginosus Gusarov, 1991; F – Q. molochinus- and Q. laticollis-groups; G – Q. molochinoides-group. Abbreviations as follows: anterior frontal puncture (AFP); basal punctures (BP); interocular punctures (IOP); lateral puncture (LP); lateral row (LR); posterior frontal puncture (PFP); parocular punctures (POP); sublateral row (SLR).