Tychobythinus longipalpis (Normand, 1930)

Sabella, Giorgio, Nouira, Vera D’Urso Said, Souissi, Rhida & Besuchet, Claude, 2013, A review of Tychobythinus theryi species group with description of a new species from Algeria (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae), Zootaxa 3701 (1), pp. 63-75 : 68

Tychobythinus longipalpis (Normand, 1930)

( Figs. 7–9 )

Bythoxenus longipalpis Normand 1930: 165 ;

Anopsibythus longipalpis Jeannel 1956: 61 , 63, fig. 51 (habitus); Tychobythinus longipalpis Löbl & Besuchet 2004: 315 .

Type material. Holotype, female. NORTHEASTERN ALGERIA. Skikda province: Collo, X.1929 (H. Normand) (INAT).

Redescription. Body length 1.20 mm, pubescence not very dense consisting of long and flattened setae (length: 0.070–0.080 mm) on head, pronotum, elytra and abdomen, other suberected setae shorter (length: 0.030– 0.040 mm) on antennae and legs. Tegument smooth and glossy.

Head ( Fig. 7 ) slightly wider (0.210) than long (0.200 mm) frontal lobe width 0.110 mm its dorsal surface glossy with some punctures concentrated on sides and well impressed median sulcus. Clypeal carina reaches ocular region, occipital region strongly convex with short median occipital carina reaching its middle, tempora rounded and slightly prominent downward. Gular region slightly convex, separated from the anterior portion of the head by a deep transverse groove, its surface glossy. Segment II of maxillary palpi elongated with 20 strong tubercles, segment III longer than wide with 6 tubercles, last segment of maxillary palpi ( Fig. 8 ) about 3 times longer (0.240 mm) than wide (0.080 mm), its lateral margin slightly concave. Antenna ( Fig. 9 ) 0.685 mm long very thin, scape about 5 times longer (0.210 mm) than wide (0.040 mm), antennomere II, slightly asymmetric, longer (0.055 mm) than wide (0.037 mm), antennomeres III–V distinctly longer than wide and subequal in size, VI shorter than V and longer than wide, VII and VIII as long than as wide. Antennomeres IX–X wider than long, XI more than 2 times longer than wide, and about 2 times longer than combined length of IX and X.

Pronotum distinctly wider (0.300 mm) than long (0.260 mm), widest a little before the middle, pleural carina barely visibile, deep antebasal sulcus with its posterior edge very detected.

Elytra strongly wider (0.525 mm) than long (0.440 mm).

Metasternum with surface smooth and glossy.

Legs elongated, protrochanters with 4 tubercles; profemora with 8 small tubercles. All tibiae slightly flattened and enlarged in the distal third. Metatibiae 0.470 mm long.

Male. Unknown.

Comparative notes. This species is similar to T. peyerimhoffi from which it is distinguished by the head wider than long (longer than wide in T. peyerimhoffi ), by the median occipital carina short and reaching approximately half of the occipital length (reaching the posterior edge of vertexal foveae in T. peyerimhoffi ), by the lateral margin of last segment of maxillary palpi slightly concave (straight in T. peyerimhoffi ), by the antennal scape 5 times longer than wide (about 4 times longer than wide in T. peyerimhoffi ), and by the absence of median carina on the metasternum (present in T. peyerimhoffi ).

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 9. Tychobythinus longipalpis. Scale: 0, 1 mm. 7 — Head, schematic drawing. 8 — Left maxillary palpus, holotype. 9 — Right antenna, holotype.