Cephennium bodemeyeri REITTER, 1903

Assing, Volker & Meybohm, Heinrich, 2021, The Cephennium fauna of Turkey and the Middle East (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 71 (1), pp. 1-28 : 7-8

Cephennium bodemeyeri REITTER, 1903 , stat. nov.

( Figs 1 , 29–31 , Map 1 )

Cephennium (Megaloderus) bodemeyeri REITTER, 1903: 222 .

Material examined: Turkey: Istanbul: 3 , 3 , Belgrad Ormanı , 41°12'52"N, 28°58'17"E, 130 m, 7–8. IV.2010, leg. Brachat & Meybohm. Kocaeli: 1 , 2 , Pazarçayırı , 40°37'43"N, 30°03'36"E, 720 m, 5. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm. Sakarya: 4 , 4 , 17 km N Hendek , 40°52'30"N, 30°46'16"E, 850 m, 3. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm (cAss) ; 3 , 3 , 14 km N Hendek , 40°52'10"N, 30°44'41"E, 700 m, 3. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , 2  [1 teneral], 4 km S Dikmen , 40°40'21"N, 30°54'22"E, 1275 m, 4. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , 2 km W Dikmen , 40°41'57"N, 30°53'19"E, 700 m, 4. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm. Düzce: 1 , 2  [1 teneral], 26 km S Düzce , 40°40'43"N, 31°08'48"E, 1200 m, 1. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , 2 , 23 km S Düzce , 40°41'21"N, 31°08'18"E, 1020 m, 1. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , 2 , 19 km S Düzce , 40°41'54"N, 31°09'51"E, 650 m, 1. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , 3 , Kaplandede Dağı , 40°57'04"N, 31°04'03"E, 1100 m, 2. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 2 , 2 , Kaplandede Dağı , 40°55'24"N, 31°01'53"E, 710 m, 2. V.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm. Bolu: 3 , 2 , 8 km NE Abant , 40°38'48"N, 31°21'35"E, 1010 m, 27.IV.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , S Abant , 40°35'05"N, 31°16'13"E, 1180 m, 27.IV.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 3 , 2 , Bolu–Yığılca , 40°50'57"N, 31°38'31"E, 1060 m, 29.IV.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , Bolu–Yığılca , 40°50'55"N, 31°37'17"E, 1020 m, 29.IV.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 2  [1 teneral], 2 , Bolu–Yığılca , 40°50'51"N, 31°36'40"E, 980 m, 29.IV.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 3 , 2 , 11 km S Bolu , 40°39'52"N, 31°37'50"E, 1080 m, 30.IV.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , 2 , 10 km S Bolu , 40°40'03"N, 31°38'06"E, 1020 m, 30.IV.2012, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , 7 km S Bolu , 40°40'10"N, 31°37'58"E, 950 m, oak and beech forest, sifted, 31.III.2010, leg. Assing ; 4 , 40 km W Mudurnu , 40°35'44"N, 30'57'50"E, 650 m, 23.IV.2014, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , 3 , Mudurnu, Vakıfaktaş , 40°25'43"N, 31°13'13"E, 1180–1220 m, 23.IV.2014, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 6 , 8 , same data, but 24.IV.2014 ; 1 , Kartalkaya , 40°37'03"N, 31°48'32"E, 1720 m, 25.IV.2014, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 2 , 2 , Kartalkaya , 40°41'57"N, 31°46'07"E, 1400 m, 25.IV.2014, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , Bolu pass, 900 m, 20. VI.1989, leg. Wolf. Zonguldak: 4 , 4 , Devrek , 41°13'20"N, 31°53'06"E, 590 m, 2. V.2014, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 8 , 3 , same data, but 3. V.2014 ; 3 , Devrek , 41°12'27"N, 31°53'59"E, 550 m, 3. V.2014, leg. Brachat & Meybohm ; 1 , 1 , 15 km W Devrek , 41°13'45"N, 31°51'45"E, beech forest with rhododendron undergrowth, sifted, 26.III.2010, leg. Assing ; 2 , W Çaycuma , 41°25'53"N, 31°57'51"E, 570 m, 1. V.2014, leg. Brachat & Meybohm. Karabük: 1 , Safranbolu , 41°23'31"N, 32°47'16"E ,

950 m, 29.IV.2014, leg. Brachat & Meybohm; 1 , 30 km S Devrek , 41°03'21"N, 32°03'57"E , 570 m, 4.V.2014, leg. Brachat & Meybohm. All examined specimens are deposited in cAss.

Material examined and identified by C. Besuchet: Type material: 3 , 2 : “Asia Minor, Goek-Dagh., V. Bodemeyer” ( HNHM). Additional material: Turkey : Istanbul: 17 , 12, Belgrad Ormanı, leg. Apfelbeck, Schubert ( NHMW) . Kocaeli: 1 , 3 , 2 exs., “Goek- Dagh” [40°37'N, 29°56'E], leg. v. Bodemeyer (various collections) .

Comment: Based on an unspecified number of syntypes from “Anatolien: Goek-Dagh und Alem-Dagh”, C. bodemeyeri was originally described as a distinct species ( REITTER 1903). It was subsequently attributed to C. perispinctum KOLENATI, 1846 as a subspecies ( VÍT & BESUCHET 2004).

While the distribution of C. bodemeyeri is confined to Northwest Turkey, C. perispinctum is widespread and not uncommon in Georgia and has also been recorded from Azerbaijan. The previous record from Armenia ( VÍT & BESUCHET 2004) is most likely based on Besuchet (unpublished notes), who erroneously attributed specimens labelled “Armen. Geb.” to Armenia rather than to Georgia (see ASSING & SCHÜLKE 2019). In any case, the distributions of both taxa are separated by a distance of nearly 800 km, thus casting doubt on the previous subspecific concept. A comparison of the aedeagi of C. bodemeyeri and C. perispinctum eventually revealed that they are similar, but not identical, and distinguished particularly by the shape of the apex of the median lobe in ventral view ( C. bodemeyeri : ventral process more strongly constricted subapically and apico-laterally not distinctly angled). For comparison see the aedeagus of C. perispinctum in Figs 25–26. A third argument comes from the discovery of a third similar species of the same species group, which was recently collected in Southeast Bulgaria and which is described (as C. liguliferum ) in an appendix at the end of this paper.

In consequence, the above observations suggest that these taxa represent distinct, albeit closely related species rather than subspecies.

Diagnosis: Body length 1.2–1.4 mm; length of pronotum 0.39–0.45 mm; width of pronotum 0.50–0.57 mm; length of antennae approximately 0.6 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Colouration: body reddish to dark-brown with the elytra often somewhat darker than head and pronotum.

Eyes composed of approximately ten ommatidia. Antenna with pronounced club formed by antennomeres IX–XI; antennomere VIII slightly smaller than antennomere VII and much smaller than antennomere IX; antennomere XII nearly twice as long as broad.

Pronotum 1.20–1.25 times as broad as long, broadest in anterior half, and strongly convex in cross-section; lateral margins straight or indistinctly sinuate in posterior half.

Elytra each anteriorly with a transverse impression with long and tomentose whitish pubescence; humeral carina nearly obsolete.

: protibia subapically distinctly curved and somewhat flattened and excavate on inner side; aedeagus ( Figs 29–31 ) 0.50–0.55 mm long; ventral process apically extending into a long and narrow median process in ventral view; internal sac with a pair of moderately sclerotized oblong structures; paramere bisinuate, far from reaching apex of ventral process, and apically with a long curved seta.

Distribution and natural history: The known distribution of C. bodemeyeri is confined to Northwest Turkey from Istanbul province in the west to Karabük in the east ( Map 1 ). The altitudes range from 130 to 1720 m, from the beech forest to the fir forest zone. Some specimens collected at the end of April and in the beginning of May are teneral.

Figures

Map 1: Distributions of species of the Cephennium perispinctum group: C. bodemeyeri (black circles); C. liguliferum (white star); C. infractum (white triangle); C. immutatum (white circles).

Figs 1–8: Male habitus in dorsal view (1–6) and head and pronotum in lateral view (7–8) of Cephennium bodemeyeri (1), C. fractum (2–3), C. infractum (4), C. immutatum (5), C. ericinum (6–7), and C. varispinosum (8). Scale bars: 1–6: 1.0 mm; 7–8: 0.5 mm.

Figs 25–35: Aedeagus in ventral view (25, 27, 29–30, 32–35) and apical portion of aedeagus in ventral view (26, 28, 31) of Cephennium perispinctum (25–26), C. fibuliferum (27–28), C. bodemeyeri (29–31), C. fractum (32), C. infractum (33), and C. immutatum (34–35). Scale bars: 25, 27, 29–30, 32–35: 0.2 mm; 26, 28, 31: 0.1 mm.