Aphodius (Liothorax) rutilipennis Baudi di Selve, 1870, stat. rest.

Figs 2 e – g, 5 i – k, 7 j, 13 c, d, 18 c, 20 c, d, 22 q, q ’, r, v, w, 25 m, 26 j, k, 30 d, e

Aphodius (Liothorax) plagiatus var rutilipennis Baudi di Selve, 1870: 64.

Aphodius ressli Petrovitz, 1962: 126

Aphodius cypricola Balthasar, 1971: 57.

Aphodius isikdagensis Balthasar 1952, sensu Dellacasa et al. 2001 b: 6 (misidentification).

Note.

Baudi di Selve (1870) described a variety of A. plagiatus in which the elytra were brownish bronze (“ brunneo-subaeneis ”) and said that this variety was less rare (on Cyprus) than the black form. He added that, among other things, the mesosternum (sic) was more delicately and less densely punctate than in European A. plagiatus. Dellacasa et al. (2007) stated that the name A. rutilipennis Baudi di Selve was unavailable as it was simply a colour variant, but that would only be the case if the name was “ infrasubspecific ”. For names published before 1961, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999, 4 th edition), states that a name “ is subspecific if first published before 1961 and the author expressly used one of the terms “ variety ” or “ form ” (including the use of the terms “ var. ”, “ forma ”, “ v ” and “ f ”), unless the author also expressly gave it infrasubspecific rank, or the content of the work unambiguously reveals that the name was published for an infrasubspecific entity ”. Baudi makes no reference to infrasubspecific status, nor does his description imply that it was such. This name is therefore available and is the oldest known name for this species.

Type material examined.

Aphodius plagiatus var rutilipennis Baudi di Selve, 1870. Type material in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria, Genova (MCSNGDG) – not examined (not available for study).

Aphodius ressli Petrovitz, 1962. Holotype ♀ (MNHG);

Aphodius cypricola Balthasar, 1971. Holotype ♂ (NMP).

Additional material examined.

GR: Corfu, 39.6 ° N, 19.8 ° E. Reitter, Nevinson coll. 1 ♂ (NHMUK). Evia, Chalcis, 36.463 ° N, 26.635 ° E, 1932, leg. J. Fodor. 1 unsexed (MNHB). Macedonia, Langassa Göll. 40.464 ° N, 32.147 ° E. 1 ♀ (MNHB).

AL: Albania mer. Butrint, 39.754 ° N, 20.021 ° E. Smetana, 1958, l ♀ (NMP).

TR: Besika (Beşik) Bay, 40.274 ° N, 26.459 ° E. 2 ♂♂, 5 unsexed. Ex C. G. Champion (NHMUK). Turkey mer. Devecusagi, Yumurtalik env., 36.884 ° N, 36.039 ° E. 14. iv. 1992. leg. O. Hovorka. 1 unsexed (NMP) prov. Antalya, Manavgat. 36.763 ° N, 31.437 ° E. leg. A. Bellmann 13. iii. 2000. 1 ♂ (ABC). Antalya, Manavgat. 36.763 ° N, 31.437 ° E. leg. A. Bellmann 13. iii. 2000. 1 ♂ (ABC). Antalya, 5 Km nördi, Sagirin, Köprülu kanyon, 19. 03. 2002, leg. A. Bellmann, 1 unsexed (ABC); same data, 22. 03. 2002, 1 unsexed (ABC); Antalya, Akseki, 1300 m a. s. l., 19 March 2002, leg. Bellmann 1 unsexed (ABC); Alanya, Konakli; 13. 03. 2000 leg. A. Bellmann, 1 unsexed (ABC). Istanbul Halkali 28. vii. 1968 Cl. Besuchet, 1 unsexed (MHNG).

CY: Akrotiri, 34.634 ° N, 32.991 ° E. G. Mavromoustakis 2 ♂♂ (NHMUK); Limassol distr. Zakaki marshes, puddle in lorry park at edge of reedbed, 3. iv. 2005. R. B. Angus. 3 ♂♂, chromosome prep. 4: 7. iv. 2005 R. B Angus, DNA extracts 110 & 91, J. F. Maté 2013, 1 ♀, chromosome prep. 5: 7. v. 2005 (NHMUK); “ Insel Cypern ” ex coll, Fodor. 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ (MNHB); Zypern, Sotira (Salzee), 6. 4. 2010, W. Ziegler leg., 1 unsexed (ABC).

Differential diagnosis.

A small black A. plagiatus group species, occasionally with dull reddish elytra, immediately distinguished from A. plagiatus by its clearly more lightly sculptured metaventrite and the bristles on the endophallus. Black specimens are distinguished from A. chellala sp. nov. by the narrower gap in the basal border of the pronotum.

Redescription.

General appearance (Fig. 2 e – g). Head and pronotum (Fig. 5 i – k). Length: 3.1–4.1 mm (♂), 3.9–4.2 mm (♀); width: 1.4–1.8 mm (♂), 1.7–1.9 mm (♀).

Head black, anterolateral margins of clypeus and genae with a vague dull yellowish brown strip, and actual margins narrowly raised. Frontoclypeal suture more or less straight over median 1 / 3 but middle part effaced, laterally angled to anterior edge of genae, but this part scarcely traceable. Frons with moderate double punctation which is effaced on the middle 1 / 4. Disc of clypeus bulges upwards, this bulge with only very fine sparse dot-like punctation, surface away from the bulge with moderate double punctation and the surface becoming weakly wrinkled towards the anterior and lateral margins. Front of clypeus weakly excised over middle 1 / 3, recurved either side of this excision. Antennae and maxillary palpi dull yellowish brown antennal clubs and apical segments of palpi darker. Epipharynx (Fig. 7 j) with the anterior margin if the clithra excised either side of the median tylus, and the prophobae and apophobae quite extensively developed and with 3 or 4 chaetopedia each side.

Pronotum hemicylindrical, highly arched transversely, weakly so longitudinally. Lateral margins bordered but basal 1 / 2 not visible from above because of the outwardly bulging lateral parts of the pronotal surface in this area. Posterior margin of the pronotum usually with an almost continuous border, this with a small median interruption whose width is approximately the same as the diameter of the larger pronotal punctures (Fig. 13 c). In the holotype of A. cypricola and a female from Greek Macedonia (Langasa-Göl, now Lagkadas near Thessaloniki) the median gap in the basal border of the pronotum is rather wider (Fig. 13 d), but the aedeagal characters are the same as in other material. Pronotal surface with moderate double punctation, the larger punctures separated by 1–2 × their diameter, becoming sparser medially. Smaller punctures dot-like and all punctures absent from a median longitudinal strip.

Scutellum elongate, pentagonal, glossy reddish brown with a few punctures medio basally.

Elytra maroon-bronze or black, interstices with a silky sheen due to the fine reticulation on their surfaces. Striae narrow, shallow and glossy, with punctures separated by ca 2 × their diameter and indenting the strial margins. Interstices ca 6 × as wide as the striae, flat and with a very fine reticulation and scattered very fine punctures separated from one another by ca 1 / 3 of the width of the interstices. Lateral margins of elytra slightly rounded to widest point just behind the middle, then rounded to the blunt apex.

Metaventrite: (Fig. 20 c, d) grey-bronze with maroon reflections, median diamond-shaped plate depressed medially. Surface reticulate, the reticulation effaced in the middle of the median depression. Punctation fine and sparse, becoming stronger over the outer part of the median depression, but absent from its centre.

Legs: mid brown, basal segment of mid tarsi clearly shorter than the longer tibial spur (Fig. 18 c).

Aedeagus (Fig. 22 q, q ’ r, v, w) small, length ca 0.7 mm with the endophallus bearing a dense field of bristles dorsally and the apices of the parameres membranous, expanded and obliquely truncate.

Remarks.

Aphodius rutilipennis is distributed in mainly lowland coastal areas of southeast Europe and Asiatic Turkey (Anatolia) from Corfu and southern Albania (Butrint) in the west, via Evia and Macedonia (Greece), Besika Bay (Turkey), Cyprus (Limassol and Larnaca districts) to Hatay (Iskenderun) (Turkey: the type locality of L. ressli) in the east (Fig. 29 b, c) On Cyprus it appears to be mainly winter-active. RBA collected it at the edge of a muddy pool in the Zakaki marshes (Limassol) and C. Makris (Limassol, Cyprus) collected it from under a discarded piece of carpet lying on the mud in the same area (pers. comm. to RBA, April 1985). This whole area is slightly saline.