Speonemadus comasi sp. n.

Figs 2, 3, 12, 27

Type locality: Morocco, Tagelft, Iri Adar Nyighil, 32°10'N 5°57'W, 2250 m (Fig. 45).

Holotype: ♂, "Iri Adar Nyighil / -Tagelft- Marroc / 9-VII-2005 / Fadrique- [hw] / Auroux-Comas Leg." [printed], " HOLOTYPUS / Speonemadus / comasi sp. n. / JF-AF-HF-IR det. 2017" [red label, hw] (MZB).

Description of the holotype: Habitus as in Fig. 2. Body length 3.6 mm. Body shape elongate, colour brownreddish, darker on head and pronotal disk. Head with eyes well developed, with visible suture between epistome and frons; surface with coarse, dense punctation; antennomeres VII–XI forming a loose club, antennomere X as long as wide. Pronotum transverse (maximum width 1.3 mm; maximum length 0.8 mm), sides strongly arched, still more strongly posteriorly; base of pronotum sinuate, as wide as base of elytra; surface with coarse, dense and rough punctation. Elytra very elongate, wider in basal third, regularly tapered towards apex; with parasutural stria; surface with fine and sparse transverse striolae. Legs with pentamerous tarsi; protibiae sinuate, more strongly on inner side (Fig. 3); mesotibiae less sinuate, more regularly curved; first three tarsomeres of protarsi and first two tarsomeres of mesotarsi dilated. Male genitalia (Fig. 12). Basal lamina of aedeagus as long as apical part; parameres about as long as median lobe; median lobe in dorsal view with sides slightly sinuate, regularly tapering towards apex; apex with small, rounded extension; basal 2/3 of parameres straight, apical third with external side strongly dilated, narrowing towards apex; apex with triangular expansion on external side, with four fine setae and without conical spine (Fig. 27); endophallus entirely covered with scales and spines, with two dark parallel longitudinal bands scarcely noticeable.

Females unknown.

Etymology. The species is dedicated to our friend and colleague Jordi Comas (Spain, Barcelona), one of the collectors of the only known specimen of this most interesting species. The specific name is a substantive in the genitive case.

Remarks. Speonemadus comasi sp. n. is a peculiar species, with characters similar to both Speonemadus and Anemadus. The general slender habitus and the modified protibiae are similar to the species of the escalerai -group (e.g. S. angusticollis, Fig. 4), and the shape of the parameres with their triangular apical expansion is similar to that of S. brusteli sp. n. of the vandalitiae -group. However, the endophallus is similar to that of the species of Anemadus, without well defined groups of spines, such as those to the loebli -group (e.g. A. loebli Giachino & Vailati, 1993, from Turkey) or the strigosus -group (e.g. A. strigosus (Kraatz, 1852) from Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Greece, A. bianchii Reitter, 1906 from Italy or A. arcadius Reitter, 1885 from Greece). In addition to the morphological characters, the distribution of the species supports its inclusion in Speonemadus, as species of Anemadus are found from Italy (including Sicily) and southern France to the East, reaching China (Perreau 2004). In fact, this is one of the westernmost species of Speonemadus, with other species of the genus distributed further east except for some dubious records of S. tenuipes in the High Atlas (see below).

Distribution (Fig. 38). So far only known from the type locality in Morocco.