Anillinus merritti Sokolov & Carlton, sp.n.
Creators: name: Sokolov, Igor M.
name: Carlton, Christopher E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Anillinus
Anillinus merritti

description: Anillinus merritti Sokolov & Carlton, sp.n.
(Figs. 3, 12, 22, 30, 36, 37, 38, 39; Table 1)
Type material. Holotype. Male labeled / USA – NC: Swain Co., GSMNP, Twentymile Tr. @ 35°28.8’N 83° 50.7’W, 690 m. Leaf litter sifting 28 July 2004. W.D.Merritt/ HOLOTYPE, Anillinus merritti Sokolov and Carlton, des. 2008/. Deposited U.S. National Museum (USNM). Type locality. U.S. A, NC, Swain Co., Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Twentymile Creek valley, 35°28.8’N 83°50.7’W. Paratypes (10). One male and four females with the same data as holotype; one male and one female labeled / USA – NC: Swain Co., Twentymile Trail nr Twentymile Crk. at 35°28.201’N 83° 52.040’W, 510 m, rock outcrop, litter berlese Sokolov I.M. 19 Oct 2007 / and bear labels /Molecular voucher # 79/ and /Molecular voucher # 80/ respectively; one male and two females labeled / USA – NC: Swain Co., Twentymile Ranger Station, 35°28.041’N 83° 52.603’W, 410 m, litter berlese Sokolov I.M. 19 Oct 2007 / and one male and one female from those bear labels /Molecular voucher # 45/ and /Molecular voucher # 46/, respectively.
Additional material (1). One male labeled / USA: NC: Macon Co. Coweeta Hydrobio. Sta. Shope Fork. 2450’. V-29-1983. DSChandler. sift.oak-cherry litter/.
Etymology. This species is named for Will Merritt, collector of the type series and honors his contribution to the documenting the beetle fauna of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Description. Medium sized for genus and medium for the group (ABL range 1.73–1.92 mm, mean 1.83± 0.059 mm, n=11). Males the same size as females: male size—ABL range 1.78–1.86 mm, mean 1.83± 0.034 mm, n=5; female size—ABL range 1.73–1.92 mm, mean 1.83± 0.077 mm, n=6. Habitus (Fig. 3) markedly convex, ovoid (WE/ABL 0.37±0.018), head normally proportioned for genus (WH/WPm 0.75±0.015), pronotum narrow compared to elytra (WPm/WE 0.80±0.030). Body color brunneorufus, appendages testaceous. Dorsal microsculpture distinct, covering pronotum and head except for two paramedian patches on vertex without microsculpture. Elytra with well-developed polygonal microsculpture.
Pronotum moderately convex and comparatively elongate (WPm/LP 1.28±0.027), moderately constricted posteriad (WPm/WPp 1.30±0.033), with rectilinear margins or sometimes with slight sinuation before the posterior angles. Anterior angles evident, slightly prominent. Posterior angles slightly obtuse (95–110°). The distances between posterior angles and anterior angles of the same size (WPa/WPp 0.99±0.027).
Elytra moderately convex, slightly depressed along suture, of normal length for genus (LE/ABL 0.56±0.020), with traces of 1–2 interneurs. Humeri rounded, oblique, in outline forming an obtuse angle with longitudinal axis of body. Margins subparallel, slightly divergent in basal half, evenly rounded to apex, maximal width of elytra at midpoint. Elytra without subapical sinuation. Vestiture of elytra short (less than one-third of discal setae).
Prothoracic leg of males with moderately dilated tarsomere 1. Profemur moderately swollen. Metafemora unmodified. Laterotergite VII of males unmodified.
Median lobe (Fig. 12 a) evenly arcuate and twisted, with apex noticeably elongated and rounded at tip. Dorsal side of apex obviously inflated. Ventral margin of median lobe moderately enlarged and with numerous poriferous canals. A few canals present on walls of median lobe itself near base. Dorsal copulatory sclerites forming short blade-like structure; the base of sclerites with short basal prolongations. Ventral sclerite and spines of internal sac absent. Left paramere (Fig. 12 b) slightly enlarged, paramere apex with four poriferous canals, bearing short setae, the longest of which are distal. Right paramere (Fig. 12 c) elongate, bearing four setae, which are noticeably shorter than apical part of paramere itself.
Spermatheca (Fig. 22) moderately sclerotized and S-shaped with reduced length of ventral part. Cornu comparatively enlarged distally, but narrowed apically, with angulate sinuation ventrally. Proximal part of cornu unsclerotized. Nodulus of medium length, ramus undifferentiated. Spermathecal duct more or less straight without definite coils. Stylomers and laterotergite IX as in Fig. 30. Stylomer 2 more than 1.5 times longer than wide, with thick ensiferous seta. Laterotergite bearing 7-8 setae.
Distribution. Known from two localities: the Twentymile Creek valley at the north-eastern corner of Swain County, North Carolina, within GSMNP, and Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, Macon County, North Carolina.
Habitat. All beetles from GSMNP were collected by sifting forest litter on stream slopes. Both localities are situated in mixed mesic hardwood forest at low altitudes (400-750 m).
Differential diagnosis. Anillinus merritti is a medium-sized member of the loweae -group. It is distinguished from all other species in this group by the form of the median lobe and armature of the internal sac, and also by the characteristic shape of the spermatheca. Externally the new species is similar to the group of large species of the loweae -group (i.e., A. cherokee) but is noticeably smaller.
Anillinus merritti occurs sympatrically with A. steevesi Barr and, possibly, one or two species of Serranillus. Externally, it can be distinguished from all species of Serranillus by differences in elytral vestiture (as discussed previously). The new species can be distinguished from A. steevesi by the smaller size and genitalia structures.
description: Published as part of Sokolov, Igor M. & Carlton, Christopher E., 2010, New species of Anillinus Casey (Carabidae: Trechinae: Bembidiini) from the Southern Appalachians and phylogeography of the A. loweae species group, pp. 1-23 in Zootaxa 2502 on pages 9-11, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.195855