Epirotyphlus Pace 1995, new status
Creators: name: Hlaváč, Peter
name: Janák, Jiří
name: Baňař, Petr
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Epirotyphlus

description: Epirotyphlus Pace, 1995, new status
Epirotyphlus Pace, 1995: 27.
Type species: Egeotyphlus leucadiensis Pace, 1995. Original designation. Described as a subgenus of the genus Egeotyphlus. New status.
Diagnosis. Gular sutures confluent in about midlength of head capsule, from this confluent point they continue as two, separate, short divergent sutures (Figs 31, 61); labrum dentate (Figs 30, 59); antennae with 11 antennomeres, antennomere 5 larger than 4 and 6; antennal club composed from 5 antennomeres (Figs. 32, 62), last 4 antennomeres with (Fig. 63) or without sensorial appendages (phaneres) but those if present always inserted on lower part and oriented towards upper part of antennomeres.
Remarks. Epirotyphlus was originally described as a subgenus of Egeotyphlus for a new species, Egeotyphlus (Epirotyphlus) leucadiensis from the Greek island Lefkáda. Epirotyphlus was separated from the nominal subgenus by 1) lacking large sensorial appendages (phaneres) on the last four antennomeres inserted on upper part and curved towards lower part, 2) having dentate labrum and 3) aedeagus lacking parameres. Pace (1995), when describing Egeotyphlus (Epirotyphlus) leucadiensis recognized that this species is more similar to his previously described species Egeotyphlus zecevici from Serbia (Pace 1984b) than to the type species of the genus, Egeotyphlus thracicus. These both species share all characters mentioned above and more, they have very similar structure of the aedeagus. Aedeagus is slender, symmetric, parameres are reduced, lacking distal setae. The discovery of two new species, which are described here below and assigned to Epirotyphlus, allowed us to study the ventral part of head and it seems that the structure of gular sutures can be an important character to separate Epirotyphlus from Egeotyphlus. Both new species, have gular sutures confluent in about midlength of head capsule and from this confluent point they continue as two, separate, short divergent sutures, opposite to Egeotyphlus, where they continue as a simple, straight suture. Unfortunately, Pace (1984b, 1995) did not provide any information about the structure of gular sutures for either Egeotyphlus (Epirotyphlus) leucadiensis or Egeotyphlus zecevici. Thus, the importance of the structure of gular sutures for the definition of Epirotyphlus will need further study, especially when the type species, Epirotyphlus leucadiensis will be available. Regardless this, we are of the opinion that Epirotyphlus deserves to be upgraded to the genus level.
description: Published as part of Hlaváč, Peter, Janák, Jiří & Baňař, Petr, 2025, Endogean and cavernicolous Coleoptera of the Balkans. XXVIII. Synopsis of the subfamily Leptotyphlinae Fauvel, 1874 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) of the Balkan Peninsula, with the description of three new species from Serbia and Montenegro, pp. 61-97 in Zootaxa 5594 (1) on page 76, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5594.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/14954098