Bledius depressus Castro, Caron & Rosa, 2016, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Castro, Jessica Cristina De
name: Caron, Edilson
name: Rosa, Leonardo Cruz Da
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Bledius
Bledius depressus

description: Bledius depressus sp. nov.
(Figs. 6, 12–15)
Type material. Holotype, male, from DZUP, labeled as ‘ BRA, Sergipe, Mosqueiro/ 11º08’00’’ S, 37º08’45’’ O / Coleta: corer 10cm diâmetro/ 08/IV/2013 / L. C. Rosa, col.’ [White label, printed]. Three paratypes, two males, one from DZUP and one from FMNH, and one female from DZUP, labeled as ‘ BRAZIL, RN, Nísia Floresta/ 06º03’ S 35º05’ W / 29-IX-2010 / L. S. Souto, col.’ [White label, printed].
Description. BL: 2.3–2.8 mm BW: 0.5–0.58 mm.
Male. Body dark brown to black, with the apex of antennae, maxillary and labial palps, and legs light brown. Elytra entirely brown to black. Body subcylindrical and covered with fine microsetae. Dorsum of head, pronotum and elytra with sculpturing.
Antennae with antennomeres 3–6 with the same width and 7–11 slightly increasing in width, antennomere 6 the shortest. Clypeus with anterior margin slightly sinuate. Epistomal suture arcuate. Labrum transverse, anterior margin slightly sinuate. Cuticular process of internal fringe of epipharyngeal lobes with apex not serrated. Mandibles tridentate. Mentum subquadrate. Submentum extending onto venter of head, posterior margin strongly V-shaped. Gular sutures fused posteriorly. Pronotum convex, wider than long (PW/PL: 1.72), anterior pronotal angles produced, posterior margin curved. Prototergosternal suture present, procoxal fissure open, protrochantin exposed. Elytra as long as wide (EL/BW: 1), elytral epipleural ridge present and complete. Sternite VII with median lobe on posterior margin. Tergite VIII with a broad emargination on both sides near the anterior angle and posterior margin truncate. Posterior margin of sternite VIII slightly emarginated. Tergite IX with ventral struts. Tergite X with a dorsal depression on its posterior three-fourths (Fig. 12, arrow), and posterior margin with a long membranous projection (Fig. 13, arrow). Aedeagus with apex of the median lobe curved in lateral view and an evident pair of sclerites on the bulb base (Fig. 14, arrow).
Female. Similar to male except posterior margin of sternite VII truncate, without median lobe. Spermatheca with annelidoid form and the base bulbous and it is 2.5 to 3 times longer than wider (Fig. 15).
Distribution. Material examined: Brazil (Rio Grande do Norte; Sergipe). Literature: Brazil (Alagoas) (Rosa et al. 2013).
Etymology. The specific name is a Latin adjective that refers to the dorsal longitudinal depression on the posterior three-fourths of tergite X.
Remarks. Bledius depressus, sp. nov. was previously identified as B. caribbeanus (Rosa et al. 2013, 2015), because of the size and color similarity, although, in this study we reviewed a paratype of B. caribbeanus from FMNH, and Bledius depressus, sp. nov. can be differentiated from B. caribbeanus by tergite X, which has a dorsal longitudinal depression on its posterior three-fourths (Fig. 12, arrow) and posterior margin with a long membranous projection (Fig. 13), and by the shape of the spermatheca with bulbous base and 2.5 to 3 times longer than wide (Fig. 15), somewhat similar to B. fernandezi illustrated as Fig. 16 of Caron & Ribeiro-Costa (2007).
Therefore, in this study, the distribution of B. caribbeanus is corrected, not occurring in Brazil and being restricted to the Caribbean Sea countries Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago (Frank & Ahn 2011). The main morphology characteristics of B. caribbeanus are discussed below.
The holotype of Bledius depressus, sp. nov. was sampled in the edge of a tidal creek, located at mouth of Vaza- Barris river (Fig. 32). This place is an estuarine beach (i.e., a low-energy environment) characterized by soft sediments composed by very fine sand. The samples were taken with PVC cores (10cm of diameter) and randomly distributed around the driftline (Fig. 33). In this place, the holotype of Bledius depressus, sp. nov. was found coexisting with B. borzonei, sp. nov. Individuals of B. depressus, sp. nov. have also been found with low abundances at some local exposed ocean beaches together with B. hermani, which is the dominant species in these environments (Fig. 34).
Additional material. DZUP: Sixteen specimens. Six specimens: ‘ BRAZIL, RN, Nísia Floresta/ 06º03’ S 35º05’ W / 29-IX-2010 / L. S. Souto, col.’ [white label, printed]. Ten specimens: ‘ BRA, Sergipe, Mosqueiro/ 11º08’00’’ S, 37º08’45’’ O / Coleta: corer 10cm diâmetro/ 08/IV/2013 / L. C. Rosa, col.’ [white label, printed].
description: Published as part of Castro, Jessica Cristina De, Caron, Edilson & Rosa, Leonardo Cruz Da, 2016, Update on the Brazilian coastal species of Bledius Leach (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) with the description of two new species, pp. 145-157 in Zootaxa 4111 (2) on pages 149-150, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4111.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/256525