Sunius lauxaensis Hernando 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Hernando, Carles
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Sunius
Sunius lauxaensis

description: Sunius lauxaensis sp. nov.   
(Figs 6–10)  
 Type locality. Spain, Andalusia, Granada, Loja, Sierra Gorda, Camino de los Pajonares, 37°08′05.48″N 4°10′55.04″W, 1,227 m a.s.l.   
 Type material. HOLOTYPE: J (MCNB), “ SPAIN, Granada, Loja, Sa Gorda / Camino de los Pajonares, 1227m / 37º08’05.48’’N 4º10’55.04’’W / Under stones, 21.IV.2022 / C. Hernando leg.”, plus red holotype label. PARATYPES: 6 JJ 4 ♀♀ (CHCB), same data as holotype, plus red paratype labels.   
  Description. Male.  Habitus as in Fig. 6. Body length: 3.3–3.6 mm.   
 Colouration. Forebody uniformly reddish brown (Fig. 7); abdomen dark brown; legs and antennae yellowish.   
 Head about as long as wide (0.44/ 0.40 mm), distinctly dilated posteriorly; coarse, with sparse punctation; lacking microsculpture; length of eyes less than 1/4 of length of postocular region in dorsal view (Fig. 7). Length of antennae: 0.8 mm.   
 Pronotum longer than wide (0.42/0.39) and slightly narrower than head, weakly oblong and parallel-sided, anterior and posterior margins equal in width; punctation less impressed than that on head, but denser (Fig. 7); lacking microsculpture.   
 Elytra about as wide as pronotum, slightly shorter than pronotum (0.40 mm); punctation somewhat finer than on pronotum, dense and weakly defined, surface between punctures somewhat rugose (Fig. 7). Hind wings reduced.   
 Abdomen approximately 1.1 times as wide as elytra, widest at segment VI; punctation fine and moderately dense; surface with shallow microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe. Sternite VII with weakly concave posterior margin, pubescence unmodified; sternite VIII posteriorly with rather deep U-shaped incision (Fig. 8).   
 Aedeagus (Figs 9–10) with ventral process slender and distinctly longer than basal part of aedeagus; endophallus in lateral view lacking sclerotized internal structures at basal bulb (Fig. 9), with two internal preapical structures strongly dilated distally in ventral view (Fig. 10).   
 Female. General appearance as male, except for unmodified sternite VIII.   
 Differential diagnosis. Using the key of ASSINǤ (2011), this species would key out at couplet 85 together with the three Iberian species without distinct spines on the endophallus of the aedeagus. This small group of species would consist of S. calatravae Assing, 2008, S. behnei Assing, 2008 and S. cordobanus Assing, 2008. Among them, S. lauxaensis nov. sp. seems to be mainly related to S. calatravae, due to the shape of the aedeagus and the absence of a tubercle on sternite VIII; however, the new species has a longer and more slender ventral process and the two internal preapical structures are very different in shape when seen ventrally. For illustrations of S. calatravae, S. behnei , and S. cordobanus see ASSINǤ (2008a), for the comparison with the sympatric S. tricoliensis described previously in this paper, see the differential diagnosis under that species.   
 Etymology. Refers to Lauxa, the name given to the city of Loja during the Muslim period, in whose municipal district the type locality lies; the name is an adjective.   
 Distribution and bionomics. The known distribution is so far restricted to the northern slopes of the Sierra Gorda de Loja. The type specimens were collected under stones, on calcareous substrate with some sparse brushes at an altitude above 1,200 m (Fig. 12).
description: Published as part of Hernando, Carles, 2023, Two new micropterous species of the genus Sunius from Andalusia (Spain) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), pp. 207-212 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) 63 (1) on pages 209-211, DOI: 10.37520/aemnp.2023.012, http://zenodo.org/record/10134165