Phylogenetic systematics of the enigmatic genus Horologion Valentine, 1932 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechinae, Horologionini), with description of a new species from Bath County, Virginia
Author
Harden, Curt W.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5226-8725
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, 277 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA
c_har@fastmail.com
Author
Davidson, Robert L.
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
Author
Malabad, Thomas E.
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Karst Program, 16 th Floor, 600 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Author
Caterino, Michael S.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2597-5707
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, 277 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA
Author
Maddison, David R.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7152-3824
Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
text
Subterranean Biology
2024
2024-01-08
48
1
49
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.48.114404
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.48.114404
1314-2615-48-1
989B4A14F7D54805822A2181DE5223A4
768E4D6A499F5E8DB5FA59ACA071AC36
Horologion speokoites Valentine, 1932
Figs 1
, 7
, 8C
, 9A-C
, 11A
Material examined.
Holotype
male
(USNM), glued to clear plastic point with bit of wax on pin below point.
Right
metatibia and metatarsus missing.
Right
antenna (except for scape and pedicel) and right protibia (except for base) and protarsus removed.
Two
plastic cards with blocks of
Canada
balsam pinned beneath specimen, the top one containing genitalia and the bottom one containing the right antenna, protibia and protarsus.
Original
labels (Fig.
7
):
"Arbuckle's
Cave Maxwelton, W.Va.
July 12 1931
J.M. Valentine
" "On bit of wet decaying wood, muddy floor of lower level" "
♂
Type gen. Type sp. [red paper]" "U.S.N.M. TYPE 44255 [red paper]"
"23"
"
Horologion speokoites
Valentine detVal.
1932
HOLOTYPE
[white label with red line drawn on each side]" "USNMENT [QR Code] 01374911".
Figure 7.
Labels of
Horologion speokoites
holotype
, USNM.
Diagnosis.
The lone specimen of this species differs from
H. hubbardi
in the following characters: the carinal shelf of the humerus is shorter and does not end in a prominent curved spine; the elytral disc is more convex, though not nearly as convex as in
Valentine's
(1932)
illustration (his fig. 2) of the lateral aspect (Suppl. material 3: fig. S2B); the two basal protarsomeres are not as strongly expanded and only the first is dentate on the inner margin, slightly so (Fig.
8C
); the parameres are broader and bear more than three apical setae (Fig.
9B
); the median lobe is more strongly curved ventrally (Fig.
9A
) and is slightly bent asymmetrically in dorsal aspect (Fig.
9C
); and the flagellum has a distinct sinuation (Fig.
9C
).
Figure 8.
Protarsi of
Horologion
A
H. hubbardi
male holotype, dorsal aspect
B
H. hubbardi
female paratype, dorsal aspect
C
H. speokoites
male holotype, dorsal aspect
D
H. hubbardi
male holotype, ventral aspect
E
H. hubbardi
male holotype, dorsal aspect. Scale bars: 0.10 mm.
Figure 9.
Genitalia of
Horologion
species
A
H. speokoites
median lobe, left lateral aspect
B
H. speokoites
left paramere, left lateral aspect
C
H. speokoites
median lobe, dorsal aspect
D
H. hubbardi
median lobe, left lateral aspect
E
H. hubbardi
left paramere, left lateral aspect
F
H. hubbardi
median lobe, dorsal aspect
G
H. hubbardi
right paramere, right lateral aspect
H
H. hubbardi
female genitalia, ventral aspect
A-C
after
Valentine (1932)
. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.
Notes.
Our examination of the type of
H. speokoites
revealed that the specimen differs from
Valentine's
description and drawings in several important characters. The first protarsomere is asymmetrical and distinctly dentate on the inner margin, and the second is slightly asymmetrical though not dentate (Fig.
8C
). The third protarsomere, which Valentine considered expanded, is the same shape as in female specimens of
H. hubbardi
(Fig.
8B
), and should therefore not be considered modified. The right elytron bears a prominent discal seta in the third interval. At 100
x
, using a Leica M125 stereoscope with strong diffuse light directed from the posterior of the specimen, both the pore at the base of the discal seta on the right elytron and the pore (without seta) on the left elytron were clearly visible, and both were located just posterior to the level of the fourth umbilicate puncture. The carinae that Valentine illustrated extending from the humeri onto the disc of the elytra do not exist; the disc in this region is smooth, and the humeral carinae end well before the level of the parascutellar setae. The plastic on which the genitalia are mounted in balsam is roughly textured, and the structures are heavily cleared. We were unable to study them in right lateral or dorsal aspects. The ventral margin of the median lobe appears to not be as strongly curved as
Valentine's
drawing suggests, but due to the condition of the preparation and the fact that the parameres are still attached, we are unable to discern the true shape of the median lobe. Our examination of the specimen also confirms
Valentine's
(1932)
original report of the collection date; in the literature, the year of the collection has been variously reported as
"1931"
(
Valentine 1932
),
"1930"
(
Barr 1994
) and
"1938"
(
Culver et al. 2012
).