Augustia

This article is about the beetle genus. For the dinosaur, see Agustinia.

Augustia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Staphyliniformia
Family:	Leiodidae
Subfamily:	Cholevinae
Tribe:	Leptodirini
Subtribe:	Bathysciina Zariquiey, 1927
Genus:	Augustia Zariquiey, 1927

Augustia is a monotypic genus of cave-dwelling leiodid beetle found in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is represented by a single known species, Augustia weiratheri. It was described and named by Ricardo Zariquiey in 1927. ^[1]

The first specimens of Augustia weiratheri were collected by the biospeleologist Leo Weirather, from a cave in Čvrsnica that he nicknamed "Vuk jama". ^[2] However, he obscured his collection localities using code names to guard them against less scrupulous collectors. ^[2]

Appearance

The body is 3 mm long with a reddish testaceous color, fine dense punctuation, and short appressed pubescence. The antennae reach the mid-body; the first segment is shorter than the second. Segment III is slightly longer than 4, about 3.5 times longer than wide. Segment 8 is cylindrical, just over twice as long as wide. The final three segments (9–11) are flattened. ^[1]

The pronotum is bell-shaped, as wide as the elytral base, with slightly rounded sides and a faintly bisinuate base. The elytra are not strongly convex, slightly longer than wide, and attenuated toward both base and apex. Their maximum width is at the posterior two-thirds. The apices are separately rounded and divergent, with a visible marginal rim nearly to the tip. There is no sutural stria. ^[1]

The fore tibiae lack a true comb and have a well-developed external spur. Intermediate tibiae are slightly spinose. The male fore tarsi are four-segmented, slightly dilated but narrower than the tibial apex. ^[1]

The mesosternal keel is very high, inserted directly behind the articular collar. Its anterior edge forms a rounded quarter-circle; the ventral edge is faintly sinuate. Their junction forms an obtuse, untoothed angle. The anterior edge is thin, the ventral edge thickens toward the metasternum, which is unkeeled. ^[1]

Male Genitalia

The genital organ is short and broad. The penis has parallel sides that narrow abruptly and curve at the apex, terminating in a triangular, depressed beak. The basal lamina is broad with a well-developed tongue at its free edge midpoint. The lateral styles are longer than the penis, clubbed apically, and bear three setae: one terminal, one subterminal, and a more distant ventral seta. ^[1]

The internal sac contains a central chitinous piece: short, broad, strongly incurved, and slightly lanceolate apically. It is flanked by two elongated, slightly bent chitinous pieces that are broad basally and pointed apically. The sac is transparent around this armature; its mid-portion has thicker, opaque, wrinkled walls without chitinous structures. ^[1]

Taxonomy

Augustia shares several characteristics with Anthrodulus, Bozidaria, Henrotiella, Proleonhardella and Weiratheria, and is probably closely related to them. ^{[1] [3] [4]}

References

1. Zariquiey, R. (1927). "Nuevos Bathysciinae de los Balcanes (Col. Silphidae)". Butlletí de la Institució Catalana d'Història Natural: 152–158.
2. Pretner, Egon (2011). "Die Verdienste von Leo Weirather um die Biospeläologie, insbesondere Jugoslawiens, sein Höhlenkataster und seine Sammelplätze" (PDF). Berichte des Naturwissenschaftlich-medizinischen Vereins in Innsbruck. 97: 85–234.
3. Guéorguiev, Borislav (2007). "Description of Ceuthophyes enormis nov. sp. from Albania, and notes on the morphology of Henrotiella eubeensis (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Leptodirini)". Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona. 31: 75–82.
4. Ćurčić, Srećko (2021). "On the diversity of subterranean beetles of the Dinarides: new leiodid taxa (Coleoptera: Leiodidae) from Serbia". European Journal of Taxonomy. 782 (1). doi: 10.5852/ejt.2021.782.1589 .