Magellanoconnus Franz, 1967

Jałoszyński, Paweł & Newton, Alfred F., 2017, Taxonomy of ' Euconnus complex'. Part XV. Disentangling the Euconnus - Sciacharis knot (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4344 (3), pp. 401-443 : 407-409

Magellanoconnus Franz , status rest.

( Figs 5 , 18–21 , 34–35, 44)

Magellanoconnus Franz, 1967a: 628 (as subgenus of Euconnus ). Type specIes: Euconnus laurisilvae Franz, 1967a (des. orIg.). Transferred from Euconnus to subgenus of Sciacharis by Franz (1980a); elevated to genus rank by Kuschel, 1990: 76; retaIned as subgenus by Franz (1993a, 1997); here restituted as genus.

Revised diagnosis. Antennae gradually thickened; head rounded, with long tempora and vertex not bulging posterodorsally; submentum lacking lateral sutures; hypomeral ridges reaching or nearly reaching posterior tentorial pits; pronotum broadest in front of middle, with sinuate lateral margins, indistinct anterior corners and distinct but obtuse-angled posterior corners; pronotal base with paired pits or transverse groove, often with median carina; basisternal part of prosternum only slightly longer than coxal part; procoxal cavities broadly open; notosternal sutures and hypomeral ridges nearly complete (obliterated in their posterior and anterior portions, respectively, but the obliterated part is so short that it can be seen only under SEM in cleaned specimens or in transparent mounts under compound microscope); interprocoxal region with faint and diffuse carina; head and prothorax with bristles; mesoventral intercoxal process narrowly subtriangular or carinate, developed in anterior portion of mesoventrite and reaching only to about middle of mesocoxal cavities, with distinctly defined tip; metaventrite with anterior metaventral process between or slightly behind posterior margins of mesocoxal cavities, and with subtriangular, short intermetacoxal process slightly notched at middle and not separating metacoxae; elytral base with one or two small asetose foveae; aedeagus weakly sclerotized, with symmetrical median lobe and asymmetrical endophallic structures; parameres free and slender.

Redescription. General body shape ( Fig. 5 ) strongly elongate and moderately convex, body deeply constricted between head and pronotum and between pronotum and elytra.

Head ( Figs 18–19 ) large in relation to pronotum; divided by occipital constriction into large anterior and small posterior part ('neck' region), posterior part retracted into pronotum. Occipital constriction about as broad as half width of head. Anterior part of head capsule convex dorsally and flattened ventrally, rounded; tempora longer than compound eyes; vertex transverse and not bulging posterodorsally, with posterior margin not demarcated, anteriorly vertex confluent with subtrapezoidal frons; supraantennal tubercles feebly marked; frontoclypeal groove distinct, deep. Gular plate ( Fig. 19 ; gp) broad and with distinct gular sutures; posterior tentorial pits ( Fig. 19 ; ptp) strongly elongate, slot-shaped and located far in front of transverse impression separating 'neck' region from anterior part of head. Tempora, genae and postgenae with thick bristles. Submentum ( Fig. 19 ; smn) subtriangular; hypostomal ridges ( Fig. 19 ; hr) nearly complete, behind posteromesal margin of each cardo nearly straight, not connected to but reaching posterior tentorial pits; mentum ( Fig. 19 ; mn) subtrapezoidal; prementum small and transverse, largely membranous; labial palps short; maxillae unmodified; mandibles only partly visible in the studied specimen, subtriangular and evenly curved, mesal margins not visible.

Antennae ( Fig. 5 ) long and slender, gradually but weakly thickened.

Prothorax ( Figs 18, 20 ) convex, elongate, broadest in front of middle, with sides strongly rounded in anterior half and slightly concave behind the broadest site; anterior corners indistinct, posterior corners well-marked, obtuse-angled; base with short sublateral carinae ( Fig. 18 ; slc), two pairs of antebasal pits ( Fig. 18 ; abp) and short median antebasal carina ( Fig. 18 ; mc). Prosternum ( Fig. 20 ) with basisternal part ( Fig. 20 ; bst) only slightly shorter than coxal part; notosternal sutures ( Fig. 20 ; nss) and hypomeral ridges ( Fig. 20 ; hyr) nearly complete; procoxal cavities open; interprocoxal region with faint carina; hypomera covered with bristles.

Mesothorax. Mesoscutellum in intact specimens entirely covered by posterior pronotal margin, its posterior tip not exceeding posterior margin of elytral articulating lobe. Mesoventrite ( Fig. 21 ) with a pair of transverse setose impressions functioning as procoxal rests ( Fig. 21 ; pcr) in anterior region, impressions separated at middle and with diffuse posterior margins; mesoventral intercoxal process ( Fig. 21 ; msvp) carinate, its posterior tip welldefined, subtriangular and located near middle of mesocoxal cavities.

Metathorax. Metaventrite ( Fig. 21 ) much longer than mesoventrite, subtrapezoidal; anterior metaventral process ( Fig. 21 ; amvp) present; intermetacoxal area weakly expanded posteriorly and forming short subtriangular metaventral intercoxal process ( Fig. 13 ; mtvp) indistinctly notched at middle and not separating metacoxae.

Elytra ( Figs 5 , 18 ) oval, with rounded apices and narrow base which is subequal in width to posterior pronotal margin; humeral calli and basal impressions distinct; each elytron with two small asetose basal foveae ( Fig. 18 ; bef).

Metathoracic wings present.

Legs ( Fig. 5 ) moderately long and slender, unmodified.

Abdomen elongate, gradually narrowing posteriorly, suture between two terminal visible sternites (i.e., VII and VIII) less distinct than between remaining sternites.

Aedeagus (Figs 34–35) with symmetrical and weakly sclerotized median lobe; endophallic structures asymmetrical, parameres slender, with apical setae.

Remarks. Magellanoconnus clearly differs from Sciacharis in open procoxal cavities, incomplete mesoventral intercoxal process not reaching posterior margins of mesocoxal cavities and in the presence of the anterior mesoventral process. The contiguous metacoxae differentiate this genus from Euconnus . Here the status of Magellanoconnus is restituted to the concept of Kuschel, 1990: 76, as a separate genus.

Composition and distribution. Magellanoconnus currently includes 78 valid species-group names; 76 species and subspecies of Magellanoconnus s. str. occur in South Africa and Zimbabwe, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador, and in New Zealand; two species of the other subgenus are treated in the next section.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 9. RepresentatIves of all genus-group names prevIously or currently Included In Sciacharis; dorsal habItus. Euconnus (Austroconophron) tindoui Franz, comb. rest. (type specIes of Austroconophron) (1); Sciacharis (s. str.) lanosa (Broun) (type specIes of Allomaoria) (2); Sciacharis (s. str.) fulva Broun (type specIes of Sciacharis) (3); Sciacharis (Maorinus) alacer (Broun) (type specIes of Maorinus) (4); Magellanoconnus (s. str.) laurisilvae (Franz), comb. rest. (type specIes of Magellanoconnus) (5); Magellanoconnus (Anthicimimus) anthiciformis (Franz), comb. n. (type specIes of Anthicimimus) (6); Neuraphoconnus caledonicus Franz, comb. rest. (type specIes of Neuraphoconnus) (7); Microscydmus (Valdivioconnus) stenichniformis (Franz), comb. n. (type specIes of Valdivioconnus) (8); and Kangarooconnus carinifrons (Franz), comb. n. (type specIes of Kangarooconnus) (9).

FIGURES 18 – 21. MorphologIcal structures of Magellanoconnus (s. str.) laurisilvae (Franz), comb. rest. (type specIes of Magellanoconnus). Head, prothorax and elytral base In dorsal vIew (18); head In ventral vIew (19); prothorax In ventral vIew (20); pterothorax In ventral vIew (21). AbbrevIatIons: abp, antebasal pIt; amvp, anterIor metaventral process; bef, basal elytral fovea; bst, basIsternal part of prosternum; gp, gular plate; hr, hypostomal rIdge; hyr, hypomeral rIdge; mc, medIan carIna; mn, mentum; msvp, mesoventral Intercoxal process; mtvp, metaventral Intermetacoxal process; nss, notosternal suture; pcr, procoxal rest; ptp, posterIor tentorIal pIt; slc, sublateral carIna; smn, submentum.

FIGURES 10 – 13. MorphologIcal structures of Euconnus (Austroconophron) tindoui Franz, comb. rest. (type specIes of Austroconophron). Head, prothorax and elytral base In dorsal vIew (10); head In ventral vIew (11); pro- and mesothorax In ventral vIew (12); pterothorax In ventral vIew (13). AbbrevIatIons: bst, basIsternal part of prosternum; gp, gular plate; hr, hypostomal rIdge; hyr, hypomeral rIdge; mn, mentum; msvp, mesoventral Intercoxal process; mtvp, metaventral Intermetacoxal process; nss, notosternal suture; pcr, procoxal rest; ptp, posterIor tentorIal pIt; smn, submentum.