Craspedophorus reflexus

Häckel, Martin, 2016, A contribution to the knowledge of the subfamily Panagaeinae Hope, 1838 from Africa. Part 1. Revision of the Craspedophorus reflexus group (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Zootaxa 4061 (5), pp. 504-526 : 506

Craspedophorus reflexus species group (hereby redefined)

(=see Chaudoir 1879: 97; Basilewsky 1987: 196-7)

Chaudoir (1879: 97) placed species of here established group with paraglossae surpassing glossa and increasing slenderness and length of ligula, protarsi identical in both sexes and the terminal palpomere very dilated, kidneyshaped. He did not use a grouping system and never designated any group in the sense as presently understood. Despite that, the here established C. reflexus group (and other species groups which will be established in following articles) well agree with Chaudoir's concept of the genus Craspedophorus “ sensu stricto “. The other species recently placed in this genus, but in other groups, were placed by Chaudoir in the genera Epicosmus Chaudoir, 1846 and Eudema Laporte de Castelnau, 1840, both later synonymized with Craspedophorus by Andrewes (1919: 126) and followed by Basilewsky (1953: 169). Within the Craspedophorus reflexus group there are species differing from those of the above listed groups by ventrites not crenulated anteriorly, antennae more slender, head longer, constricted behind eyes, and pronotum not too transverse. Chaudoir classified species here placed in the C. reflexus group at the beginning of its system. Andrewes (1919), designated C. reflexus ( Fabricius, 1781) the type species of the genus. Therefore, I consider the C. reflexus group to be “nominotypical” sensu Chaudoir (1879: 97) and including firstly two species, C. reflexus ( Fabricius, 1781) and C. impictus ( Boheman, 1848) . I also accept Bates', Alluaud's and Basilewsky's conclusions increasing it with the species C. bonnyi Bates, 1890 , C. bozasi Alluaud, 1930 , C. buettneri Kolbe, 1889 , C. carbonarius ( Harold, 1879) , C. ethmoides Alluaud, 1930 , C. latemaculatus Alluaud, 1930 , C. lebaudyi Alluaud, 1932 and C. stanleyi Alluaud, 1930 . Craspedophorus savagei ( Hope, 1842) is hereby synonymized with C. reflexus ( Fabricius, 1781) . Craspedophorus arnosti sp. n. and C. ruvumanus sp. n. by its features are placed as well in the C. reflexus group also. Presently the group encompasses 12 species, one of them with two subspecies.

Characters. Larger species (18–29 mm). Head longer, markedly constricted behind eyes. Antennae slender. Palps with terminal article very dilated, kidney-shaped. Metepisterna of characteristic shape, longer than wide ( Figs 25 e, f, 26e, f, 27c). Ventrites anteriorly not crenulated along posterior margin of preceding segment ( Figs 25c , 26c ). Elytral coloration varies from two relatively large orange fasciae extending from medial intervals to margin as in C. latemaculatus Alluaud, 1930 , C. reflexus ( Fabricius, 1781) , C. bonnyi ( Bates, 1890) , C. bozasi Alluaud, 1930 , C. buettneri Kolbe, 1889 and C. lebaudyi Alluaud, 1932 , to strongly reduced elytral coloration with either a single humeral macula ( C. arnosti sp. nov.) or 2–3 residual macular spots as in C. carbonarius ( Harold, 1879) and C. stanleyi Alluaud, 1930 , or even entirely black as in C. ethmoides Alluaud, 1930 , C. impictus ( Boheman, 1848) and C. ruvumanus sp. nov.

Distribution remarks. These species occur in a large region covering West African savanna from Senegal to Cameroon, continuing southward to the mouth of the Congo River, and Central Africa from Gabon to north of DR Congo, reaching the Great Lakes and eastward Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, continental Tanzania and Zanzibar. Distributions of some species (e.g. C. impictus ) extend to South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and RSA (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Natal) (Fig, 37).

Figures

FIGURE 25. C. arnosti sp. n. a. HT (male), dorsal habitus; b. microsculpture of elytral humerus, dorsal view; c. ventrites, ventral view; d. pronotum, dorsal view; e. left metepisternum, oblique ventral view; f. left metepisternum outlined in yellow.

FIGURE 26. C. ruvumanus sp. n. a. HT (male), dorsal habitus; b. microsculpture of elytral humerus, dorsal view; c. ventrites, ventral view; d. NMWC labels; e. left metepisternum, oblique ventral view; f. left metepisternum outlined in yellow.