Anhoraeomorphus roussettensis (Franz) Jałoszyński, 2024

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2024, The ‘ curse of Horaeomorphus’ (almost) lifted. Revision of misplaced species from Madagascar, Comoros and Mascarenes (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 5505 (1), pp. 1-96 : 45

Anhoraeomorphus roussettensis (Franz) , comb. n.

( Figs 163–170 )

Horaeomorphus roussettensis Franz, 1986b: 150 .

Type material studied. Holotype ( Madagascar): ♂, four labels: “N-Madagaskar / Montagne d’Ambre ” [white, printed], “ Les Roussettes / XI.-XII. 1954 / lg. A. Robinson ” [white, handwritten], “ Horaeomorphus / roussettensis m. / det. H.Franz ” [yellowish, handwritten and printed], “ ♂ ”, white, printed ( NHMW) . Paratypes: 2 ♀♀, same data as for holotype, but one with red handwritten “ Allotypus ”, and one with yellow “ PARATYPUS ” label ( NHMW) .

Revised diagnosis. Body ( Fig. 163 ) slender; head ( Figs 164–165 ) round, with vertex posteriorly broadly rounded; pronotum ( Fig. 163 ) bell-shaped, broadest in anterior third, with one pair of large transverse antebasal pits; antennomeres 3–7 ( Fig. 166 ) each about as long as broad, 8–10 each indistinctly transverse; all femora similarly slender; metatibiae in male modified, strongly broadening to distal third, then narrowing to apex, with tuft of setae on outer surface at widest point; aedeagus ( Figs 167–170 ) in ventral view with sub-parallel lateral margins, apical region of dorsal wall in lateral view weakly curved dorsally, distolateral endophallic sclerites widely separated, each strongly elongate and with subtriangular apex, parameres in the only studied male missing.

Redescription. Body of male ( Fig. 163 ) dark brown, tarsi and palps distinctly lighter, setae light brown; BL 2.35 mm.

Head ( Fig. 164 ) in anterodorsal view round, broadest at eyes, HL 0.40 mm, HW 0.43 mm; temple in lateral view ( Fig. 165 ) subequal to eye; vertex and frons confluent, together weakly convex and weakly transverse; vertex posteriorly broadly rounded; each eye large and weakly convex, deeply emarginate posteriorly, weakly projecting from head silhouette. Punctures on vertex fine, inconspicuous; setae short, dense and suberect; frons and vertex densely covered with thick bristles directed posteriorly. Antenna ( Fig. 166 ) slender but short, slightly shorter than half BL, AnL 1.05 mm, antennomeres 1–2 each elongate, 3–7 each about as long as broad, 8–10 each indistinctly transverse, 11 much shorter than 9 and 10 combined, as wide as 10, about 1.7 times as long as broad.

Pronotum bell-shaped, broadest in anterior third; PL 0.63 mm, PW 0.53 mm. Anterior margin strongly rounded, lateral margins rounded in anterior half, sinuate in posterior half; posterior corners blunt; posterior margin nearly straight. Base with one pair of large transversely oval pits, and with short but distinct sublateral carinae. Disc with fine, inconspicuous punctures; setae dense, short and suberect, lateral surface of pronotum with dense thick bristles.

Elytra together oval, broadest distinctly in front of middle; EL 1.33 mm, EW 0.88 mm, EI 1.51; humeral calli weakly elevated, basal elytral foveae vestigial, barely discernible. Punctures small and shallow, but more distinct than those on pronotum, those in anterior half separated by spaces subequal to diameters of punctures; setae sparse, short and suberect.

Legs moderately long, slender, unmodified except large and concave patch of adhesive setae on apical mesal region of protibia and slightly recurved and strongly broadening metatibiae, which are broadest near distal third, where outer margin bears tuft of long setae, and from this point tibia narrowing distally and its outer margin concave.

Aedeagus ( Figs 167–170 ) slender, AeL 0.43 mm; in ventral view drop-shaped, with lateral margins largely subparallel, distally rapidly narrowing towards broadly subtriangular apex with rounded tip; in lateral view apical region of dorsal wall weakly curved dorsally; endophallus with asymmetrical and conspicuously long distolateral sclerites and with strongly asymmetrical assemblage of median proximal sclerotized structures, distolateral sclerites broadly separated, each with subtriangular apex; parameres in studied specimen missing.

Female. Externally similar to male, but with unmodified metatibiae. BL 2.33 mm; HL 0.40–0.43 mm, HW 0.43– 0.45 mm, AnL 0.93–1.00 mm; PL 0.60–0.63 mm, PW 0.55 mm; EL 1.30 mm, EW 0.85–0.88 mm, EI 1.49–1.53.

Distribution. Northernmost Madagascar (Diana Region).

Remarks. Anhoraeomorphus roussettensis is highly similar to A. anosyensis , see Remarks for the latter species.

According to Franz (1986b), in addition to the holotype and two paratypes deposited at NHMW, two male and one female paratype are in Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris .

Figures

FIGURES 163–170. Anhoraeomorphus roussettensis (Franz), holotype. Habitus in dorsal view (163); head in anterodorsal view (164); head and prothorax in lateral view (only bristles on head are shown) (165); antenna (166); aedeagus in ventral (167, 169) and lateral (168, 170) views.