Mentophilonthus spermophaga, Hromádka, 2012

Hromádka, L., 2012, A new species of Mentophilonthus from the Central African Republic (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Philonthina), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (2), pp. 1155-1158 : 1156-1157

Mentophilonthus spermophaga nov.sp. ( Figs 1-5 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: Central African Republic, Bozo, lumiere [= at light], 21.v.1981, leg. N. Degallier // holotype Mentophilonthus spermophaga nov.sp. Hromádka det. 2012’ [red oblong printed label] (cHPC), Paratypes: 2: same label data as holotype (cHPC).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 8.5 mm, length of fore body (to the end of elytra) 3.6 mm.

C o l o u r a t i o n: Head black, pronotum black-brown, scutellum and elytra brown, posterior margin of elytra widely brown-yellow, posterior fourth of elytra slightly palered. Abdominal tergites 1-4 black, tergites 5-7 brown-yellow. Maxillary and labial palpi black, ventral side of antennomere 1 and base of antennomere 2 yellow, dorsal side of antennomere 1 and remaining antennomeres black-brown, femora yellow-brown, tibiae and tarsi dark brown.

Head suborbicular, slightly wider than long (ratio 24: 22), distinctly narrowed anteriad, posterior angles indisctinct, each bearing one long black bristle. Eyes flat and much longer than temples (ratio 16: 9), inner side of each eye with one coarse puncture in the middle, posterior margin with two punctures arranged in vertical row. Temporal area impunctate. Surface with very fine microsculpture consisting of transverse waves. Antennae slender and long, reaching posterior fifth of pronotum when reclined. Antennomeres 1-3 distinctly longer than wide, antennomeres 4-8 and 11 slightly longer than wide, antennomeres 9-10 as long as wide.

Pronotum highly convex, distinctly narrowed anteriad. Anterior angles conspicuously deflexed, vaguely obtusely rounded, bearing several bristles of variable length, posterior angles markedly rounded. Each dorsal row with two coarse punctures, each sublateral row with one puncture situated behind level between puncture 1-2 in dorsal row. Lateral margins each bearing one long black bristle in anterior third. Surface with microsculpture similar to that on head.

Scutellum densely and finely punctured, diameter of punctures slightly larger than eyefacets, distance between punctures smaller than puncture diameter. Surface with very fine microsculpture; setation dark.

Elytra wider than long (ratio 46: 40), slightly widened posteriad. Punctation similar to that on scutellum, longitudinal row of three larger punctures situated at midwidth of each elytron. Surface between punctures without microsculpture; setation brown-yellow.

Legs. Metatarsus as long as metatibia, metatarsomere 1 longer than metatarsomere 5, longer than metatarsomeres 2-3 combined.

Abdomen wide, gradually narrowed posteriad, first three visible tergites with two basal lines, elevated area between lines impunctate. Punctation at base of all tergites much finer and much sparser than that on elytra, becoming sparser towards posterior margin of each tergite. Surface without microsculpture; setation similar to that on elytra.

Male. Protarsomeres 1-3 only weakly dilated, scarcely sub-bilobed, ventral side covered with modified pale setae, protarsomere 4 narrower than preceding ones. Sternite VIII ( Fig. 5 ), aedeagus ( Figs 1-4 ).

Female. Unknown. C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s Mentophilonthus spermophaga nov.sp. may be distinguished from the most similar species M. reinecki SCHUBERT 1902 by the darker antennae, tibiae and tarsi, wider elytra and by the different shape of the aedeagus..

E t y m o l o g y: The name of this species, a noun in apposition, is the Latin generic name of the African Western bluebill Spermophaga haematina (VIEILLOT 1805).

D i s t r i b u t i o n: Central African Republic, known only from the type locality.

Figures

Figs 1-5: Mentophilonthus spermophaga nov.sp. (1) aedeagus, ventral view, (2) aedeagus – lateral view, (3) aedeagus without paramere, ventral view, (4) apex of paramere with sensory peg setae, (5) apical portion of male sternite VIII, ventral view.