Oedichirus altitudinis, Rougemont, 2018

Rougemont, Guillaume de, 2018, New species and records of African and Lemurian Oedichirus ERICHSON (Staphylinidae, Paederinae, Procirrina), Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1), pp. 447-460 : 447-448

Oedichirus altitudinis nov.sp. (Figs 1)

♂ Holotype: ETHIOPIA, Dinshu , Bale prov., VI.1971, G. de Rougemont ♀ HOLOTYPE Oedichirus altitudinis des. 2015 G. de Rougemont [ CRO] ; ♀ paratype: ETHIOPIA, Bale 25 km S. of Dinshu, Worgona Tullu, 3800 m, XI.1971, at roots of Alchemilla ♀ PARATYPE Oedichirus altitudinis des. 2015 G. de Rougemont [ CRO] ; 1♀ paratype: ETHIOPIA, Bale reg. , Bale Mts. N.P., Harenna Forest , Katcha area , 2400 m, 24.viii.1998, G. Cuccodoro & G. Eme, #10d, veg. deb. on branches of tall tree ♀ PARATYPE Oedichirus altitudinis des. 2015 G. de Rougemont [ MHNG] ; 1♀ paratype: ETHIOPIA, Bale reg ., Bale Mts. N.P. , 2 km S of Finchaya Habera, 3450 m, 16.viii.1998, leg. G. Cuccodoro & G. Eme, decay. leav. + stems Knifofias ♀ PARATYPE Oedichirus altitudinis des. 2015 G. de Rougemont [ MHNG] .

D e s c r i p t i o n: Length: 6.8-7.5 mm; length of fore-body: 2.5; length of head: 0.85; breadth of head: 0.95; length of antenna: 1.7; length of pronotum: 1.1; breadth of pronotum: 1; length of elytron: 0.75; breadth of elytra: 1. Head and prothorax dark reddish-brown, elytra and abdomen pitchy, mouthparts, antennae and legs testaceous. Body devoid of microsculpture. Pubescence of fore-body dark, very sparse and very short, semi-erect; pubescence of abdomen short, pale brassy, decumbent. Habitus: Fig. 1.

Head transverse, eyes large, post-ocular area evenly rounded between posterior margin of eye and neck, the post-ocular border entire but not forming a salient temporal angle; surface shiny, devoid of microsculpture, puncturation moderately coarse and sparse, composed of umbilicate and smaller simple punctures. Labrum with four small dark teeth. Third antennomere longer and more slender than second. Pronotum only slightly elongate; lateral line present in the form of a fine sharp carina extending to all but posterior 1♀ 7 th; sculpture consisting of a pair of discal series of 4 large punctures each in basal half, a cluster of 8-9 large punctures in front of these, and some other punctures of varying size laterad. Micropterous, elytra narrower than pronotum, humeral angles obsolete; punctures sparse, shallow, the broad interstices with a slightly wrinkled appearance. Punctures of abdominal tergites disposed randomly, fine, not very dense, the interstices on average as large as diameter of punctures.

Male: abdominal sternite VII unmodified; sternite VIII: Fig. 1s8, the surface with a very large, fairly deep impression bordered anteriorly by a sharp ridge, without spines or combs; aedoeagus: Fig. 1 arl, 1 av, 1.05 mm long, the ventral sclerite bearing a large curved anterior process.

Female: vulvar plate: Fig. 1vp

In section II (species with lateral line of pronotum present only anteriorly) of FAGEL’ s key to the African Oedichirus (1970) , O. altitudinis nov.sp. runs to O. elgonensis FAGEL , from which it differs above all by its quite different male sexual characters.

This flightless species is probably confined to the Bale Mountains range.