Oedichirus nigropolitus, Rougemont, 2018

Rougemont, Guillaume de, 2018, The genus Oedichirus in New Caledonia (Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Pinophilini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1), pp. 537-586 : 557-558

Oedichirus nigropolitus nov.sp. (Figs 32)

M a t e r i a l s t u d i e d: ♂ Holotype: NEW CALEDONIA, Col de Mouirange , 30 km E Noumea, 300m, 11.VIII.78, S&J Peck, berl. Forest litter ♀ HOLOTYPE Oedichirus nigropolitus des. 2017 G. de Rougemont [ FMC] ; 1♀ paratytpe: [Ibid.] ♀ PARATYPE Oedichirus nigropolitus des. 2017 G. de Rougemont [ CRO] .

D e s c r i p t i o n: length: ca. 6 mm; length of fore-body: 2.6; length of head: 0.75; breadth of head: 0.87; length of antenna: 1.5; length of pronotum: 1.1; breadth of pronotum: 0.97; length of elytron: 0.8; breadth of elytra: 1.12. Body black except elytra piceous-black; palpi, antennae and legs entirely testaceous. Fore-body glossy, devoid of microsculpture; abdominal tergites shiny but with exceedingly fine microsculpture, stronger on segments VII-VIII. Body devoid of pubescence. Habitus: Fig. 32h.

Head strongly convex; eyes large, as long as temples; groove of post-ocular border obsolescent, adjacent to carina on lateral margin, not forming an angle; temples evenly rounded from eye to neck; puncturation of disc sparse, consisting of only a dozen small but deep punctures. Pronotum rather short, broader than head, broadest in anterior 1♀ 3 rd; latral margin entirely bordered by a sharp carina; punctures of disc coarse and deep, slightly irregular, the interstices in a few places broader than diameter of punctures, narrower elsewhere; punctures coarser on antero-median part of disc, smaller nearer lateral and posterior margins. Elytra short, much broader than long; puncturation much coarser on centre of disc than that of pronotum, irregular, finer on sides. Row of keels and grooves on anterior margins of abdominal tergites non-existent on segment III, short and inconspicuous on segments IV-VI, long and conspicuous on segment VII; punc- turation of tergites sparse and irregular, leaving large impunctate areas; on segments III- V consisting of an irregular row of punctures near anterior margin and a row of fewer, more widely spaced punctures on posterior margin, and a few scattered punctures in between, on tergiite VI the anterior row is obsolete, the punctures on posterior margin smaller; tergite impunctate apart from 2-3 punctures on each side near lateral margins.

Male: abdominal sternite VIII: Fig. 32s8, the posterior margin asymmetrically bisinuate and an unequal apico-lateral tooth on each side, the base of left tooth prolonged by a carina on surface of sternite; aedoeagus: Figs. 32arl, av.

Oedichirus nigropolitus nov.sp. is the only species known so far from New Caledonia with both sparse irregular puncturation of the abdominal tergites and an entirely black body.