Oedichirus ianitrix, Rougemont, 2018

Rougemont, Guillaume de, 2018, The genus Oedichirus in New Caledonia (Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Pinophilini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1), pp. 537-586 : 550-551

Oedichirus ianitrix nov. sp. (Figs 36)

Material studied: ♀ Holotype: New Caledonia, Mt Do gate, 27 Nov 2000, G.B. Monteith ♀ HOLOTYPE Oedichirus ianitrix des. 2017 G. de Rougemont [ MNHN].

Description: length: ca. 8 mm; length of fore-body: 3.3; length of head: 0.95; breadth of head: 1.1; length of antenna: 2.3; length of pronotum: 1.38; breadth of pronotum: 1.2; length of elytron: 1; breadth of elytra: 1.38. Head and pronotum piceous, elytra reddish-brown, the suture narrowly infuscate, abdomen brown, centre of anterior margin of tergite III infuscate, the infuscation progressively more extensive on following segments; palpi, antennae and legs testaceous. Fore-body devoid of microsculpture, that of abdominal tergites consisting of faint transverse striation, scarcely visible on segments III-V, increasingly evident on VI-VIII. Head with sparse pale pubescence, rest of body glabrous. Habitus: Fig. 36h.

Head moderately tansverse; eyes large and prominent, about as long as temples; temples evenly rounded, coarctate with base; groove of post-ocular border narrow, deep, displaced to dorsal surface of head well away from lateral margin; puncturation of disc consisting of an irregular cluster of about 15 punctures on vertex surrounded by only a few sparse scattered smaller punctures. Pronotum moderately elongate, behind anterior angles abut as broad as head, the sides retracted in slight curves to narrow base; lateral margins inconspicuously bordered; puncturation of disc fairly homogeneous, but leaving a narrowly impunctate mid-longitudinal line and a small impunctate callosity near anterior angles, the punctures dense at centre of disc where punctures are deep, slightly elongate and interstices equal to or narrower than diameter of punctures, the puncturation sparser and more irregular on sides. Elytra short, broader than pronotum, the joint hind margin arcuately concave; punctures of disc round, deep, much sparser than on pronotum except along suture. Keels and grooves of anterior margin of tergite III short, obsolescent, followed by a transverse row of punctures, the keels of tergites IV-VI long, broad and flattened; puncturation of tergites very sparse and irregular, leaving large impunctate areas; tergites V-VI almost impunctate except for a row of round punctures along posterior margin, tergites VII-VIII appearing impunctate, with only some small very shallow traces of puncturation.

Female: sternite IX: Fig. 36vp.

This species is very close to O. nitidiventris nov.sp., particularly by virtue of the very sparsely punctate abdomen; it differs from the latter in the less extensive infuscation of the abdominal tergites, the more prominent keels and grooves of basal margins of tergites, and the conformation of the female ninth sternite.