Contreuconnus ambatolampyensis (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 : 88-92

Contreuconnus ambatolampyensis (Franz) , comb. n.

( Figs 324–342 )

Euconnus (Anthicimorphus) ambatolampyensis Franz, 1986b: 237 .

Horaeomorphus ambatolampyensis (Franz) ; Jałoszyński (2014b): 12 (result of placing Anthicimorphus as junior synonym of Horaeomorphus ).

Euconnus (Anthicimorphus) angustus Franz, 1986b: 236 . Preoccupied, not Euconnus angustus Franz, 1980: 140 .

Euconnus (Anthicimorphus) andranomandery O’Keefe, 2000: 65 . New name for Euconnus angustus Franz, 1986b: 236 . Syn. n.

Horaeomorphus andranomandery (O’Keefe) ; Jałoszyński (2014b): 12 (result of placing Anthicimorphus as junior synonym of Horaeomorphus ).

Type material studied. Holotype of Euconnus ambatolampyensis (Madagascar): ♂, five labels: “Andranotobaka / alt. 1400m / Ambatolampy / IV 57 P. Griv” [white, printed], „ Euconnus / Anthicimorphus / ambatolampyensis m. / det.H.Franz” [yellowish, handwritten and printed], “Typus” [red, handwritten], “INSTITUT / SCIENTIFIQUE / MADAGASCAR ” [bluish, printed], “ CONTREUCONNUS / ambatolampyensis / (Franz, 1986) / det. P. Jałoszyński, 2024 [white, printed] ( NHMW). Holotype of Euconnus angustus (Madagascar): ♂, four labels:

“Andranomandevy / Didy 1039 m / Ambatondrazaka / IX 56 R.E.” [white, printed], „ Euconnus / Anthicimorphus / angustus m. / det.H.Franz” [yellowish, handwritten and printed], “ Typus ” [red, handwritten], “ CONTREUCONNUS / ambatolampyensis / (Franz, 1986) / det. P. Jałoszyński, 2024 [white, printed] ( NHMW).

Additional material studied. 1 ♂, 1 ♀, “Ambatolaona / VI . 57 A. R. ” [white, handwritten”, “INSTITUT / SCIENTIFIQUE / MADAGASCAR ” [bluish, printed], „ Euconnus / Anthicimorphus / ambatolampyensis m. / PARATYPUS {but see Remarks !}” [yellowish, handwritten and printed] ( NHMW); 1 ♀, “Andranomandevy / Didy 1039 m / Ambatondrazaka / IX 56 R.E.” [white, printed], “INSTITUT / SCIENTIFIQUE / MADAGASCAR ” [bluish, printed], „ Euconnus / Anthicimorphus / angustus m. / PARATYPUS {but see Remarks!}” [yellowish, handwritten and printed] ( NHMW) .

Diagnosis. As for genus, vide supra. Aedeagus in ventral view with broadly rounded dorsal apical wall, ventral apical wall bent dorsally in a step-wise manner and in ventral view not visible, forming ventral ‘shelf’ under apex.

Description. Body of males ( Figs 324 , 335 ) light brown, elytra slightly lighter than head and pronotum, appendages indistinctly lighter than elytra, setae yellowish; BL 1.93–2.20 mm.

Head ( Figs 325–326 , 332–333 ) as broad as prothorax, broadest at eyes, HL 0.35–0.40 mm, HW 0.38–0.43 mm; temple in lateral view ( Fig. 326 ) subequal to length of eye; vertex and frons confluent, together weakly convex and weakly transverse; each eye large and weakly convex, with deep posteromedian emargination, weakly projecting from head silhouette. Frons and vertex impunctate and asetose; genae with sparse bristles directed posteriorly. Antenna ( Fig. 327 ) slender and long in relation to body length, AnL 1.13–1.28 mm, all antennomeres elongate, 5 and 7 longest, each 3 times as long as broad, 11 only much longer than 10 and subequal in width, but much shorter than 9 and 10 combined, nearly twice as long as broad.

Pronotum ( Fig. 332 ) bell-shaped, broadest distinctly in front of middle; PL 0.48–0.55 mm, PW 0.38–0.43 mm. Anterior margin arcuate, lateral margins strongly rounded in anterior half, weakly sinuate posteriorly; posterior margin weakly convex. Base with two pairs of small and round pits, inner pair connected by shallow and diffuse impression. Disc impunctate and asetose; bristles present on anterior regions of hypomera ( Figs 332–333 ).

Elytra ( Fig. 324 ) together rhomboidal, broadest distinctly behind middle and strongly narrowing towards base, less strongly so towards apices; EL 1.10–1.25 mm, EW 0.68–0.75 mm, EI 1.62–1.67. Elytra impunctate and asetose, with angulate and weakly elevated humeral calli.

Legs long and slender, unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 328–331 , 339–342 ) stout, AeL 0.38 mm; in ventral view broadest distally to basal third, ventral apical wall step-wise bent dorsally at obtuse angle, dorsal apical wall broadly rounded, endophallic structures complex and asymmetrical, each paramere slender, with 2–4 long apical setae.

Female. Externally indistinguishable from male. BL 2.00– 2.03 mm; HL 0.38–0.40 mm, HW 0.38–0.40 mm, AnL 1.15–1.20 mm; PL 0.50 mm, PW 0.39–0.41 mm; EL 1.10–1.15 mm, EW 0.68–0.73 mm, EI 1.59–1.64.

Distribution. Central Madagascar (Alaotra-Mangoro and Vakinankaratra Regions).

Remarks. In addition to the holotype male of Euconnus ambatolampyensis , there are two specimens at NHMW labeled as paratypes of this species (male and female), which are conspecific with the holotype. They come not from Andranotobaka near Ambotolampy, but from Ambatolaona, also in Central Madagascar (Analamanga Region). Because only one specimen, the holotype, is explicitly mentioned in Franz (1986b), these two specimens do not belong in the type series. Moreover, the holotype of Euconnus angustus Franz, 1986b (= E. andranomandery O’Keefe ) at NHMW is also accompanied by an additional female specimen labelled as paratype, with identical locality label as the holotype. Again, Franz (1986b) mentions only the holotype, and therefore this female does not belong to the type series of E. angustus .

O’Keefe (2000) adopted for his replacement name for the preoccupied Euconnus angustus Franz, 1986b a misspelled locality name “Andranomandery ” taken from Franz (1986b); the correct spelling is Andranomandevy.

Figures

FIGURES 324–331. Contreuconnus ambatolampyensis (Franz), holotype. Habitus in dorsal view (324); head in anterodorsal view (325); head and prothorax in lateral view (326); antenna (327); aedeagus in ventral (328, 330) and lateral (329, 331) views.

FIGURES 332–334. Contreuconnus ambatolampyensis (Franz), holotype. Head, prothorax and elytral base in dorsal view (332); head and prothorax in ventral view (333); pterothorax in ventral view (334). Abbreviations: abp, antebasal pit; gp, gular plate; hr, hypomeral ridge; hyr, hypomeral ridge; msvp, mesoventral intermesocoxal process; mtvp, metaventral process; nss, notosternal suture; pcr, procoxal rest; ptp, posterior tentorial pit; smn, submentum.

FIGURES 335–342. Contreuconnus ambatolampyensis (Franz), holotype of Euconnus (Anthicimorphus) angustus Franz. Habitus in dorsal view (335); head in anterodorsal view (336); head and prothorax in lateral view (337); antenna (338); aedeagus in ventral (339, 341) and lateral (340, 342) views.