Oedichirus taitamontis, 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 : 451-452

Oedichirus taitamontis nov.sp. (Figs 6)

♂ Holotype: KENYA, 3.XII.74, Taita Hills 1250 m, env. Wundanyi , Mahnert Perret ♀ HOLOTYPE Oedichirus taitamontis des. 2015 G. de Rougemont [ MHNG] .

D e s c r i p t i o n: length: 6.3 mm; length of fore-body: 2.2; length of head: 0.82; breadth of head: 1.05; length of pronotum: 1.15; breadth of pronotum: 1; length of elytron: 0.88; breadth of elytra: 0.95. Body entirely dark brown, mouthparts, antennae and legs uniformly testaceous. Dorsal surfaces devoid of microsculpture except on rows of keels and grooves of anterior margins of abdominal tergites. Pubescence mixed, short and moderately long, pale. Habitus: Fig. 6h.

Head moderately transverse; post-ocular carina prominent, forming a salient dentiform angle removed from posterior margin of eye; puncturation of disc consisting of a dozen small punctures on frons and near post-antennal tubercles, the vertex with an arc of six punctures surrounding a cluster of three punctures arranged in a triangle, the two punctures forming the base of triangle larger than the others, two ocular punctures on each side, an inverted arc of eight punctures stretching from eye to eye, another such inverted arc just before base, and the usual small punctures in post-ocular grooves. Pronotum relatively short; lateral margins entirely bordered by a salient carina which is entirely visible in dorsal view and extends around the anterior angle onto anterior margin; puncturation of disc dense, not forming discernible series, leaving only a few bilaterally symmetrical impunctate areas, one at middle before base, one at the sides, and another near anterior angles. Micropterous, elytra longer than their combined breadth before posterior angles, the humeral angles completely obsolete; puncturation dense and fairly regular on entire surface. Puncturation of abdominal tergites disposed randomly, the punctures coarser than those of elytra.

Male: sternite VII unmodified; sternite VIII: Fig. 6s8; aedoeagus: Fig. 6al.

Owing to its microptery and entire pronotal border O. taitamontis nov.sp. belongs in section I in FAGEL’ s 1970 key; because the antennae are missing it cannot be traced after dichotomy 4, but the aedoeagus distinguishes it from all other described species. A notable feature of this new species is the carinate border of the anterior and lateral margins of the pronotum being entirely visible in dorsal view.