Thyreocephalus meridioafricanus, Janák, Jiří & Bordoni, Arnaldo, 2015

Janák, Jiří & Bordoni, Arnaldo, 2015, Revision of the genus Thyreocephalus and description of Afrus gen. nov. of Africa south of the Sahara (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Zootaxa 4038 (1), pp. 1-94 : 42

Thyreocephalus meridioafricanus sp. nov.

( Figs. 86 , 97–103 )

Type locality. South Africa, Durban.

Type material. Holotype ♂: SOUTH AFRICA: KwaZulu-Natal: “Durban, Glenwood, 25.10.80 ”, “National coll. of Insects”, “ Holotypus Thyreocephalus meridioafricanus sp. nov., Janák & Bordoni det. 2015”. ( SANC), Pretoria, South Africa, Collected by A.C.M. Courtois. Donated by Courtois, 2006” ( SANC). Paratype (sex indet., apex of abdomen missing): same data as holotype, but “ Paratypus Thyreocephalus meridionalis sp. nov., Janák & Bordoni det. 2015” ( JJRC).

Description. Body length 16.5 mm; length from anterior margin of head to posterior margin of elytra: 8.5 mm. Black or dark brown with reddish elytra, abdomen brown with apical part of segment 7, complete segment 8 and genital segment light reddish ( Fig. 102 ). Shiny. Head and pronotum with micro-punctation. Head and pronotum and related punctation as in Figs. 97 , 103 . Labrum as in Fig. 98 . Elytra as long as pronotum and wider than pronotum, slightly dilated posteriad, with rounded humeral angles. Surface with fine punctation, arranged in three series, one near suture, one median and one lateral. Abdomen with evident transverse micro-striation and deep, rather dense punctation, arranged in more series on each segment.

Male. Temples rather finely and densely punctate. Tergite 10 and sternite 9 of male genital segment as in Figs. 99, 100 . Aedeagus very large ( Fig. 101 ) ovoid, 3.4 mm long, with very short median lobe, symmetrical parameres and short tube-like inner sac.

Female. Unknown.

Differential diagnosis. Thyreocephalus meridioafricanus sp. nov. differs from the similar T. nairobiensis in temples without longitudinal impression and mainly in much larger and different shaped aedeagus with very short apical lobe and short parameres.

Etymology. This species is named after South Africa.

Distribution. The species is known only from KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa ( Fig. 86 ).

Figures

FIGURE 86. Distribution of species in Thyreocephalus nairobiensis group (● = T. nairobiensis (Fauvel), ■ = T. manfredi sp. nov., ▲ = T. meridioafricanus sp. nov.).

FIGURES 97 – 101. Thyreocephalus meridioafricanus sp. nov.; 97, head and pronotum; 98, labrum; 99, male tergite 10; 100, male sternite 9; 101, aedeagus.

FIGURES 102 – 107. 102, 103, Thyreocephalus meridioafricanus sp. nov.; 104, 105, T. giganteus Janák; 106, 107, T. magnus Janák; 102, 104, 106, habitus; 103, 105, 107, head. Scale 1 mm.