Neobarombiella fassbenderi, Bolz & Wagner, 2012

Bolz, Helmut & Wagner, Thomas, 2012, 3463, Zootaxa 3463, pp. 1-112 : 83-85

Neobarombiella fassbenderi sp. n.

( Figs 68, 145–148)

Etymology. Named after Carl Fassbender, one of Helmut Bolz’s teachers, who was very inspiring as a musician, and a very helpful and trustworthy confidant.

Total length. 2.65–3.40 mm (mean: 3.01 mm) (n=14).

Head. Head and maxillary palp brown or reddish-brown. Antenna short, brownish- or reddish-yellow, last antennomeres brown or black ( Fig. 145); length of second to third antennomere 0.69–0.77 (mean: 0.73), and length of third to fourth antennomere 0.76–0.86 (mean: 0.80) ( Fig. 147). Eyes large with short interocular distance ( Fig. 145), width of eye to interocular distance 0.64–0.75 (mean: 0.70).

Thorax. Pronotum brown or reddish-brown; coarsely and deeply punctuated; strongly trapezoidal; pronotal width 1.00– 1.22 mm (mean: 1.14 mm), pronotal length 0.46–0.62 mm (mean: 0.55 mm), and pronotal length to width 0.46–0.51 (mean: 0.48). Elytron brown or reddish-brown with sharply delimited very narrow outer elytral and sutural margins; coarsely and deeply punctuate, sometimes in short vague lines ( Fig. 145); elytral length 2.15–2.65 mm (mean: 2.41 mm), elytral width 1.50–2.00 mm (mean: 1.82 mm), and maximal width of both elytra to length of elytron 0.75–0.82 (mean: 0.78). Meso- and metathorax reddish-brown or brown, legs brownish-yellow or entirely brown; metatibia twice as long as basi-metatarsus on average, and length of basi-metatarsus to metatibia 0.47–0.55 (mean: 0.51).

Abdomen. Entirely reddish-brown or brown.

Male genitalia. Median lobe slender ( Fig. 146), apical section with two large outer projections, and two smaller inner projections, each of which lead to strongly sclerotized ridge in ventral view; apex down-curved and sclerotized in lateral view; endophallic brush with single pair of short spiculae.

Diagnosis. Neobarombiella fassbenderi sp. n. can effectively be distinguished from most of the other species that occur syntopically in this genus by its colouring, which is brown or reddish-brown with narrow, sharply delimited, outer elytral and sutural margins, and deep and dense punctuation. It can also easily be distinguished by the apex of the median lobe, which has four projections ( Fig. 146a & 146b). The apex of the median lobes of all other species that occur syntopically have only two projections ( Figs 8, 93). Only N. punctata has similar median lobe characteristics, but it lacks elytral and sutural margins, and has smaller, more widely separated eyes, width of eye to interocular distance 0.47–0.62 (0.64–0.75 in N. fassbenderi sp. n.) ( Figs 77, 145). All the other species in this genus with elytral and sutural margins have lighter colouring.

Distribution. Recorded from Equatorial Guinea and the Albertine Rift region, from the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to western Uganda ( Fig. 68).

Type material. Holotype, male: “Congo belge, P.N.G., Miss. H. De Saeger, Akam, 28-VII-1950, Réc. G. Demoulin. 730 / HOLOTYPE, Neobarombiella fassbenderi, Bolz & Wagner 2010 / AfriGa, specimen ID:, 1879, specimen data, documented, 19.III.2011 ” ( IRSN; Fig. 148). Type locality: Democratic Republic of the Congo, P. N. Garamba, Akam, 3°40'N / 29°0'E .— Paratypes: Democratic Republic of the Congo. 1 ex., Mayumbe , 2°30'N / 27°37'E, 1917, R . Mayné ( MRAC) ; 1 ex., Kivu , Irangi, 2°30’S / 28°00’E, II.1984, H. Mühle ( MNHU) ; 6 ex., P. N.

Garamba, Aka, 3°50'N / 28°57'E, V.1952, H. de Saeger ( IRSN); 4 ex., P. N. Garamba, Akam , 3°40'N / 29°0'E, VI.– VII.1950 , Réc. G. Demoulin ( IRSN); 3 ex., P. N. Garamba, Dedegwa , 4°35'N / 29°43'E, V.1952 , H. de Saeger ( IRSN); 17 ex., P. N. Garamba, 3°40'N / 29°0'E, VII.–X.1950 , H. de Saeger / G. Demoulin ( IRSN).— Equatorial Guinea. 9 ex., 02°00’N / 10°00’E, Dr. L. Báguena ( MNCN); 2 ex., Kogo, Mebonde, 10°00’N / 10°00’E, Dr. L. Báguena ( MNCN); 1 ex., Fernando Póo , Santa Isabel , 03°21’N / 08°40’E, Dr. L. Báguena ( MNCN).— Uganda. 1 ex., Kibale Forrest , 0°33'N / 30°38'E, XII.1984 , M. Nummelin ( MZHF); 1 ex., Kibale NP, Fort Portal , 0,40'S/ 30°15'E, VII.– VIII.1998 , L. Schmidt ( ZFMK) .