Psammoecus luchti, Karner, 2012

Karner, Michael, 2012, A revision of African Psammoecus (Coleoptera, Silvanidae) and descriptions of two new species from the collection of the Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale, European Journal of Taxonomy 17, pp. 1-31 : 14-16

Psammoecus luchti sp. nov.

( Fig. 6 )

Etymology

The name is dedicated to Wilhelm Lucht (1922-2000), who provided the author with much helpful advice in the course of his first steps into entomology.

Material examined

Holotype

♂: ‘I.R.S.A.C. – Mus. Congo | N. Rhodesia: Mpika | (Muchinga Mts.) 1700 m. | VII.1960 N. Leleup’, ‘ Dans | l’humus’ [blue label], ‘ HOLOTYPUS | Psammoecus | luchti | des. Karner’ [red label] ( MRAC).

Paratypes

1♂ ‘COLL. MUS. TERVUREN | Kivu: Butembo | alt. 1740 m. III.1965 | M.J. Celis et collab.’, ‘sous | Dendrocalamus’, ‘ PARATYPUS | Psammoecus | luchti | des. Karner’ [red label] ( MKF). 1♂ ‘COLL. MUS. CONGO | Katanga: gal. forest. | de la Kisanga IX- | N. Leleup 1948 | (Env. d’ Elisabethville)’, ‘Récolté dans | humus’ [blue label], ‘ PARATYPUS | Psammoecus | luchti | des. Karner’ [red label] ( MKF). 1 spm ‘I.R.S.A.C. – Mus. Congo | N. Rhodesia: Abercorn, | 1800m. | VII.1960 N. Leleup’, ‘Galerie forestière | de la Mwengo, | dans l’humus’, ‘ PARATYPUS | Psammoecus | luchti | des. Karner’ [red label] ( MRAC). 1 spm ‘I.R.S.A.C. – Mus. Congo | N. Rhodesia: Danger Hill | à 45 km. N. de Mpika | VII.1960 N. Leleup’, ‘Humus | de galerie | forestière’ [blue label], ‘ PARATYPUS | Psammoecus | luchti | des. Karner’ [red label] ( MRAC). 3 spms ‘I.R.S.A.C. – Mus. Congo | N. Rhodesia: Mpika | (Muchinga Mts.) 1700 m. | VII.1960 N. Leleup’, ‘Dans | l’humus’ [blue label], ‘ PARATYPUS | Psammoecus | luchti | des. Karner’ [red label] ( MRAC).

Diagnosis

Lateral margins of pronotum rounded, bearing five distinct teeth with wide bases. Elytra elongate-oval, bright reddish-brown with dark, transverse band at beginning of posterior portion, sometimes with darkened suture near elytral apex; striae on elytral disc slightly wider than interstices. Parameres small, elongate, spatula-shaped.

Differential diagnosis

Ps. luchti sp. nov. differs from Ps. simoni Grouvelle, 1892 by the elytral striae being only slightly wider than the interstices, elytra being more elongate, elytral basis not darkened. It differs from Ps. hacquardi and Ps. marginicollis by wider bases of lateral teeth of pronotum; from Ps. hacquardi also by wider elytral striae and elytral basis not darkened; from Ps. marginicollis , Ps. parallelus , Ps. leleupi sp. nov., Ps. simoni , and Ps. laetulus by spatula-shaped parameres. It further differs from Ps. leleupi sp. nov. and Ps. laetulus by elytral basis not darkened; from Ps. personatus by shorter lateral teeth of pronotum with wider bases; and from Ps. laetulus by more rounded lateral margin of pronotum.

Description

BODY. Elongate oval, total length 2.80-3.19 mm ( Fig. 6A ). Bright reddish-brown, elytra with dark, transverse band at beginning of posterior portion, some specimens also with darkened suture near elytral apex. Antennae with 7 th- 10 th antennomere blackish brown, some specimens with darkened apex of 6 th antennomere. 11 th antennomere, sometimes also 10 th antennomere, bright yellowish brown, brighter than basal antennomeres.

HEAD. Very wide, with large, protuberant eyes, temples narrowed immediately behind eyes. Head width 0.79-0.88 mm, length 0.44-0.48 mm, 1.75-1.96 times as wide as long. Eyes 0.20-0.23 mm long, distance of inner margins 0.50-0.60 mm. Puncturation on vertex coarse, relatively dense, distance between punctures irregular; pubescence composed of long erect setae, directed anteriorly; microsculpture absent. Longitudinal impressions on vertex distinct, short, attaining second third of eyes. Antennae as in Fig. 6B , long and slender, 1.45-1.55 mm long, antennomere proportions of holotype as follows: 2.6: 1.1: 1.4: 1.3: 1.5: 1.4: 1.3: 1.1: 1.0: 1.1: 2.1.

PRONOTUM. Broad, shallowly impressed near apical margin and apical angles, width 0.80-0.96 mm, length 0.60-0.73 mm, 1.28-1.40 times as wide as long. Anterior angles with group of very small teeth, lateral margins with five distinct, triangular teeth; tooth I small, tooth II larger, tooth III largest, tooth IV slightly smaller than tooth III, tooth V smallest; posterior angle with very small angular tooth. Puncturation and pubescence on disc as on vertex; microsculpture absent.

ELYTRA. Elongate oval, length 1.85-2.05 mm, combined width 1.15-1.40 mm, 1.44-1.65 times as long as their combined width. Rows of punctures on disc slightly wider than interstices, pubescence composed of semierect setae that are somewhat shorter as on head and pronotum; microsculpture absent.

PARAMERES. Small, elongate; base less than 2 times as wide as apical extension, inner margins with few short setae, inner portion of apex with four longer setae, outer portion with one shorter and one longer seta ( Fig 6C ).

Figures

Fig. 6. Psammoecus luchti sp. nov., holotype. A. Habitus. B. Left antenna. C. Parameres. Scale line A, B: 1 mm; C: 0.2 mm.