Silpha chelinda Sommer, Růžička & Barclay, 2025

Sommer, David, Růžička, Jan & Barclay, Maxwell V. L., 2025, Uncovering diversity of carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Silphinae) across the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot, Zootaxa 5706 (4), pp. 451-493 : 464-471

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5706.4.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0600BD17-4293-441F-8370-7B78C34A8DB0
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D20631-FFE9-FFDA-D2DC-F94A579358E6
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Silpha chelinda Sommer, Růžička & Barclay
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Silpha chelinda Sommer, Růžička & Barclay , sp. nov.

( Figs. 5A–F View FIGURE 5 , 9G View FIGURE 9 , 11A View FIGURE 11 , 13C View FIGURE 13 , 15C View FIGURE 15 , 17G View FIGURE 17 , 18C View FIGURE 18 , 20G View FIGURE 20 , 21D View FIGURE 21 , 22–23)

Type locality. Malawi: Northern Region , Nyika Plateau, Chelinda [ca. 10°34’51”S 33°48’15”E], 2300 m GoogleMaps .

Type material ( 17 specimens). Malawi, Northern Region : Holotype, ♂ ( MRAC) ( Figs. 5A–C, F View FIGURE 5 ), “Chelinda | 2300m | 1/ 21. XII. 1981 [p] || Coll. Mus. Tervuren | Malawi North. Reg. | Nyika Plateau | XII. 1981 – R. Jocqué [lgt.] [p] || Silpha | capicola Pér. [hw] | J. Decelle det. 19 [p] 89 [hw]” . Paratype, 3 ♂♂ 9 ♀♀ ( MRAC, BMNH, JRUC) ( Figs. 5D–E View FIGURE 5 , 9G View FIGURE 9 , 11A View FIGURE 11 , 13C View FIGURE 13 , 15C View FIGURE 15 , 17G View FIGURE 17 , 18C View FIGURE 18 , 20G View FIGURE 20 , 21D View FIGURE 21 ), same data as holotype; 2 ♂♂ 1 ♀ ( TAU, JRUC) ,

“ 70842. [or 70843., or 70845.] MALAWI: | NyikaNationalPark | Nganda-Chelinda | dirt road, 2349m | 29. xii. 2009 | L. FRIEDMAN [lgt.] [p]”; 1 ♀ ( SANC), “ MALAWI SE1033DB | Nyika National Park | 2. iii. 1987 2607m | J & A Londt Nganda | summit – grassveld [p] || NATIONAL COLL. | OF INSECTS | Pretoria. S. Afr [p] | ex NMSA [hw] || Silpha | sp. [hw] | A.F.Newton det.2004 [p]” .

Description. Male ( ♂). Body ( Figs. 5A–C View FIGURE 5 ) oval, dorso-ventrally flattened. Elytra arched, surface yellow to brown. Pronotum black, lateral area brown; appendages black.

Head ( Figs. 5A–C View FIGURE 5 )). Black, lustrous, surface with fine, very small, distinct, regular punctation. Covered with recumbent orange setation; dorsal surface without setation; lateral area posterior to clypeal suture covered with long, erect orange setation. Clypeus anteriorly widely notched. Anterior margin of clypeus with slightly irregular row of dense, long, orange setation. Eye kidney-shaped in lateral view. Frons with marked dorsal tentorial pits and a transverse, elevated crest posteriorly.

Antennae ( Figs. 5A–C View FIGURE 5 , 20G View FIGURE 20 ). Medium-sized, with last four antennomeres forming a distinct club.

Pronotum ( Figs. 5A, C View FIGURE 5 ) moderately transverse, widest posteriorly. Margins rimmed anteriorly and laterally; anterior margin only slightly elevated; anterior margin almost straight, without medial emargination; anterior angles weakly elevated. Posterior margin weakly sinuous laterally. Surface dull, with fine punctation, punctures small, clearly separated, from disc to margin larger and more deeply impressed. Punctures without setae.

Scutellum ( Fig. 5A View FIGURE 5 ). Irregularly triangular, widely vaulted medially. Surface with fine, distinct, sparse, homogenous punctation, from disc to margin smaller and slightly impressed; without setation. Posterior margin strongly acute.

Elytra ( Figs. 5A–C View FIGURE 5 , 9G View FIGURE 9 ) subparallel, at the widest point (along 2/3 of its length) slightly wider than pronotum. Elytron with three distinctly elevated, rounded ridges; ridges nearly reaching apex of elytron; external ridge shortened posteriorly. Elytral epipleura strongly elevated dorsally along almost the entire length, flattened at elytral apex. Apex of elytron rounded. Surface dull, without setation, with isodiametric microsculpture; covered with dense, distinct, regular punctation; punctures clearly separated by 1.5–2.0 of their diameter. Punctures posteriorly with small tubercle. Each tubercle bearing a small, short, black seta. Elytra with coarse, subrectangular punctures covering most of the surface in dorsal view. Elytral epipleura irregularly, finely punctated in ventral view.

Metathoracic wings. Apterous.

Ventrum ( Fig. 5B View FIGURE 5 ). Thorax finely punctate, covered mostly with short to medium-sized, recumbent, orange setae. Proventrite without punctation laterally; metaventrite finely, roughly punctate, with dense, medium-sized setation. Mesocoxae closely separated. Abdominal ventrites with distinct impressions laterally in ventral view. Abdominal ventrites slightly punctate, covered with short, orange setation, with expanded brick-wall pattern on intersegmental membranes.

Legs ( Figs. 5A–C View FIGURE 5 , 21D View FIGURE 21 ). Protarsus widely expanded. Pro-, meso- and metatibia each with two apical spurs of different length. Metatibia straight in ventral view. Trochanters with bunch of medium-sized, orange setae.

Abdominal segments ( Figs. 13C View FIGURE 13 , 15C View FIGURE 15 ). Tergite VIII subquadrate, apically strongly sinuous, widely rounded posteriorly. Ventrite VIII apically weakly sinuous, rounded posteriorly. Ventrite IX rectangular, apically rounded, elongate and deeply medially desclerotized in ventral view. Spiculum gastrale robust, elongate in ventral view; near the apex expanded.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 11A View FIGURE 11 ). Median lobe stout, robust, tapered to widely rounded, triangular apex. Internal sac sclerotized. Parameres robust, slightly curved downwards, longer than median lobe, apex rounded; in the 2/3 of the length noticeably narrowed. Basal portion oval, weak, slightly exceeding the width of median lobe.

Sexual dimorphism. Female ( ♀) ( Figs. 5D–E View FIGURE 5 , 17G View FIGURE 17 , 18C View FIGURE 18 ). Similar to male, except for the following structures. Protarsus not expanded. Tergite VIII subquadrate, apically sinuous, widely rounded posteriorly. Ventrite VIII apically weakly sinuous, rounded posteriorly. Tergite IX elongate, rounded, in first half almost straight; tergite X widely rounded, almost pentagonal, apex with dense setation. Coxite robust, apex extremely elongated, rounded; stylus robust, subquadrate, inserted lateroapically, shorter than apex of coxite.

Variability. Individuals vary in size and shape (see next paragraph). Elytra light yellow to dark brown. Measurements. TBL 15.0– 17.5 mm in ♂ ( holotypus 15.0 mm) and 15.0–17.0 mm in ♀; MBW 9.3–10.0 mm in

♂ ( holotypus 9.3 mm) and 10.0– 10.5 mm in ♀; RLWP 0.55 to 0.61 in ♂ ( holotypus 0.56), 0.56 to 0.59 in ♀; RLWE

1.07 to 1.21 in ♂ ( holotypus 1.07), 1.00 to 1.14 in ♀. Differential diagnosis. Refer to species key and Table 3 below. Etymology. Named for Chelinda, the type locality of this species, noun in apposition. Distribution. An endemic species, known only from two closely located sites in the north of Malawi (see map,

Figs. 22–23 and Table 2).