Philonthus tomicus Tottenham, 1962

Hromádka, Lubomír, 2009, Revision of the Afrotropical species of the Philonthus caffer species group (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Philonthina), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (1), pp. 161-190 : 186-188

Philonthus tomicus Tottenham, 1962

(Figs. 62–63)

Philonthus tomicus Tottenham, 1962: 225 .

Type locality. Cameroon: Bamenda.

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘ Cameroon: Bamenda, V. F. Eastop, 2.ii.1957, C. E. Tottenham collection, B. M. 1974-587 // Philonthus tomicus Tottenham , TYPE [white oblong label, handwritten]’ ( BMNH).

Redescription. Body length 7.1 mm, length of fore body (to end of elytra) 4.0 mm.

Colouration. Head, pronotum, scutellum and abdomen black, antennal sockets and clypeus along anterior margin narrowly yellow-brown, mandibles, maxillary and labial palpi blackbrown, maxillary palpomere 3 and labial palpomere 3 somewhat paler, antennae black, antennomere 1 and base of antennomere 2 brown-yellow, elytra black, posterior half from suture to posterior margin with arcuate red spot, femora yellow-brown, tibiae and tarsomeres 1 of all tarsi brown-black, remaining tarsomeres gradually becoming paler distally.

Head oblong, vaguely narrowed posteriad, slightly longer than wide (ratio 21: 19). Eyes flat, vaguely longer than temples (ratio 9: 8). Distance between medial interocular punctures 3 times as large as distance between medial and lateral interocular punctures. Posterior margin of each eye with two coarse punctures. Temporal area almost each impunctate. Surface without microsculpture.

Antennae moderately long, almost reaching posterior margin of pronotum when reclined. Antennomere 1 as long as antennomeres 2–3 combined, antennomeres 4–5 somewhat longer than wide, antennomeres 6–10 as long as wide, antennomere 11 shorter than antennomeres 9–10 combined. Relative length of antennomeres: 1 = 8; 2–3 = 4; 4.5 = 3; 6–10 = 2.5; 11 = 4.5.

Pronotum distinctly longer than wide (ratio 25: 21), vaguely narrowed towards anterior margin. Posterior angles markedly rounded, base of pronotum regularly convex. Right dorsal row with 5 punctures, left dorsal row with 7 punctures. Each sublateral row with 2 punctures. Surface without microsculpture.

Scutellum very densely, coarsely punctate. Punctures hardly larger than eye-facets, slightly contiguous here and there; setation black.

Elytra as long as wide, hardly widened posteriad, hardly wider than pronotum basally. Punctation in anterior half somewhat denser than that in posterior half. Punctures hardly larger than eye-facets, separated by distance inconspicuously smaller than a puncture diameter in anterior half, by about a puncture diameter in transverse direction in posterior half. Surface between punctures without microsculpture; setation greyish to golden.

Legs. Metatibia vaguely longer than metatarsus (ratio 22: 21). Metatarsomere 1 vaguely shorter than metatarsomeres 2–3 combined, metatarsomere 5 longer than metatarsomeres 3–4 combined. Relative length of metatarsomeres: 1 = 6; 2 = 3; 3 = 2.5; 4 = 2; 5 = 5.

Abdomen with first four visible tergites with two basal lines, elevated area between basal lines with scattered punctures. Punctation of tergites finer and denser than that on elytra. Punctures of raindrop shape here and there. Setation similar to that on elytra.

Male. Protarsomeres 1–3 strongly dilated, sub-bilobed, protarsomere 4 narrower than preceding ones, triangular, protarsomeres 1–3 bearing modified pale setae ventrally. Aedeagus (Figs. 62–63).

Female. Unknown.

Differential diagnosis. This species is similar to P. limbipennis , but differs by the longer eyes and antennae, absence of purple iridescence on head and pronotum, black elytra bearing arcuate red spot on posterior half. It differs from P. biguttulus by shorter eyes, longer antennae, and by tibiae and first tarsomeres of all tarsi black. Philonthus tomicus differs from both above species by the shape of the aedeagus.

Bionomics. Unknown.

Distribution. Cameroon, Senegal (HERMAN 2001).