Craspedophorus phenacoides, Häckel, 2017

Häckel, Martin, 2017, A contribution to the knowledge of the subfamily Panagaeinae Hope, 1838 from Africa. Part 3. Revision of the Craspedophorus strachani and C. brevicollis groups (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Zootaxa 4330 (1), pp. 1-67 : 18-19

12. Craspedophorus phenacoides new species

( Plate 7 , Figs 56, 57, Plate 8 , Fig. 70)

Type locality. “ Edéa env., Cameroon, Littoral ”.

Type material. Holotype (♂): “ C Africa C-Cameroun / Region littoral / Edéa env. / XII-1990 ex coll. Moretto ” ( Plate 7 , Fig. 56, Plate 8 , Fig. 70, Plate 13 , Fig. 110, NMPC) . Paratypes. 1 ♀: “ French Cameroons / D' Ja Posten. / Lat. 3.15. N. Long. 13.30.E. [ Cameroon, Region East]/ 15.v–1.vii.1936. / F.G. Merfield. ” ( BMNH) ; 1 ♀: “ Coll. Mus. Tervuren / Cameroun: Mt. Balmayo [= Mbalmayo , Region Centre, Cameroon]/ ( Barga ) / ex coll. Breuning ( Plate 7 , Fig. 57, MRAC) .

Description of holotype. Length 19.0 mm, width 7.2 mm. Proportions: Pronotum 1.43x wider than long, 2.02x wider than head with eyes, elytra 1.23x wider than pronotum, 1.56 longer than wide.

Colouration. Body throughout piceous black, opaque, densely covered with black setae. Femora black, genae, tarsi, antennae distally from IV antennomere brownish. Each elytron with two dark yellow maculae, the humeral one on V.–VIII interval overlapping to IX., forming oblique, semicircular-shaped fascia leading posteriorly on inner intervals where spots are shorter, shortest on IV interval, laterally widening and overlapping to elytral margin (in some specimens), or elytral margin often black. Preapical macula rounded, extending from IV to VIII interval leading posteriorly on outer intervals. Because of dilated elytral margin, which is always black near apex, preapical macula seems to be reposed more far from lateral elytral margin than we can see in other species of the group ( Plate 7 , Figs. 56, 57).

Head longer, quadrate, labrum and mandibles smooth, glossy, terminal labial palpomere elongately kidneyshaped (in male). Eyes moderately convex. Frons medially weakly raised, distinctly irregularly punctuated, in front of eyes with two longitudinal depressions, lateral in the form of a thin ridge running from the antennal base to anterior margin of eye (supra-antennary ridge), weak at middle and wide from anterior margin of eye to clypeus base, coarsely and irregularly punctured and furrowed. Vertex irregularly punctured and buckled, coming without strangulation into occiput, which is transversely slightly furrowed, and then into neck which is smooth. Antennae whip-shaped, distally not widening nor flattening, overlapping a half of the body length. The basal antennomere (scapus) twice longer than the second, the third twice longer than the first, the fourth one weakly shorter than the first, surface covered with short setae, more setae cumulated at the distal end of the antennomere ( Plate 8 , Fig. 70).

Pronotum not too tranverse (length/width ratio 1.43), cordiform; anterior pronotal margin straight, parallel to base in its middle, straight part as long as neck is wide, laterally changing into anterior angles, rounded and distinctly protruded forward, lateral margins towards the center widely curved, maximum width at mid-length, from there narrowing towards base with strong sinuosity, in front of posterior angles mild incisure, posterior angles almost rectangular, posteriorly very weakly prolonged to elytral base, only indistinctly overlapping it. Base weakly concave posteriorly, straight at the center, at the margins up to one fourth indistinctly angled towards elytral humeri without any peduncle. Pronotal disc slightly convex, separated by a weak depression from wide lateral rims which are distinct already from the anterior pronotal margin, the rim posteriorly distinctly widening, elevated upwards along the entire length, the greatest elevation in the basal fourth, then the rim flattening, thus posterior angles jutting out weakly backwards neither upwards, nor to the sides, without being keel-like. Disc and basal impressions grossly and irregularly punctured, less densely and less grossly than frons, elevated lateral pronotal margins punctured grossly as well, the punctuation in the basal fourth distinctly finer, almost smooth near margin. Dorsal surface covered with long black setae ( Plate 8 , Fig. 70).

Elytra fused, weakly flat and ovoid, widening posteriorly, maximum width distinctly behind midlength. Disc symmetrically convex without any distinct collar-like depression. Humeri moderately rounded, weakly distinct, elytral base with distinct rim separating elytral base from striae between elytral suture and IV interval, laterally disappearing. Elytra laterally margined with a flattened rim, posteriorly widening, maximum width in the apical fifth, narrowing and towards apex, then dissapearing, regularly punctured anteriorly, punctuation finer posteriorly, disappearing near apex. Striae deep, regularly and finely punctured. Intervals convex, distinctly punctuated in three to four lines, interval surface with fine isodiametric microsculpture inbetween punctuations. Elytra sparsely covered by dark setae, which shorter than those covering pronotum.

Underside covered with short setae, finely punctured medially, coarsely punctured near margins; metepisterna rhombic, as long as wide. Legs moderately covered with black setae.

Aedeagus ( Plate 13 , Fig. 110) is similar to that in C. lemariei n. ssp. ( Plate 13 , Fig. 109).

Differential diagnosis. The species resembles in the size and shape of its body and in its pronotum C. ruficrus ( Chaudoir, 1861) and C. lemariei n. sp., but differs from them at the first sight in the elytral pattern. In the colouration of the elytra it resembles C. ruficroides n. sp. and C. congoanus Kolbe, 1889 , but differs from them in the size and shape of its elytra ( Plate 8 , Figs 70, 71), mostly in the apical part of the elytral margin which is in this species different from all the other species of the C. strachani group. Due to the widening of the flat elytral margin (which remains black) in the posterior third, the orange preapical macula is to be found further from the elytral margin than in other species of the group.

Etymology. The name reflects the similarity to C. phenax Basilewsky, 1987 , species for which the described species has often been mistaken—together with other species C. congoanus Kolbe, 1889 and “ C. gabonicus ” (= C. ruficroides n. sp.).

Distribution. Central, eastern, littoral Cameroon.

Figures

PLATE 7. Habitus of Craspedophorus strachani group VI (Scale bar: 10 mm). 56. C. phenacoides n. sp., HT (male); 57. C. phenacoides n. sp., PT female, Cameroon, Centre; 58. C. lemariei n. sp., HT (male); 59 a. C. ruficrus (Chaudoir, 1861) HT (female); b. C. ruficrus (Chaudoir, 1861), female, Guinea Equatorial; 60. C. dicranulothorax n. sp., HT (female); 61 a. C. glaber Bates, 1886, male, Cameroon, Southwest; b. C. glaber Bates, 1886, male, Cameroon, Centre (comparative type Basilewsky 1954); 62 a. C. glaber Bates, 1886, HT (female); b. C. glaber Bates, 1886, female, “ Old Calabar ” (labeled as C. lafertei, MNHN); 63. C. lafertei Murray, 1857, lectotype female, established by Basilewsky 1960; 64. C. lafertei Murray, 1857, female, “ W Africa ” (paralectotype established by Chaudoir 1879, MNHN); 65. C. dicranothorax (Alluaud, 1915), HT (male); 66. C. dicranothorax (Alluaud, 1915), female, Central Africa.

PLATE 8. Craspedophorus strachani group, C. ruficrus complex, head and pronotum. 67 a. C. ruficrus (Chaudoir, 1861), female Guinea Equatorial. 68 a. C. lemariei n. sp., HT (male). 69 a. C. dicranulothorax, HT (female). 70. C. phenacoides n. sp., HT (male). 71. C. r. ruficroides n. sp., HT (male).

PLATE 13 Craspedophorus strachani group II, aedeagus in frontal and right lateral views: 101. C. chevalieri (Alluaud, 1915), Central Africa; 102. C. cuneatus cuneatus (Alluaud, 1915), Central Africa; 103. C. cuneatus paromius Basilewsky, 1987, Orientale, DR Congo; 104. C. cuneatus rotundatus new subspecies, HT; 105. C. glaber Bates, 1886, Cameroon, Southwestern; 106. C. ruficroides ruficroides new species, HT; 107. C. ruficroides thomsoni new subspecies, PT RCA; 108. C. phenax Basilewsky, 1987, PT Fontem, Cameroon, West; 109. C. congoanus Kolbe, 1889, Eala Bokatola-Bikoro, Équateur, DR Congo; 110. C. phenacoides new species, HT; 111. C. lemariei new species, HT.