Craspedophorus brevicollis (Dejean, 1831)

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 : 36

Craspedophorus brevicollis species group (nov.)

(=see Chaudoir 1879: 102; Basilewsky 1987: 196–7)

This group was established for two similar species, one from West, one from East Africa. Both species of this group were also placed by Chaudoir in the genus Craspedophorus (Hope, 1838) near the end of his genus “ Craspedophorus sensu stricto ” (1879: 97) together with species of refered species groups: C. leprieuri Häckel (2017: 203) , C. reflexus Häckel (2016: 506) , C. regalis Häckel (2017: 2014) and C. strachani nov. C. brevicollis group contains species differing from those of above listed groups in their ventral sternites, strongly crenulated anteriorly (in contrast to species of C. leprieuri and C. reflexus groups, both groups without crenulation), metepisterna longer than wide, trapeziform (in contrast to the species of the C. strachani group with rhombic metepisterna), antennae slender, without dilatation (in contrast to the species of C. regalis group with dilated medial antennomeres), and chiefly in their pronotum, extremely transverse, with gradually widely rounded lateral margins. With respect to all above cited signs as well as to Bates' recomendations (1886: 9) I place one more species in this group, C. abnormis (Bates, 1886) . The group presently contains three species, one with two subspecies.

Characters. Large species (17–23 mm). Two species apterous, one alate. Body, palps, antennae and legs black. Antennae slender without any dilatation. Labial palps elongated, kidney-shaped in males. Pronotum strongly transverse, length/width ratio 1.55–1.80, semicircular, pronotal base straight or weakly pedunculated, wider than anterior margin long. Elytra each with two to three yellow maculae.

Distribution remarks. Both east-african species of this group inhabit the Rift region. Northern species can be found in a large area from Rift Valley Province in Kenya to Eritrea, from where it expands out of the continent to Yemen on the Arabian peninsula. Southern species inhabits the same region in Kenya and Tanzania where both distributional areas overlap. But it also expands more to the South and out of the Rift to the West to DR Congo and Angola. West-african species creating two subspecies, one living in Far West Africa from Senegal to northern Benin, until now, the second one is known solely from southern Benin.