Thyreocephalus mocquerysi ( Fauvel, 1903 )

Janák, Jiří & Bordoni, Arnaldo, 2015, Revision of the genus Thyreocephalus and description of Afrus gen. nov. of Africa south of the Sahara (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Zootaxa 4038 (1), pp. 1-94 : 89

Thyreocephalus mocquerysi ( Fauvel, 1903)

( Figs. 195 , 233–237 )

Xantholinus mocquerysi Fauvel, 1903: 239 ; Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914: 305.

Thyreocephalus mocquerysi ; Coiffait, 1968: 155; Herman, 2001: 3765.

Eulissus milliaui Bernhauer, 1932: 144 ; Scheerpeltz, 1933: 1317; Herman, 2001: 3628, syn. nov.

Type locality. Gabon, Libreville.

Type material examined. Xantholinus mocquerysi . Lectotype (by present designation) ♂: GABON: “Libreville, Gabon ”, “ mocquerysi ”, “Ex-Typis” ( IRSNB). The specimen is choosen as lectotype. The specimen has an additional label “ Lectotypus Xantholinus mocquerysi Fvl., J. Janák des. 1991”. Paralectotypes: 1 ♂, 1 ♀: GABON: “Libreville, Gabon ”, “ mocquerysi ”, “Ex-Typis”, “ Paralectotypus Xantholinus mocquerysi Fvl., J. Janák des. 1991”; 1 ♂: “Loanda, Gabon ” and “ Paralectotypus Xantholinus mocquerysi Fvl., J. Janák des. 1991”. The label “ Thyreocephalus mocquerysi (Fvl.) , J. Janák det. 1991” was added to all these type specimens.

Eulissus milliaui . Holotype ♀: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: “ Holotype ”, “Musée du Congo, Mongwalu (Kilo), 19.X.1930, Mme E. Milliau”, “R. Det., 1966, T”, “ Thyreocephalus, Milliaui, Brnh. Typ. ”, “ Eulissus ”, “ Thyreocephalus mocquerysi (Fvl.) , J. Janák det. 2006” ( MRAC). It is identical to T. mocquerysi .

Additional material examined. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: 1 spec.: Rutshuru, iii.1937, J. Ghesquière ( MRAC); 1 spec.: Rutshuru, iii.1938, J. Ghesquière ( MRAC); 1 spec.: Mongbwalu (Kilo), v.1930, E. Milliau ( MRAC); 1 ♂: Rwankwi, i.1944, J. V. Leroy ( JJRC); 1 ♂: Ituri, terr. Bunia, Mont Hoyo, 1250m, iii.1952, N. Leleup ( MRAC).

Cited material (not examined). GABON: Libreville, Belinga ( Coiffait, 1968).

Redescription. Body length 12.5–15 mm; length from anterior margin of head to posterior margin of elytra: 7– 8 mm. Head black; pronotum, elytra, abdomen and legs reddish brown, more or less dark, antennae dark brown. Disc of head distinctly punctate, lateral margins of head covered by fine punctation. Pronotum with micropunctation. Head and pronotum and related punctation as in Fig. 233 ; labrum as in Fig. 234 . Elytra as long as pronotum, dilated posteriad and there slightly wider than pronotum, with rounded humeral angles. Surface with fine punctation, most punctures arranged in three series, one near suture, one median and one lateral.

Male. Tergite 10 and sternite 9 of male genital segment as in Figs. 235, 236 . Aedeagus ( Fig. 237 ) large, subovoid, 2.2 mm long; median lobe long, spearhead shaped; inner sac more or less wide, covered with fine scales.

Differential diagnosis. Thyreocephalus mocquerysi differs from the similar T. strinatii in distinctly punctate head, labrum with narrower and deeper median emargination and longer median lobe of the aedeagus.

Distribution. The species is hitherto known only from Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon ( Fig. 195 ).

Bionomics. One specimen was collected under bark (= “sous écorce”), and another in a log (= “sur vielle souche Erythrina ”).

Remarks. In the IRSNB collection, we examined one female with the label “Pulu Bunzi” and the determination “ Thyreocephalus mocquerysi Fauv. var.”. We were not able to identify this locality. The syntype specimen from Cameroon cited by Coiffait (1968) is in reality T. strinatii (see “Additional material examined” under that species).

Figures

FIGURE 195. Distribution of species in Thyreocephalus mocquerysi group (▲ = T. gabonensis Coiffait, ● = T. mocquerysi (Fauvel )).

FIGURES 233 – 237. Thyreocephalus mocquerysi (Fauvel); 233, head and pronotum; 234, labrum; 235, male tergite 10; 236, male sternite 9; 237, aedeagus.