Thyreocephalus strinatii ( Scheerpeltz, 1958 ) Scheerpeltz, 1958

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 : 86-89

Thyreocephalus strinatii ( Scheerpeltz, 1958) comb. nov.

( Figs. 206 , 228–232 )

Eulissus strinatii Scheerpeltz, 1958: 826 ; Scheerpeltz, 1971: 169; Herman, 2001: 3629.

Type locality. Gabon, Grotte de Pahou.

Type material examined. Holotype ♂: GABON: “ Typus, Eulissus , strinatii, O. Scheerpeltz ”, “ex. Coll. Scheerpeltz”, “ Gabon. Grotte, de Pahou. 6.8.57, leg. V. Aellen, P. Strinati”, “ située a 2 km, au ESE de, Latoursville” ( NHMW).

Additional material examined. CAMEROON: 1 ♀: syntype of T. mocquerysi , without additional data ( IRSNB); 1 spec.: Joko, Colin ( ABFI). DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: 1 ♂: Libenge, 17.i.1948, R. Cremer & M. Neuman ( JJRC).

Description. Body length 13 mm; length from anterior margin of head to posterior margin of elytra: 6.8 mm. Reddish brown, with elytra lighter. Shiny. Head and pronotum with micro-punctation. Head and pronotum and related punctation as in Fig. 228 ; labrum as in Fig. 229 . Lateral margins of head flat, covered by a few punctures. Elytra sub-rectangular, as long as pronotum and wider than it, with largely rounded humeral angles. Surface with fine punctation, arranged in four series, two near suture, one median and one lateral. Abdomen with fine and dense, transverse micro-striation and fine, not sparse punctation, arranged in some series on each segment.

Male. Tergite 10 and sternite 9 of male genital segment as in Figs. 230, 231 . Aedeagus ( Fig. 232 ) ovoid, proportionally large, 2.3 mm long, with wide sub-triangular median lobe; parameres symmetrical; inner sac wide and long, folded on itself, covered with fine scales.

Differential diagnosis. Thyreocephalus strinatii differs from the similar T. mocquerysi in impunctate head (with only micropunctures), labrum with wide and shallow median emargination and shorter median lobe of the aedeagus.

Distribution. The species is distributed in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon ( Fig. 206 ).

Remarks. As the superior line of pronotal hypomeron is turning downwards well before middle, joining or almost joining inferior line next to front margin of procoxae and continuing onto anterior margin of pronotum, the species was transferred from Eulissus to Thyreocephalus .

Figures

FIGURE 206. Distribution of species in Thyreocephalus mocquerysi group (★ = T. atlanticus (Bernhauer), ▲ = T. burgeoni (Bernhauer), ■ = T. camerunensis sp. nov., Δ = T. marginipennis sp. nov., ● = T. mokaensis (Bernhauer), ○ = T. strinatii (Bernhauer).

FIGURES 228 – 232. Thyreocephalus strinatii (Scheerpeltz); 228, head and pronotum; 229, labrum; 230, male tergite 10; 231, male sternite 9; 232, aedeagus.