Philonthus abyssinus Fauvel, 1880

Hromádka, Lubomír, 2008, Revision of Afrotropical species of the Philonthus abyssinus species group (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Philonthina), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 48 (1), pp. 37-50 : 38-39

Philonthus abyssinus Fauvel, 1880

( Figs. 1-5 )

Philonthus abyssinus Fauvel, 1880: 203 .

Type locality. Ethiopia, Scioa, Mahal-Uonz, Let Marefia.

Type material. Not studied.

Additional material examined. ETHIOPIA: 2 JJ, ‘Abessin’, Kristensen lgt. ( LHPC).

Redescription. Body length 9.8-10.1 mm, length of fore body (to the end of elytra) 4.5- 4.8 mm.

Colouration. Head and abdomen black, pronotum and elytra black-brown, clypeus along anterior margin and antennal sockets very narrowly yellow-brown, maxillary and labial palpi brown-yellow, terminal palpomere a little paler, mandibles dark brown, antennae black, base of antennomere 2 lighter, femora and tarsi brown-yellow, tibiae black.

Head wider than long (ratio 34: 26). Clypeus with a small depression medially. Posterior angles of head capsule slightly rounded, with one long black bristle. Eyes as long as temples; temples slightly narrowed behind eyes. Four coarse punctures between eyes, distance between medial interocular punctures three times as long as distance between medial and lateral punctures. Surface with very fine microsculpture of transverse waves.

Antennae relatively long, reaching posterior fourth of pronotum when reclined. Antennomeres 1-4 and 11 longer than wide, antennomeres 5-10 as long as wide. Antennomere 1 somewhat shorter than antennomeres 2-3 combined, antennomere 3 longer than antennomere 2, antennomere 11 by half as long as antennomere 1.

Pronotum as long as wide, parallel-sided, slightly narrowed anteriad. Each dorsal row with 4 coarse punctures; each sublateral row with 2 punctures, placed in anterior half of pronotum. Sides of pronotum with several black bristles of unequal length. Microsculpture similar to that on head.

Scutellum coarsely and densely punctate, punctures fused here and there.

Elytra wider than long (ratio 47: 44), slightly widened posteriad. Punctation coarse and sparse, diameters of punctures somewhat longer than those of eye-facets, punctures separated by two puncture diameters. Elytral surface without microsculpture; setation brown.

Legs. Metatibia somewhat longer than metatarsus (ratio 24: 23). Metatarsomere 1 somewhat shorter than metatarsomeres 2-4 combined, metatarsomere 5 somewhat shorter than metatarsomere 1.

Abdomen slightly narrowed from tergite V towards both base and apex. Elevated area between two basal lines on first two visible tergites almost impunctate, basal lines on tergite III with several scattered punctures, basal lines on tergite IV much more densely punctate. Punctation at base of all tergites slightly finer than that on elytra, gradually becoming finer and much sparser towards apex of each tergite. Surface between punctures without microsculpture, very shiny. Setation similar to that on elytra.

Male. Protarsomeres 1-3 relatively slightly dilated and sub-bilobed, each covered with modified pale setae ventrally, protarsomere 4 distinctly narrower than preceding ones; sternite VIII ( Fig.3 ), sternite IX ( Fig. 4 ), tergite X ( Fig. 5 ), aedeagus ( Figs. 1-2 ).

Female. Unknown to the author.

Differential diagnosis. Philonthus abyssinus may be distinguished from the very similar species P. pseudoabyssinus and P. varanus sp. nov. by the apical portion of median lobe short in ventral view, with rather obtusely pointed apex ( Fig. 1 ).

Distribution. Angola, Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe ( TOTTENHAM 1940, HERMAN 2001).

Figures

Figs. 1-8. 1-5 – Philonthus abyssinus Fauvel, 1880; 6-8 – P. brendelli sp. nov. 1, 6 – aedeagus, ventral view; 2, 7 – aedeagus, lateral view; 3, 8 – apical portion of sternite VIII, ventral view; 4 – sternite IX, ventral view; 5 – tergite X, dorsal view.