Euconnus (Tetramelus) gomyi Franz, 2024

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2024, The ‘ curse of Horaeomorphus’ (almost) lifted. Revision of misplaced species from Madagascar, Comoros and Mascarenes (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 5505 (1), pp. 1-96 : 53-56

Euconnus (Tetramelus) gomyi Franz , stat rev.

( Figs 187–197 )

Euconnus (Anthicimorphus) gomyi Franz, 1986b: 255 .

Horaeomorphus gomyi (Franz) ; Jałoszyński (2014b): 12 (result of placing Anthicimorphus as junior synonym of Horaeomorphus ).

Type material studied. Holotype ( Madagascar): ♂, three labels: “E-Madagascar / Moramanga / Route d’Anosibe / 11.1.68, G. Gomy ” [white, handwritten], “ Euconnus / Anthicimorphus / gomyi m. / det. H.Franz ” [yellowish,

handwritten and printed], “Typus” [red, handwritten] ( NHMW). Paratype: ♂, “ Madagascar / Umg.Périnet / lg. H.Franz 1969” [white, printed], “ ♂ ” [white, printed], and yellow “ PARATYPUS ” label ( NHMW) .

Revised diagnosis. Body ( Fig. 187 ) slender and with impunctate and asetose dorsum; head ( Figs 188–189 , 195 ) round, with vertex posteriorly straight; pronotum ( Fig. 195 ) bell-shaped, broadest near anterior fourth, with two pairs of small round antebasal pits; antenna ( Fig. 190 ) conspicuously long and slender, with all antennomeres strongly elongate (antennomeres 5–7 longest, each nearly 4 times as long as broad); aedeagus ( Figs 191–194 ) in ventral view drop-shaped and broadest near proximal third, ventral apical wall narrowly subtriangular, dorsal apical wall narrowly subtrapezoidal, each paramere broadened in apical region, with two long apical and two slightly shorter subapical setae.

Redescription. Body of male ( Fig. 187 ) strongly elongate and strongly convex, light brown, legs (especially distal regions), antennae and palps slightly lighter; setae light brown; BL 1.55–1.63 mm.

Head ( Figs 188 , 195–196 ) in anterodorsal view round and transverse, broadest at eyes, HL 0.28–0.30 mm, HW 0.30–0.33 mm; length of temple in lateral view ( Fig. 189 ) subequal to eye; vertex and frons confluent, together weakly convex and distinctly transverse; vertex posteriorly nearly straight; each eye large and weakly convex, deeply emarginate posteriorly, weakly projecting from head silhouette. Frons and vertex impunctate and asetose, sparse bristles present only on genae ( Fig. 196 ). Antenna ( Fig. 190 ) conspicuously long and slender, about 0.8 times as long as BL, with indistinctly delimited tetramerous club, AnL 1.28–1.35 mm, all antennomeres strongly elongate, 5–7 longest and each nearly 4 times as long as broad, four terminal antennomeres differing from proximal ones in stouter form, 11 as long as 10 and similar in width, about twice as long as broad.

Pronotum ( Fig. 195 ) bell-shaped, broadest near anterior fourth; PL 0.43–0.45 mm, PW 0.30–0.33 mm. Anterior margin strongly rounded, lateral margins rounded in anterior half, weakly sinuate in posterior half; posterior corners blunt; posterior margin weakly rounded and accentuated on entire length by shallow marginal groove. Base with two pairs of small round pits. Disc impunctate and asetose, bristles present only on anteroventral regions of hypomera and setae on prosternum ( Fig. 196 ).

Elytra together oval, broadest slightly behind middle; EL 0.85–0.88 mm, EW 0.53–0.58 mm, EI 1.52–1.62; humeral calli angulate and weakly elevated, basal elytral foveae indiscernible ( Fig. 195 ). Elytra impunctate and asetose.

Meso- and metaventrite ( Fig. 197 ) with relatively dense, short and recumbent setae.

Legs conspicuously long and slender, unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 191–194 ) stout, AeL 0.28 mm; in ventral view nearly drop-shaped, broadest near proximal third, distally gradually narrowing and in subapical region rapidly narrowed; ventral apical wall narrowly subtriangular, dorsal apical wall narrowly subtrapezoidal, endophallic sclerites complex and asymmetrical, each paramere slender and strongly broadened in short apical region, with two long apical and two slightly shorter subapical setae

Female. Not studied (see Remarks).

Distribution. Central Madagascar (Alaotra-Mangoro Region).

Remarks. Euconnus gomyi can be easily identified by unusually long and slender antennae with antennomeres 5– 7 each nearly 4 times as long as broad, asetose dorsum, transverse frons + vertex, and unique aedeagal structures.

In addition to the holotype male and one paratype male, Franz (1986b) mentions also a paratype female collected in Périnet (e.g., near Andasibe) deposited in in Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.

Figures

FIGURES 187–194. Euconnus (Tetramelus) gomyi Franz, holotype. Habitus in dorsal view (187); head in anterodorsal view (188); head and prothorax in lateral view (189); antenna (190); aedeagus in ventral (191, 193) and lateral (192, 194) views.

FIGURES 195–197. Euconnus (Tetramelus) gomyi Franz, holotype. Head, prothorax and elytral base in dorsal view (195); head, prothorax and mesothorax in ventral view (196); pterothorax in ventral view (197). Abbreviations: abp, antebasal pit; gp, gular plate; gs, gular suture; hr, hypomeral ridge; hyr, hypomeral ridge; msvp, mesoventral intermesocoxal process; mtvp, metaventral process; nss, notosternal suture; pcr, procoxal rest; ptp, posterior tentorial pit; slc, sublateral carina; smn, submentum.