Anhoraeomorphus sikorai (Franz) Jałoszyński, 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 : 47-48

Anhoraeomorphus sikorai (Franz) , comb. n.

( Figs 171–178 )

Horaeomorphus sikorai Franz, 1986b: 162 .

Type material studied. Holotype ( Madagascar): ♂, three labels: “Madagaskar / Sikora” [white, printed], “ Horaeomorphus / sikorai m. / det. H.Franz ” [yellowish, handwritten and printed], “Typus” [red, handwritten] ( NHMW) . Paratypes: 2 ♀♀, same data as for holotype, but with yellow “ PARATYPUS ” labels ( NHMW) .

Revised diagnosis. Body ( Fig. 171 ) slender; head ( Figs 172–173 ) round, with vertex posteriorly broadly rounded; pronotum ( Fig. 171 ) bell-shaped, broadest in anterior third, with one pair of large transverse antebasal pits; antennomere 3 ( Fig. 174 ) as long as broad, 4–5 each slightly elongate, 6 as long as broad, 7–10 each indistinctly transverse; profemora similarly slender as meso- and metafemora; metatibiae in male modified, but only slightly strongly broadening to distal third and then narrowing to apex; aedeagus ( Figs 175–178 ) in ventral view broadest near basal third, apical region of dorsal wall in lateral view weakly curved dorsally, distolateral endophallic sclerites separated except their apices touching at middle, each strongly elongate and with distal margin concave with outer and inner subtriangular apex, parameres with several subapical setae distributed along more than half of length and increasing in length from proximal to distal ones.

Redescription. Body of male ( Fig. 171 ) moderately dark brown, elytra slightly lighter than head and pronotum, tarsi and palps distinctly lighter, setae light brown; BL 2.15 mm.

Head ( Fig. 172 ) in anterodorsal view round, broadest at eyes, HL 0.38 mm, HW 0.38 mm; temple in lateral view ( Fig. 174 ) subequal to eye; vertex and frons confluent, together weakly convex and weakly transverse; vertex posteriorly broadly rounded; each eye large and weakly convex, shallowly emarginate posteriorly, weakly projecting from head silhouette. Punctures on vertex fine, inconspicuous; setae short, dense and suberect; frons and vertex densely covered with thick bristles directed posteriorly. Antenna ( Fig. 174 ) slender but short, slightly shorter than half BL, AnL 0.90 mm, antennomeres 1–2 each elongate, 3 as long as broad, 4–5 each slightly elongate, 6 as long as broad, 7–10 each indistinctly transverse, 11 distinctly shorter than 9 and 10 combined, indistinctly narrower than 10, about 1.7 times as long as broad.

Pronotum bell-shaped, broadest in anterior third; PL 0.50 mm, PW 0.50 mm. Anterior margin strongly rounded, lateral margins rounded in anterior half, sinuate in posterior half; posterior corners blunt; posterior margin nearly straight. Base with one pair of large transversely oval pits, and with short but distinct sublateral carinae. Disc with fine, inconspicuous punctures; setae dense, short and suberect, lateral surface of pronotum with dense thick bristles.

Elytra together oval, broadest distinctly in front of middle; EL 1.28 mm, EW 0.80 mm, EI 1.59; humeral calli weakly elevated, basal elytral foveae vestigial, barely discernible. Punctures fine and inconspicuous; setae sparse, short and suberect.

Legs moderately long, slender, mesotibiae distinctly curved, metatibiae slightly broadening to distal third and then narrowing.

Aedeagus ( Figs 175–178 ) stout, AeL 0.35 mm; in ventral view drop-shaped, distally rapidly narrowing towards broadly subtrapezoidal apex with rounded distal margin; in lateral view apical region of dorsal wall weakly curved dorsally; endophallus with asymmetrical and long distolateral sclerites and with strongly asymmetrical assemblage of median proximal sclerotized structures, distolateral sclerites separated except for their tips touching at middle, each with concave distal margin and outer and inner subtriangular apices; parameres strongly broadening distally, their apices slightly projecting beyond apex of median lobe, each paramere with subapical group of setae distributed along more than distal half of outer lateral margin, setae increasing in length from proximal to distal ones.

Female. Externally similar to male, but with slenderer hind tibiae. BL 2.15–2.23 mm; HL 0.40–0.43– 0.43 mm, HW 0.43 mm, AnL 0.88–1.03 mm; PL 0.50–0.55 mm, PW 0.50–0.55 mm; EL 1.25 mm, EW 0.85 mm, EI 1.47.

Distribution. Madagascar (see Remarks).

Remarks. Anhoraeomorphus sikorai is unremarkable and the aedeagus must be examined to identify this species. The large asymmetrical endophallic distolateral sclerites touching distally at middle, each with concave distal margin with inner and outer subtriangular process are unique among Anhoraeomorphus spp.

The specimens used by Franz to describe A. sikorai were deposited at NHMW before he worked in Vienna. The exact collecting site remains unknown. These specimens were collected by Franz Sikora (1863–1902), an Austrian traveler and collector of various biological specimens active in Madagascar and Réunion during 1890s (e.g., Bolotov et al. (2023)).

Figures

FIGURES 171–178. Anhoraeomorphus sikorai (Franz), holotype. Habitus in dorsal view (171); head in anterodorsal view (172); head and prothorax in lateral view (only bristles on head are shown) (173); antenna (174); aedeagus in ventral (175, 177) and lateral (176, 178) views.