Euconnus, Thomson, 1859

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2020, Taxonomy of ‘ Euconnus complex’. Part XXI. Status of subgenus Microconnus Franz (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4779 (1), pp. 111-120 : 118

Euconnus (incertae sedis) fulgurans Franz

( Figs 19–24 )

Euconnus (Napoconnus) fulgurans Franz, 1980: 76 .

Euconnus (Microconnus) fulgurans Franz ; Franz, 1994: 81.

Remarks. This species, although dorsally ( Fig. 19 ) similar to the three remaining species included in Microconnus , has the frontoclypeal groove, complete hypostomal and hypomeral ridges ( Fig. 21 ), prominent mesocoxal projections ( Fig. 22 ), and the metacoxae separated by the metaventral intercoxal process that lacks a pair of spines. It is, therefore, not a Microconnus , and not Napoconnus (as originally placed by Franz (1980)), but a member of the genus Euconnus . It has a ‘pseudotetramerous’ antennal club, which has three terminal antennomeres strongly enlarged, but the antennomere VIII is much smaller than IX, yet much larger than VII. The pronotum is subconical, but lacks any pits, grooves or carinae, and the basal elytral foveae are also reduced. It shows most diagnostic characters of Eu- connus ( Napochus ), with a few conspicuous reductions. Napochus and similar subgenera will be very likely merged with Euconnus s. str., and only then the subgeneric placement of E. fulgurans (and many similar species currently not placed in subgenera) will be clarified (Jałoszyński, in prep.).

Figures

FIGURES 19–24. Morphological structures of Euconnus fulgurans Franz, species excluded from Microconnus, holotype male. Dorsal habitus (19); head, prothorax and elytral base in dorsal view (20); head, prothorax and anterior portion of mesoventrite in ventral view (21); pterothorax in ventral view (22); aedeagus in ventral (23) and lateral (24) views. Abbreviations: hr, hy- postomal ridge; hyr, hypomeral ridge; mcp, mesocoxal projection; msvp, mesoventral intercoxal process; mtvp, metaventral intercoxal process.