Anhoraeomorphus sakarahanus (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 : 17-19

Anhoraeomorphus sakarahanus (Franz) , comb. n.

( Figs 44–51 )

Horaeomorphus sakarahanus Franz, 1986b: 165 .

Type material studied. Holotype ( Madagascar): ♂, four labels: “S-Madagaskar / Foret de Sakahara {sic!} / lg. H.Franz 1969” [white, printed], “ Horaeomorphus / sakarahanus m. / det. H.Franz ” [yellowish, handwritten and printed], “Typus” [red, handwritten], “ ♂ ” [white, printed] ( NHMW).

Revised diagnosis. Body ( Fig. 44 ) stout; head ( Fig. 45 ) about as long as wide, with vertex posteriorly broadly rounded; pronotum ( Fig. 44 ) bell-shaped, broadest near middle, with one pair of distinct antebasal pits; antennomeres 3–10 not elongate; all femora similarly slender; metatibiae in males unmodified; aedeagus ( Figs 48–51 ) in ventral view broadest near middle, with apical region of dorsal wall abruptly bent dorsally, distolateral endophallic sclerites widely separated and with rounded apices, each paramere with a row of subapical setae distributed on less than distal fourth.

Redescription. Body of male ( Fig. 44 ) light brown, appendages indistinctly lighter, setae yellowish; BL 1.40 mm.

Head ( Figs 45–46 ) in anterodorsal view rounded, broadest at eyes, HL 0.28 mm, HW 0.28 mm; temple in lateral view ( Fig. 46 ) subequal to length of eye; vertex and frons confluent, together weakly convex and about as long as broad; vertex posteriorly strongly rounded; each eye moderately large and weakly convex, with deep posteromedian emargination, weakly projecting from head silhouette. Punctures on vertex fine, inconspicuous; setae short, sparse and suberect; posterior region of frons and entire vertex densely covered with thick bristles directed posteriorly. Antenna ( Fig. 47 ) slender but short, slightly shorter than half BL, AnL 0.55 mm, antennomeres 1 and 2 each weakly elongate, 3 slightly transverse, 4–7 each about as long as broad, 8–10 each transverse; 11 slightly shorter than 9 and 10 combined, as wide as 10, about 1.8 times as long as broad.

Pronotum ( Fig. 44 ) bell-shaped, broadest near middle; PL 0.38 mm, PW 0.35 mm. Anterior margin weakly arcuate, lateral margins rounded, anteriorly converging stronger than posteriorly; posterior corners blunt; posterior margin indistinctly convex. Base with one pair of round and deep pits, and with barely discernible, extremely short vestiges of sublateral carinae. Disc with fine, inconspicuous punctures; setae sparse, short and suberect, lateral and lateroventral surface of pronotum with dense thick bristles.

Elytra ( Fig. 44 ) together oval, broadest distinctly in front of middle; EL 0.75 mm, EW 0.58 mm, EI 1.30; humeral calli weakly elevated, basal elytral foveae vestigial, barely discernible. Punctures fine and inconspicuous; setae sparse, short and suberect.

Legs moderately long, slender, unmodified except slightly recurved tibiae.

Aedeagus ( Figs 48–51 ) stout, AeL 0.23 mm; in ventral view broadest near middle and distinctly narrowing towards truncate apex; in lateral view apical region of dorsal wall strongly and abruptly bent dorsally; endophallus with symmetrical and elongate distolateral sclerites and basilateral sclerites, and with asymmetrical weakly sclerotized median structures, distolateral sclerites broadly separated and each with rounded apex; parameres slender and their apices only slightly projecting beyond aedeagal apex, each paramere with a row of sparse and short setae occupying slightly less than distal fourth.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Southern Madagascar (Atsimo-Andrefana Region).

Remarks. Franz misspelled Sakaraha in the locality label as “Sakahara”.

Anhoraeomorphus sakarahanus is most similar to A. ankaratranus ; see Remarks for the latter species.

Figures

FIGURES 44–51. Anhoraeomorphus sakarahanus (Franz), holotype. Habitus in dorsal view (44); head in anterodorsal view (45); head and prothorax in lateral view (only bristles on head are shown) (46); antenna (47); aedeagus in ventral (48, 50) and lateral (49, 51) views.