Euconnus (Tetramelus) tamatavae 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 : 76-78

Euconnus (Tetramelus) tamatavae Franz , stat rev.

( Figs 288–295 )

Euconnus (Anthicimorphus) tamatavae Franz, 1986b: 252 .

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

Type material studied. Holotype ( Madagascar ): ♂, five labels: “Madagascar-Est / dct.Tamatave /Ambodihatafana / (rte Fénérive Est) / X-58 Randimby” [white, printed], “INSTITUT / SCIENTIFIQUE / MADAGASCAR ” [bluish, printed], “ ♂ ” {white, printed], “ Euconnus / Anthicimorphus / tamatavae m. / det. H.Franz ” [yellowish, handwritten and printed], “Typus” [red, handwritten] ( NHMW).

Revised diagnosis. Body ( Fig. 288 ) slender, bristles present only on genae (extremely short) and on anteroventral regions of hypomera, entire dorsum asetose; head ( Figs 289–290 ) sub-pentagonal, with vertex posteriorly shallowly emarginate; pronotum bell-shaped, broadest slightly in front of anterior third, with one pair of small round antebasal pits; antenna ( Fig. 291 ) short, with antennomeres 1–2 and 4–11 elongate (2 and 4 weakly so), 3 as long as broad; aedeagus ( Figs 292–295 ) in ventral view approximately drop-shaped, broadest near middle, ventral apical wall narrowly subtriangular with rounded distal margin, dorsal apical wall forming subtrapezoidal process with broad proximal portion and narrow distal subrectangular elongate lobe with truncate apex, each paramere slender, strongly and gradually broadening distally, with four long apical setae.

Redescription. Body of male ( Fig. 288 ) elongate and flattened, head and pronotum nearly black, elytra and antennae much lighter but still relatively dark brown; legs (especially tarsi), and palps slightly lighter than elytra; setae light brown; BL 2.10 mm.

Head ( Figs 289–290 ) in anterodorsal view sub-pentagonal, as long as wide, broadest at eyes, HL 0.43 mm, HW 0.43 mm; temple in lateral view ( Fig. 290 ) about as long as eye; vertex and frons confluent, together weakly convex and as long as broad; vertex posteriorly shallowly concave; each eye large and strongly convex but weakly projecting from head silhouette, with posterior margin nearly straight. Frons and vertex impunctate and asetose, genae with extremely short and sparse thick bristles. Antenna ( Fig. 291 ) as long as half BL, gradually thickened distally, AnL 1.08 mm, antennomeres 1–2 and 4–11 elongate (2 and 4 weakly so), 3 as long as broad, 11 subequal in length and width to 10, about 1.7 times as long as broad.

Pronotum bell-shaped, broadest near anterior third; PL 0.55 mm, PW 0.45 mm. Anterior margin strongly rounded, lateral margins strongly rounded in anterior half, weakly sinuate in posterior half; posterior corners blunt; posterior margin nearly straight. Base with one pair of small round pits. Disc impunctate and asetose, bristles present on anteroventral regions of hypomera.

Elytra together oval, broadest near middle; EL 1.13 mm, EW 0.73 mm, EI 1.55; humeral calli angulate and weakly elevated, basal elytral foveae barely discernible. Elytra impunctate and asetose.

Legs long and slender, unmodified.

Aedeagus ( Figs 292–295 ) stout, AeL 0.33 mm; in ventral view approximately drop-shaped, broadest near middle, distally strongly narrowing; ventral apical wall narrowly subtriangular with rounded distal margin, dorsal apical wall forming subtrapezoidal process with broad proximal portion and narrow distal subrectangular elongate lobe with truncate apex, endophallic sclerites complex and asymmetrical; each paramere slender, strongly and gradually broadening distally, with four long apical setae.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Central Madagascar (Atsinanana Region).

Remarks. “Tamatave” in label data is a French name of the city Toamasina.

Euconnus tamatavae belongs to a group of species with asetose dorsum and elongate pronotum (see Remarks for E. matsaboryi ). It can be identified by a large head nearly as wide as pronotum, a shallowly emarginate posterior margin of vertex, antennae gradually broadening distally with antennomere 3 as long as broad and remaining antennomeres elongate (2 and 4 weakly so), and unique aedeagal structures.

Figures

FIGURES 288–295. Euconnus (Tetramelus) tamatavae Franz, holotype. Habitus in dorsal view (288); head in anterodorsal view (289); head and prothorax in lateral view (290); antenna (291); aedeagus in ventral (292, 294) and lateral (293, 295) views.