Thyreocephalus raptor Tottenham, 1956

Janák, Jiří & Bordoni, Arnaldo, 2015, Revision of the genus Thyreocephalus and description of Afrus gen. nov. of Africa south of the Sahara (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Zootaxa 4038 (1), pp. 1-94 : 60

Thyreocephalus raptor Tottenham, 1956

( Figs. 128, 129 , 147–152 )

Thyreocephalus raptor Tottenham, 1956: 256 ; Herman, 2001: 3766.

Thyreocephalus parcior Tottenham, 1956: 257 ; Herman, 2001: 3766, syn. nov.

Type locality. Rwanda, Tshuruyaga, Rugege Forest.

Type material examined. Thyreocephalus raptor . Holotype ♂: RWANDA: “Coll. Mus. Congo, Ruanda: Tshuruyaga, for., Rugege, 2400 m, P. Basilewsky 22/ I.1953 ”, “ Holotype ” (printed on orange label), “ Thyreocephalus , raptor, Tottenham , TYPE ” ( MRAC).

Thyreocephalus parcior . Holotype ♀: RWANDA: “Coll. Mus. Congo, Ruanda: Tshuruyaga, for., Rugege, 2400 m, P. Basilewsky 22.I.1953 ”, “ Holotype ” (printed on orange label). It is identical to raptor . The label “ Thyreocephalus raptor Tott., Bordoni det. 2013” was added to the specimen.

Redescription. Body 22 mm long; length from anterior margin of head to posterior margin of elytra: 10 mm. Body large, slightly flat. Black with bluish elytra and last three abdominal segments red; antennae and legs brown ( Fig. 128 ). Head and pronotum with micro-punctation. Head and pronotum and related punctation as in Figs. 129 , 148 ; labrum as in Fig. 149 . Elytra longer than pronotum, slightly dilated posteriad and there as wide as pronotum. Surface with wide, very superficial punctation, arranged in three series, one near the suture, one median and one lateral. Scutellum with more or less transverse micro-striation and some punctures.

Male. Tergite 10 and sternite 9 of male genital segment as in Figs. 150, 151 . Aedeagus ( Fig. 152 ) large, 2.3 mm long; median lobe large, spearhead-shaped; inner sac narrow and long, covered with fine scales.

Female. Head less dilated than in male.

Differential diagnosis. Thyreocephalus raptor differs from other species of the T. coeruleipennis group in the abdomen with last three abdominal segments red and in the different shape of aedeagus with pointed median lobe.

Distribution. Thyreocephalus raptor is known only from Rwanda ( Fig. 147 ).

Remarks. The specimen described as T. parcior is a female, which is narrower than the male—the type of T. raptor .

Figures

FIGURE 147. Distribution of species in Thyreocephalus coeruleipennis group (● = T. interocularis Eppelsheim, Δ = T. raptor Tottenham).

FIGURES 148 – 152. Thyreocephalus raptor Tottenham; 148, head and pronotum; 149, labrum; 150, male tergite 10; 151, male sternite 9; 152, aedeagus.

FIGURES 124 – 129. 124, 125, Thyreocephalus michaeli Janák; 126, 127, T. ferox (Harold); 128, 129, T. raptor Tottenham; 124, 126, 128, habitus; 125, 127, 129, head. Scale 1 mm.