Thyreocephalus ferox ( Harold, 1881 )

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 : 51-52

Thyreocephalus ferox ( Harold, 1881)

( Figs. 108 , 126, 127 , 130–134 )

Xantholinus ferox Harold, 1881: 262 .

Eulissus ferox ; Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914: 311; Herman, 2001: 3627. Thyreocephalus ferox ; Janák, 2010: 146.

Eulissus methneri Bernhauer, 1937a: 610 ; Herman, 2001: 3628. Thyreocephalus methneri ; Janák, 2010: 146 (syn. of ferox ).

Type locality. Ostafrika [= East Africa].

Type material examined. Xantholinus ferox . Lectotype ♂: EAST AFRICA: “Hildebrndt.”, “60 750”, “ Type ”, “ ferox Har. ”, “ Lectotypus (♂) Xantholinus ferox Harold, J. Janák des. 1991”, “ Thyreocephalus ferox (Harold) , J. Janák det. 1991” ( MFNB).

Eulissus methneri . Holotype ♂: TANZANIA: “Trockenwald b., Mtotchovu D. O. A., April 16 leg. Methner”, “ Methneri Brh., typ. un.”, “ methneri, Brnh. Typus, uni. Eulissus ”, “ Thyreocephalus , ferox (Harold) , J. Janák det. 2002” ( FMNH).

Additional material examined. TANZANIA: 1 ♂, 1 ♀: D. Ostafrika, Makond. Hochld., Nanyamba Ntschitschira, 12.xii.10, H. Grote ( MFNB, ABFI); 1 ♂: D. Ostafrika, Makond Hochld., Ntschitschira Mahirta- Newala, 15.–16.xii.10, H. Grote ( MFNB); 1♂: Zanzibar, “ex typ.“, 1 ♂ ( IRSNB).

Redescription. Body length 14.5 mm; length from anterior margin of head to posterior margin of elytra: 7.5 mm. Black with antennae and legs brown dark ( Fig. 126 ). Head and pronotum with micro-punctation. Head with two or three postocular punctures. Head and pronotum and related punctation as in Figs. 127 ; labrum of particular shape, rounded, as in Fig. 131 . Elytra longer than pronotum, dilated posteriad and there wider than pronotum, with less marked humeral angles. Surface with superficial punctation, arranged in three series, one near suture, one median and one lateral.

Male. Tergite 10 and sternite 9 of male genital segment as in Figs. 132, 133 . Aedeagus ( Fig. 134 ) very large, 3 mm long, with short and wide median lobe; parameres symmetrical; inner sac ribbon-like, large and long, folded on itself, covered with numerous little scales.

Differential diagnosis. Thyreocephalus ferox differs from all species of Thyreocephalus from Africa south of the Sahara in the rounded labrum and in the shape of the aedeagus with a very short median lobe.

Distribution. The species is distributed with certainity in Tanzania (including Zanzibar). The type locality (Ostafrika) can be situated in Kenya or in Tanzania ( Fig. 108 ).

Remarks. The type locality of T. ferox is specified in detail neither in the description, nor on the locality label, so the only information (Ostafrika) is indicated in the title of the paper.

Figures

FIGURE 108. Distribution of species in Thyreocephalus giganteus group (▲ = T. giganteus Janák), T. magnus group, (● = T. magnus Janák, ○ = T. michaeli Janák) and T. ferox group (■ = T. ferox (Harold )).

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.

FIGURES 130 – 134. Thyreocephalus ferox (Harold); 130, head and pronotum; 131, labrum; 132, male tergite 10; 133, male sternite 9; 134, aedeagus.