Silpha francoisi Dierkens, 2020

Sommer, David, Růžička, Jan & Barclay, Maxwell V. L., 2025, Uncovering diversity of carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Silphinae) across the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot, Zootaxa 5706 (4), pp. 451-493 : 471-478

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5706.4.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0600BD17-4293-441F-8370-7B78C34A8DB0
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17883590
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D20631-FFF0-FFD5-D2DC-F956575158B6
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Silpha francoisi Dierkens, 2020
status

Treatment

Silpha francoisi Dierkens, 2020 View in CoL

( Figs. 6A–F View FIGURE 6 , 9H View FIGURE 9 , 11B View FIGURE 11 , 13D View FIGURE 13 , 17H View FIGURE 17 , 18D View FIGURE 18 , 20H View FIGURE 20 , 21G View FIGURE 21 , 22–23)

Published records (shown in the maps in Figs. 22–23).

Dierkens (2020): “ Tanzanie, Mbeya, Mbogo Mts, Umalila forest”.

Type locality. Tanzanie, Mbeya, Mbogo Mts, Umalila forest [ca. 9°10’40”S 33°16’29”E, 2385 m a.s.l.] GoogleMaps .

Type material. Not examined .

Additional material ( 7 specimens). Tanzania, Mbeya Region : 1 ♀ ( MZLU) ( Figs. 6E–F View FIGURE 6 ), Southern Highlands, iii.–iv.1985, Börje Pettersson lgt .; 1 ♂ 1 ♀ ( JSCC) ( Figs. 6A–D View FIGURE 6 , 9H View FIGURE 9 , 11B View FIGURE 11 , 13D View FIGURE 13 , 17H View FIGURE 17 , 18D View FIGURE 18 , 20H View FIGURE 20 , 21G–H View FIGURE 21 ) , 2 ♀♀ ( JRUC) , 2 ♀♀ ( RSEC), Rungwe Mt. , 2400 m, i.2017, local collector lgt .

Redescription. Male ( ♂). Body ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ) oval, dorso-ventrally flattened. Elytra arched. Whole body surface and appendages black.

Head ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ). Black, lustrous, surface with dense, coarse, distinct, regular punctation. Covered with short, recumbent orange setation. Lateral area posterior to clypeal suture with long, erect orange setation. Clypeus anteriorly widely notched. Anterior margin of clypeus with slightly irregular row of dense, long, orange setation. Eye kidney-shaped in lateral view. Frons with marked dorsal tentorial pits and a transverse, elevated crest posteriorly.

Antennae ( Figs. 6A View FIGURE 6 , 20H View FIGURE 20 ). Medium-sized, with last four antennomeres forming a distinct club.

Pronotum ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ) moderately transverse, widest posteriorly. Margins rimmed anteriorly and laterally; anterior margin only slightly elevated, concave, without medial emargination; anterior angles weakly elevated. Posterior margin strongly sinuous laterally. Surface shiny, with dense, coarse punctation, punctures medium sized, not separated, from disc to margin larger and more deeply impressed. Punctures bearing extremely short, orange setae.

Scutellum ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ). Irregularly triangular, widely vaulted medially. Surface with coarse, distinct, dense, homogenous punctation, from disc to margin only slightly smaller and slightly impressed; covered with extremely short, recumbent, black setation. Posterior margin rounded.

Elytra ( Figs. 6A View FIGURE 6 , 9H View FIGURE 9 ) subparallel, at the widest point (along 2/3 of its length) wider than pronotum. Elytron with three distinctly elevated, rounded ridges; ridges nearly reaching apex of elytron; external ridge shortened anteriorly and posteriorly. Elytral epipleura strongly elevated dorsally along almost the entire length, flattened at elytral apex. Apex of elytron rounded. Surface shiny, without setation, with isodiametric microsculpture; covered with dense, coarse, distinct, regular punctation; punctures separated by 1.0 of their diameter or less. Punctures posteriorly with big tubercle. Each tubercle bearing a small, short, black seta. Elytra with coarse, subrectangular punctures covering most of the surface in dorsal view. Elytral epipleura irregularly, coarsely punctated in ventral view.

Metathoracic wings. Apterous.

Ventrum . Thorax finely to roughly punctate, covered mostly with short to medium-sized, recumbent, orange setae. Proventrite without punctation laterally; metaventrite sparsely, roughly punctate, with dense, medium-sized setation. Mesocoxae closely separated. Abdominal ventrites with distinct impressions laterally in ventral view. Abdominal ventrites punctate, covered with short, orange setation, with expanded brick-wall pattern on intersegmental membranes.

Legs ( Figs. 6A View FIGURE 6 , 21G–H View FIGURE 21 ). Protarsus not expanded. Pro-, meso- and metatibia each with two apical spurs of different length. Metatibia almost straight in ventral view. Trochanters with bunch of medium-sized, orange setae.

Abdominal segments ( Fig. 13D View FIGURE 13 ). Tergite VIII subquadrate, apically regularly rounded. Ventrite VIII apically and posteriorly truncate. Ventrite IX rectangular, apically almost straight, subquadrate and deeply medially desclerotized in ventral view. Spiculum gastrale robust, strongly elongate in ventral view; near the apex only slightly expanded.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 11B View FIGURE 11 ). Median lobe stout, robust, tapered to widely rounded apex. Internal sac sclerotized. Parameres slender, straight, shorter than median lobe, apex rounded. Basal portion oval, robust, slightly exceeding the width of median lobe.

Sexual dimorphism. Female ( ♀) ( Figs. 5B–F View FIGURE 5 , 17H View FIGURE 17 , 18D View FIGURE 18 ). Similar to male, except for the following structures. Tergite VIII widely rounded. Ventrite VIII weakly rounded. Tergite IX elongate, rounded, in first half almost straight; tergite X widely rounded, almost pentagonal, apex with dense setation. Coxite robust, subquadrate, apex almost straight; stylus extremely elongated, triangular, inserted apically.

Variability. Individuals vary in size and shape (see next paragraph).

Measurements. TBL 13.6 mm in ♂ and 13.2–14.1 mm in ♀; MBW 8.5 mm in ♂ and 8.0– 8.5 mm in ♀; RLWP 0.63 in ♂, 0.62–0.65 in ♀; RLWE 1.04 in ♂, 1.00– 1.13 in ♀.

Differential diagnosis. Refer to species key and Table 3 below.

Distribution. An endemic species, known only from several localities in southern Tanzania (see map, Figs. 22–23 and Table 2).