Hesperus overlaeti BERNHAUER 1939

Hromádka, L., 2012, Revision of the Afrotropical species of the genus Hesperus FAUVEL (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Philonthina), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (1), pp. 551-589 : 570-571

Hesperus overlaeti BERNHAUER 1939 (Figs 59-60)

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: Democratic Republic of the Congo [Belgisch Congo], Lulua: Kapanga, ii.1933, Musée du Congo, // Hesperus overlaeti M. Bernhauer TYPUS [ochre oblong label handwritten] Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer collection’ (FMNH). Paratype ["Cotypus"]: same label data as holotype (FMNH).

R e d e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 12.9 mm, length of fore body (to end of elytra) 6.3 mm.

C o l o u r a t i o n: Head, pronotum and scutellum black, elytra red, abdomen redbrown, maxillary and labial palpi yellow-brown, mandibles black-brown, base of antennomeres 2-3 and antennomere 11 red-yellow, remaining anntenomeres black-brown, legs red-yellow.

Head distinctly transverse (ratio 52: 37), distinctly narrowed posteriad, posterior angles rounded, bearing one long black bristle. Eyes convex, longer than temples (ratio 19: 13), with very wide impunctate midline, each side with scattered coarse punctures. Surface shiny, without microsculpture.

Antennae long, reaching posterior sixth of pronotum when reclined, antennomere 1 twice as long as antennomere 11, antennomere 2 shorter than antennomere 3.

Pronotum wider than long (ratio 50: 47), parallel-sided, anterior angles conspicuously deflexed, vaguely obtusely rounded, bearing several, variably long, black bristles. Each dorsal row with eight approximately equidistant punctures. With wide impunctate midline, each side with several coarse irregularly arranged punctures. Surface without microsculpture.

Middle of scutellum very coarsely and densely punctate, diameter of punctures almost twice as large as one eye-facet, distance between punctures very small, sides and base impunctate.

Elytra slightly widened posteriad, inconspicuously wider than long (ratio 77: 75), punctation much finer and sparser than that on scutellum, separated by two puncture diameters in transverse direction. Surface without microsculpture; setation yellow-orange.

Legs. Metatibia longer than metatarsus (ratio 42: 40) metatarsomere 1 as long as metatarsomere 5.

Abdomen wide, cone-shaped, regularly narrowed posteriad. First three visible tergites with two basal lines, elevated area between lines impunctate. Punctation at base of visible tergites coarser and denser than that on elytra, becoming sparser and finer towards posterior margin of each tergite. Surface without microsculpture; setation similar to that on elytra.

Male. Unknown to the author.

Female. Protarsomeres 1-3 quite markedly dilated and sub-bilobed, each covered with modified pale setae ventrally, protarsomere 4 heart-shaped. Tergite X (Fig. 59), gonocoxite of female genital segment (Fig. 60).

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s Hesperus overlaeti may be distinguished from the similar H. strigiventris by the longer eyes, shorter antennae and wider pronotum

D i s t r i b u t i o n: Democratic Republic of the Congo. ( HERMAN 2001).