Philonthus upupa, Hromádka, 2014

Hromádka, L., 2014, Four new species of the genus Philonthus from Afrotropical region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Philonthina), Linzer biologische Beiträge 46 (1), pp. 687-694 : 692-694

Philonthus upupa nov.sp. ( Figs 18-20 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l Holotype: " Liberia: Mt. Nimba. Grassfield, 16-25.ix.1979, lowland forest 500 m, in human faces // HOLOTYPE Philonthus upupa nov.sp. Hromádka det., [red oblong printed label]" (BMNH). Paratype: the same label data as in holotype [red oblong printed label] (cHPC).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 7.8 – 8.0 mm, length of fore body (to end of elytra) 3.7 mm.

Coloration. Head black with greenish-blue hue, pronotum dark brown with reddish-gold lustre, elytra brown-yellow, abdomen, legs and labrum yellow-brown, mandibles brownyellow, maxillary and labial palpi yellow-brown, terminal palpomere of both palpi slightly lighter, antennomere 1 and base of antennomere 2 brown, remaining antennomeres black.

Head rounded, (ratio 26: 22.5), slightly narrowed posteriad, eyes large and slightly convex, much longer than temples (ratio 12: 7.5), posterior angles indistinct, between eyes 6 coarse approximately equidistant punctures, temporal area with several fine punctures, surface with very fine and dense microsculpture consisting of transverse and obligue waves.

Antennae long, reaching almost posterior margin of pronotum when reclined, all antennomeres longer than wide, antennomere 1 almost twice longer than antennomere 11, antennomere 2 shorter than antennomere 3.

Pronotum as wide as long, slightly narrowed anteriad, anterior angles almost rectangular, posterior angles markedly rounded, each dorsal row with 6 equidistant punctures, each sublateral row with 3 punctures, puncture 1 slightly shifted to the middle, surface with distinct microsculpture.

Scutellum finely and sparsely punctate, surface with very fine microsculpture, setation yellow-brown.

Elytra almost quadrate (ratio 37: 35), very slightly widened posteriad, anterior angles bearing several varying long bristles, punctation fine and dense, diameter of punctures equal in size to eye-facets, separated by two puncture diameteres in transverse direction Surface between punctures lacks microsculpture, sides densely hairy; setation yellowbrown.

Legs. Metatibia slightly longer than metatarsus (ratio 25: 23), metatarsomere 1 as long as metatarsomere 5 and as long as metatarsomeres 2-3 combined.

Abdomen slightly narrowed posteriad beginning with visible tergite III, first three visible tergites with two basal lines, elevated area between lines impunctate, punctation at base of all tergites similar to that on elytra, becoming slightly sparser towards posterior margin of each tergite, surface lacks microsculpture, setation similar to that on elytra.

Male. Protarsomeres 1-3 only slightly dilated, protarsomere 4 narrower than preceding ones, sternite IX ( Fig. 20 ), aedeagus ( Figs 18-19 ).

Female. Protarsomeres 1-3 slighty dilated, similar to that on male, protarsomere 4 very narrow.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s Philonthus upupa nov.sp. is similar to P. ichor TOTTENHAM, 1961 , (Figs 21-23), may be distinguished by the longer and slender antennae, shorter eyes, head and pronotum with greenish-blue or reddish-gold lustre, darker pronotum, denser punctation of abdomen and by the different shape of the aedeagus.

E t y m o l o g y: The name of this species, a noun in apposition, is the Latin generic name of the African and European hoopoe Upupa epops LINNAEUS 1758.

D i s t r i b u t i o n: Liberia.

Figures

Figs 18-20: Philonthus upupa nov.sp.: (18) aedeagus ventral view, (19) apex of paramere with sensory peg setae, ventral view, (20) male sternite IX, ventral view. Figs 21-23: Philonthus ichor TOTTENHAM, 1961: (21) aedeagus, ventral view, (22) aedeagus, lateral view, (23) paramere with sensory peg setae, ventral view.