Philonthus sequens Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914

Hromádka, Lubomír, 2009, Revision of the Afrotropical species of the Philonthus caffer species group (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Philonthina), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (1), pp. 161-190 : 185-186

Philonthus sequens Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914

( Figs 59–61 )

Philonthus imitator Fauvel, 1907:44 (preoccupied, primary homonym of Philonthus imitator Fauvel, 1895 , = Gabrius imitator (Fauvel, 1895))

Philonthus sequens Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914: 355 (replacement name).

Type locality. Kenya, Lake Victoria, gulf of Winam (‘Baie de Kavirondo’).

Type material. Not examined.

Additional material examined. KENYA: J, ‘AFRICA or.ANGL.( LAC VICTORIA), Baie de Kavirondo,Alluaud & Jeannel, Déc. 1911 -1112. Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection. // Type Philonthus sequens M. Bernhauer [ochre oblong label, handwritten]’ ( FMNH).

Redescription. Body length 7.4 mm, length of fore body (to end of elytra) 3.5 mm.

Colouration. Head, scutellum and abdomen black, pronotum black-brown, anterior half of elytra black, posterior half red, palpomeres 1–2 of maxillary and labial palpi brown, maxillary palpomere 3 and labial palpomere 3 yellow-brown, mandibles, antennomere 1 and base of antennomere 2 brown, remaining antennomeres black, femora and tarsi yellow-brown, tibiae somewhat darker.

Head rounded quadrangular, hardly wider than long (ratio 22: 21), parallel-sided, posterior angles vaguely rounded, each with one long black bristle. Eyes flat, as long as temples. Distance between medial interocular punctures about 4 times as large as distance between medial and lateral interocular punctures. Posterior margin of each eye with four punctures arranged in shape of a square. Temporal area each with several punctures. Surface with very fine transverse waves.

Antennae long, reaching posterior margin of pronotum when reclined, antennomeres 1–7 and 11 longer than wide, antennomeres 8–10 as long as wide, antennomere 1 longer than antennomere 11, antennomere 2 shorter than antennomere 3. Relative length of antennomeres: 1 = 7; 2 = 5; 3 = 6; 4–7 = 3.5; 8–10 = 3; 11 = 5.

Pronotum convex, longer than wide (ratio 28: 25.5), parallel-sided. Each dorsal row with 5 punctures, punctures 2–4 equidistant, distance between punctures 1–2 and 4–5 about half as large as between punctures 2–4. Each sublateral row with two punctures, puncture 1 situated behind level of puncture 3 of dorsal row. Microsculpture similar as on head.

Entire scutellum very finely punctate, punctures smaller than eye-facets, distance between punctures about equal to diameters of punctures.

Elytra as long as wide, parallel-sided, slightly widened posteriad. Punctation fine, relatively dense, punctures as large as eye-facets, separated by distance larger than puncture diameter in transverse direction. Surface without microsculpture; setation greyish.

Legs. Metatibia longer than metatarsus (ratio 24: 21.5), metatarsomere 1 as long as metatarsomere 5, relative length of metatarsomeres: 1 = 7; 2 = 3; 3–4 = 2.5; 5 = 7.

Abdomen parallel-sided anteriorly, slightly narrowed from tergite V towards apex. First three visible tergites with two basal lines, elevated area between basal lines finely punctate on tergite I and II, impunctate on tergite III. Anterior parts of all tergites very finely and densely punctate, punctation becoming somewhat sparser towards posterior margin of each tergite. Surface without microsculpture; setation similar to that on head.

Male. Protarsomeres 1–3 strongly dilated, sub-bilobed, densely covered with modified pale setae ventrally, protarsomere 4 very small. Aedeagus ( Figs. 59–61 ).

Female. Unknown.

Differential diagnosis. This species is similar to P. combustus , but differs by shorter eyes, longer pronotum, darker tibiae, and by different shape of the aedeagus.

Bionomic. Unknown.

Distribution. Kenya (this paper); Ethiopia,? Republic of South Africa (HERMAN 2001).

Figures

Figs. 54–61. 54–56 – Philonthus limbipennis Fauvel, 1905. 57–58 – P. maridadus Tottenham, 1962; 59–61 – P. sequens Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914; 62–63 – P. tomicus Tottenham, 1962. 54, 57, 59 – aedeagus, ventral view; 55, 58, 60 – aedeagus, lateral view; 56, 61 – apex of paramere with sensory peg setae, ventral view; 62 – aedeagus, dorsal view; 63 – paramere, ventral,view.