Oedichirus cardamomensis, Rougemont, 2018

Rougemont, Guillaume de, 2018, New oriental Oedichirus (Staphylinidae, Paederinae, Pinophilini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1), pp. 461-536 : 472-473

Oedichirus cardamomensis nov.sp.

(Figs 22)

Material studied: ♂ Holotype: INDIA, Madras , N° 50, Cardamon H. , 12 km Ouest de Valara Fall, 100 m, Besuchet Löbl Mussard / HOLOTYPE Oedichirus cardamomensis des. 2015 G. de Rougemont [ MHNG] ; 2♀♀ paratypes: INDIA, Kerala, Cardamon H. , 450-500 m, Valara Fall , 46 km. S.O. de Munnar , 25.XI.72, Besuchet Löbl Mussard / PARATYPE Oedichirus cardamomensis des. 2015 G. de Rougemont [ MHNG and CRO] .

Description: length: ca. 7 mm; length of fore-body: 2.8; length of head: 0.72; breadth of head: 0.82; length of antenna: 2; length of pronotum: 1; breadth of pronotum: 0.72; length of elytron: 0.9; breadth of elytra: 0.92. Head black, pronotum and elytra rufo-testaceous, abdominal segments III-VI darker, reddish-brown, segments VII-IX black; palpi, antennae and legs testaceous. Body devoid of microsculpture. Pubescence shorter and sparser on fore-body, longer and denser on abdomen, erect. Habitus: Fig. 22h.

Head strongly transverse, eyes large; post-ocular border salient, consisting of a carina ending anteriorly in a small tooth; puncturation of disc sparse, consisting of a pair of small setiferous punctures on frons, six punctures on vertex, an arcuate series of four punctures near base, and three punctures on each side in groove of post-ocular border. Pronotum strongly elongate, widest just behind anterior 1/3 rd, the sides very slightly rounded before base; lateral line entirely bordered; no discal series of punctures, with only two punctures on each side on anterior margin, a lateral series of two widely spaced punctures, three punctures on lateral margins, and a pair of punctures before base. Elytra a little shorter than pronotum, leaving a large part of abdominal segment II exposed; puncturation very sparse, consisting on each side of 3-4 juxta-sutural punctures, a lateral series of three widely spaced punctures, and two punctures bearing long setae on lateral margins. Puncturation of abdominal tergites arranged in discrete transverse rows, three in number on segments IV and V, on which there is no row adjacent to the anterior row of keels, but with such a row on segment VI.

Male: abdominal sternite VII unmodified; sternite VIII with a broad, fairly shallow apical emargination bordered by acute angles; aedoeagus: Fig. 22arl, small, simple, without visible parameres.

O. cardamomensis nov.sp. is one of three closely related species confined to south India, including O. lucabosmontis nov.sp. from the Anaimalai Hills and O. coorgensis nov.sp. from Coorg. O. cardamomensis most closely resembles O. coorgensis , from which it is distinguished by its black, smaller and more transverse head, the punctures of the last row of each abdominal tergite which are as numerous and as closely spaced as those of anterior rows, as well as the conformation of the female sternite IX.

Key 4.