Acylophorus delphinus Fauvel

Lott, Derek A., 2010, The species of Acylophorus Nordmann (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) in continental sub-Saharan Africa, Zootaxa 2402, pp. 1-51 : 9

Acylophorus delphinus Fauvel

(Figs 104–107)

Acylophorus delphinus Fauvel, 1905: 181 ; Bernhauer and Schubert, 1916: 438; Jarrige, 1965: 141; Herman, 2001: 3028.

Redescription. Length 7 mm. Body pitchy with abdomen shiny, but not iridescent, pronotum, paler. Abdominal tergite and sternite VIII both with dark medial band between pale base and apex. Legs, palpi and antennal segment I pale, remaining antennal segments infuscated.

Head of average size (pronotum 1.75x wider than head), slightly transverse (1.1x wider than long) with temples very slightly angled (Fig. 104). Shining with micro-punctures extremely sparse, but with dense short pubescence behind eyes. Two pairs of interocular setae arising from foveate punctures much closer to eyes than each other. A line of five postocular setae on each side plus an additional long seta out of line near the hind border of the eye. Maxillary palpi with terminal segment pubescent, slightly asymmetric, elongate, but less so than A. orientalis , longer than glabrous penultimate segment which is not elongate (Fig. 105). Antennae inserted right on front margin of head with no pigmented area in front of the insertion. First segment of antenna longer than next three. Segments I to VIII elongate, X to XI transverse (Fig. 106).

Pronotum slightly transverse (1.1x wider than long) with rounded sides, widest in basal half. Shining with no micro-punctures. One pair of dorsal setae. One pair of lateral setae. Marginal setae largely abraded on the material available for study. Elytra transverse (1.6x wider than long) with long, close pubescence and dense asperate punctures. Fringe of bristles on hind margins thicker, but not longer than the general pubescence. Abdominal tergites also with long pubescence and strong asperate punctures, but not quite as dense as on elytra and becoming sparser toward the hind margin of each tergite. Punctures on tergite VII as strong as on tergite III.

Aedeagus narrow with the paramere divided into two parallel lobes, each lobe being straight, narrow and somewhat ridged dorsally, though much less so than in A. orientalis (Fig. 107). The internal pegs are confusedly distributed toward the apex. The median lobe is appreciably longer than the paramere.

Type material. Fauvel described the species from a single specimen collected at Abovombé in Madagascar. This specimen is the holotype by monotypy. Holotype 3: “Ambovombé Madag. / Acylophorus Nordmann / delphinus Fvl. / R.I.Sc.N.B. 17.479 Coll. et det. A. Fauvel / TYPE / HOLOTYPE Acylophorus delphinus Fauvel 3 det. DA Lott, 2009” ( IRSNB). Jarrige (1965) wrongly supposed this specimen to be a female. When the type was examined in 2009, the genital segment was found to be pushed back into the abdomen with the dorsal sclerite and parameral surface of the aedeagus broken off, as though an attempt at dissecting the genitalia had already been made and aborted. Fortunately, the more significant features of the aedeagus were not damaged.

Distribution and bionomics. A. delphinus is only known from the type specimen taken in Madagascar. I have not seen it from continental Africa.

Comparative notes. This species is similar to A. orientalis , but can be distinguished by the pale terminal segment of the maxillary palpi, the longer additional postocular seta on the hind margin of the eye and the form of the aedeagus.