Laccophilus mediocris Guignot, 1952

Bistroem, Olof, Nilsson, Anders N. & Bergsten, Johannes, 2015, Taxonomic revision of Afrotropical Laccophilus Leach, 1815 (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae), ZooKeys 542, pp. 1-379 : 123-125

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Dytiscidae

Laccophilus mediocris Guignot, 1952 Figs 89-90, 278-279, 435, 552

Laccophilus mediocris Guignot 1952d: 4 (original description, faunistics); Guignot 1956a: 88 (faunistics); Omer-Cooper 1958b: 51 (discussion); Guignot 1959a: 562, 567, 568 (description, faunistics); Bilardo and Pederzani 1978: 119 (faunistics, description); Medler 1980: 155 (faunistics, catalogue); Pederzani and Rocchi 1982: 72 (faunistics); Nilsson et al. 1995: 505 (faunistics); Nilsson 2001: 246 (catalogue, faunistics); Pederzani and Reintjes 2002: 40 (faunistics); Reintjes 2000: 67 (faunistics); Bilardo and Rocchi 2008: 211, 236 (faunistics, biology); Bilardo and Rocchi 2013: 141 (faunistics); Nilsson 2015: 214 (catalogue, faunistics).

Laccophilus meii Rocchi 2000: 24 (original description, faunistics, discussion); Nilsson 2001: 246 (catalogue, faunistics); Nilsson 2015: 214 (catalogue, faunistics). New synonym.

Type localities.

Laccophilus mediocris : Ivory Coast: Toumodi.

Laccophilus meii : Republic of Guinea: Faranah, Sidakoro.

Type material studied

(8 exs.) Laccophilus mediocris . Holotype: male: "Cote d’Ivoire Toumodi /male symbol / Wehnckei Shp det. Gschwendt. / Type / Laccophilus mediocris Guign. Type, male" (MNHN). - Paratypes: "Cote d’Ivoire Toumodi / Museum Paris 12-1930-IV-1931 Ch. Alluaud & P.A. Chappuis / female symbol / Paratype" (3 exs. MNHN; habitus in Fig. 435); Mali: "Soudan Francais Bamako / Museum Paris 12-1930-IV-1931 Ch. Alluaud & P.A. Chappuis / male symbol / Paratype" (1 ex. MNHN).

Laccophilus meii : Holotype: male: “République de Guinée, PNHN 10 10o15'08"N, 10o28'20"W Faranah, Sidakoro, mare, 12.1. 1996 leg. M. Mei" (in acqua con fondo fangoso e molto detrito) / Holotypus / Laccophilus meii sp. n. det. S. Rocchi 1997" (MZUL). - Paratypes, female with same data as holotype but labelled “Paratypus” (1 ex. MZUL); male: “République de Guinée, PNHN9, 10o27'50"N, 10o26'26"W, Faranah, Somorya F. Koffin 18.1. 1996 leg. M. Mei / Paratypus / Laccophilus meii sp. n. det. S. Rocchi 1997" (1 ex. CSR).

Additional material studied

(22 exs.). Ivory-Coast: “Comoé NP, N8,5° - W3,5° Reintjes / 20.2. 1999" (1 ex. NMW); same data but "5.1. 1999" (3 exs. NMW); "Touba, a la lumière 4. 2002 Moretto / Laccophilus mediocris det. Rocchi 2002" (1 ex. CSR). - Ghana: "Ashanti Reg. Kwadaso, agric. st., 6.42N- 1.39W / 26.2. 1969 light trap Endrödy-Younga” (1 ex. TMSA, 1 ex. MZH); "N Reg., Damongo game res. 9.04N- 1.48W / at light 12.8. 1971 Endrödy-Younga” (1 ex. TMSA). - Nigeria: "Kontagora 3.IV. 1963 JOC." (3 exs. AMGS); "Stream, road Kaduna-Kontagora 3.IV. 1963 JOC." (1 ex. AMGS); "River, Enugo rd about 47 mi. from Makurdi 24.4. 1963 JOC." (3 exs. AMGS); "Stream Enugo-Makurdi 24.IV. 1963 JOC." (1 ex. AMGS); "Stream 86 mi. from Makurdi on Jos road 25.IV. 1963" (5 exs. MNHN). - Congo: "Ewo 5. 1979 Onore / Laccophilus mediocris Guignot det. Pederzani" (1 ex. CSR).

Comments on synonymy.

Male holotypes of Laccophilus mediocris and Laccophilus meii have been studied and compared. Both external and male genital features seem to be identical. Accordingly the two species are regarded conspecific, and Laccophilus mediocris , which is the older name, is the valid name of the species. Laccophilus mediocris seems to have been overlooked when Laccophilus meii was introduced as a new species because no reference to it is given to it in the original description ( Rocchi 2000).

Diagnosis.

Laccophilus mediocris is especially characterized by its peculiar, twisted penis, which is different from all other African Laccophilus species. Additionally, apical portion of penis comparatively delicate, narrow and moderately twisted; extreme apex finely hooked.

Description.

Body length 3.6-4.1 mm, width 2.0-2.2 mm. Elytra with vague colour pattern; irrorations of elytra somewhat weakly developed and in part vague. In frontal half some vague, pale areas may be discerned (Fig. 435).

Head: Pale ferrugineous. Submat, finely microsculptured; reticulation in part indistinctly double. Large meshes indistinct; when discernible they are only slightly coarser than fine meshes; may include 3-6 fine meshes. At eyes with very fine, scattered punctures. Area of punctures extends a short distance towards centre of head.

Pronotum: Pale ferrugineous; distinct colour pattern lacking. Finely microsculptured and reticulation indistinctly double. Anteriorly and laterally with very fine punctures.

Elytra: Pale ferrugineous, with extensive but rather indistinct, ferrugineous irrorations (Fig. 435). Slightly mat, densely microsculptured. Difference between fine and coarse meshes very small. Rows of punctures hardly visible, almost absent. Discal row of punctures consists of fine, somewhat irregularly located punctures. Dorsolateral and lateral row of punctures only with a few, scattered punctures discernible.

Ventral aspect: Pale ferrugineous; no distinct colour pattern discernible. Almost impunctate. Rather shiny, although very finely, in part indistinctly microsculptured. Semitransverse furrows of metacoxal plates shallow and quite indistinct. Abdomen basally with curved striae. Prosternal process slender and pointed. Apical ventrite with asymmetric (located on one side) knob (Fig. 89).

Legs: Pro- and mesotarsus slightly enlarged, provided with protruding suckers.

Male genitalia: Penis twisted, in lateral aspect with apical portion of penis comparatively delicate, narrow and moderately undulate; extreme apex finely hooked (Figs 274-275).

Female: Apical ventrite almost symmetric lacking lateral knob (Fig. 90). Pro- and mesotarsus narrower than in male.

Distribution.

Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo (Fig. 552). Non-verified country-records are Zaire ( Guignot 1956a), Guinea-Bissau ( Nilsson et al. 1995) and Gabon ( Bilardo and Rocchi 2008).

Collecting circumstances.

Rather insufficiently documented. When describing Laccophilus meii , Rocchi (2000), however, added some data on the sampling localities: the species was collected in water with a muddy bottom and much debris and moreover, in a pool along river bed of Koffin River.