Hesperus spectabilis BERNHAUER 1928

Hromádka, L., 2012, Revision of the Afrotropical species of the genus Hesperus FAUVEL (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Philonthina), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (1), pp. 551-589 : 576-577

Hesperus spectabilis BERNHAUER 1928 (Figs 73-75)

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Paratype ["Cotypus"]: South Africa, Natal, Frere, British Museum Marshall Collection 1910-42, // Hesperus spectabilis Bernhauer COTYPUS [ochre oblong label handwritten] Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer collection (FMNH).

R e d e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 12.5 mm, length of fore body (to end of elytra) 7.5 mm.

C o l o u r a t i o n: Head, pronotum, scutellum and abdomen black, elytra red, maxillary and labial palpi and legs red-yellow, mandibles black, antennomeres 1-3 red-brown, remaining antennomeres black.

Head transverse, distinctly wider than long (ratio 60: 49), very slightly narrowed ante- riad, posterior angles obtusely rounded, bearing one long black bristle. Eyes small, three times shorter than temples (ratio 9: 28). Entire head, except round middle portion, with numerous coarse irregularly arranged punctures. Surface with very fine microsculpture consisting of transverse waves.

Antennae incomplete in the specimen studies, right antenna only with 8 antennomeres, left antenna missing.

Pronotum wider than long (ratio 52: 50), parallel-sided in basal third, slightly narrowed posteriad, base straight. Anterior angles conspicuously deflexed, vaguely obtusely rounded, with several coarse punctures and bearing variably long bristles. With wide impunctate midline, each side with numerous coarse irregular arranged punctures. Surface with microsculpture similar to that on head.

Scutellum very densely and coarsely punctate, punctures larger than eye-facets, interstices much smaller than a puncture diameter in transverse direction.

Elytra longer than wide (ratio 70: 65), parallel-sided. Punctation fine and dense, diameter of punctures smaller than that on scutellum, separated by a puncture diameter, or less here and there. Sides with several variably long yellow-brown bristles. Surface without microsculpture; setation yellow-brown.

Legs. Metatibia longer than metatarsus (ratio 33: 28), metatarsomere 1 longer than metatarsomere 5.

Abdomen wide, from visible tergite III slightly narrowed posteriad. First three visible tergites with two basal lines, elevated area between basal lines punctate. Punctation of tergites slightly coarser than that on elytra. Surface without microsculpture; setation similar to that on elytra.

Male. Protarsomeres 1-3 slightly dilated and sub-bilobed, each covered with modified pale setae ventrally, protarsomere 4 small. Aedeagus (Figs 73-75).

Female. Unknown to the author.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s Hesperus spectabilis may be distinguished from the similar H. africanus by the longer eyes, paler antennomeres 1-3, not iridescent pronotum and by the different shape of the aedeagus.

D i s t r i b u t i o n:SouthAfrica( HERMAN 2001).