Neopimus tragardhi ( Fagel, 1961 )

Janák, Jiří, 2019, Revision of the South African genus Neopimus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Zootaxa 4577 (2), pp. 361-370 : 366-367

Neopimus tragardhi ( Fagel, 1961)

( Figs. 16–19 , 29 )

Type locality. South Africa, Eastern Cape Province, Sweet Waters .

Pimus tragardhi Fagel, 1961: 286 .

Neopimus tragardhi ; Özdikmen, Demir & Türkeş, 2008: 202.

Type locality. South Africa, Eastern Cape, Sweetwaters .

Type material examined. Holotype ♂: “Sweet-waters, 20.III.1905 // S. Afr. Natal, Ivar Trägårdh // G. Fagel det. 1959, Pimus Trägårdhi n. gen. n. sp. // HOLOTYPUS // MZLU, Type no. 3402: 1” (ZMLU).

Redescription: Body length 3.3 mm, forebody length 1.8 mm. Brown, head black, legs and antennae yellowish-brown ( Fig. 16 ).

Head ( Fig. 16 ) moderately convex, a quarter wider than long (W/L = 1.28). Surface, except for small unpunctured middle area rugosely, coarsely and densely punctured, punctures about as large as basal diameter of second antennal segment, surface without microsculpture. Labrum medially emarginated, with short internal lobes. Antennae moderately short, segments 1–9 longer than wide, segment 1 slightly longer than segments 2 and 3 combined, fifth segment longer than wide (L/W = 1.34), tenth segment about as long as wide (L/W = 1.00).

Pronotum rounded trapezoid shaped, moderately convex, markedly transverse (L/W = 0.86) and markedly narrower than head (PW/HW = 0.86). Sides moderately narrowed posteriorly. Surface, except for relatively wide unpunctured line rugosely, coarsely and moderately densely punctured, slightly sparsely than on head, interstices on average slightly larger as punctures, surface without microsculpture. Unpunctured line in narrowest part in middle of pronotum except for small part near anterior margin about three times as wide as diameter of puncture.

Elytra rounded trapezoidal, only slightly convex on disc, almost about a half wider than long (R = 1.31). Sides slightly convex widened behind.

Abdomen slightly widened to segment VI, extremely finely and sparsely punctured. Interstices on tergite VII about 3–5 larger than diameter of punctures. Surface with very fine microsculpture consisting of transverse mesh.

Male. Sternites III–VII without modifications, posterior margin of sternite VIII ( Fig. 18 ) largely moderately deeply triangularly emarginate. Aedeagus ( Figs. 17, 18 ) 0.52 mm long. Median lobe with apical process very wide in ventral view and markedly straight in lateral view.

Female. Unknown.

Differential diagnosis N. tragardhi ( Fagel, 1961) differs from N. capensis sp. nov. and N. zulu sp. nov. by the markedly transverse pronotum and also by the wider and shorter aedeagus.

Distribution. N. tragardhi is currently recorded only from Sweet Waters in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.

Note. Sweet Waters was visited by the author in January 2015. Unfortunately no specimens of Neopimus were collected. There are currently only small remnants of indigenous forest at this locality, apparently damaged by logging and cattle grazing.

Figures

FIGURE 29. Distribution map of Neopimus. 1, Neopimus capensis sp. nov.; 2, Neopimus tragardhi; 3, Neopimus zulu sp. nov.

FIGURES 16–19. Neopimus tragardhi (Fagel), holotype. 16, habitus; 17, aedeagus ventral; 18, aedeagus lateral; 19 male sternite VIII; 17, 18, reflected light.