Craspedophorus ruvumanus, Häckel, Martin, 2016

Häckel, Martin, 2016, A contribution to the knowledge of the subfamily Panagaeinae Hope, 1838 from Africa. Part 1. Revision of the Craspedophorus reflexus group (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Zootaxa 4061 (5), pp. 504-526 : 519-520

11. Craspedophorus ruvumanus sp. n.

(Plate 2, Fig. 11, Figs 26 a–f, 27d, Plate 4, Fig. 36)

Type material. Holotype (♂) labelled: “Ugano / 15–1700 m // Tanganyika-Terr., / Matengo-Hochland / wsw. v. Songea, / 21.-31.I, '036. Zerny [= Tanzania, Ruvuma Region]” (Plate 2, Fig. 11, Figs 26 a–f, NMWC).

Description. Length 23.2 mm, width 9.1 mm. Proportions: Pronotum 1.42x wider than long, 1.89x wider than head, elytra 1,44x wider than pronotum.

Coloration. Body piceous black, opaque, densely covered by long, dark yellow setae; underside piceous black, opaque, antennae and palps brownish. Head wide and short, eyes convex, neck constricted.

Pronotum transverse, 1.42x wider than long, almost hexagonal; maximum width immediately behind midlength; anterior margin flat, front angles not projecting anteriorly and strongly rounded; lateral margins evenly rounded; widening gradually to maximum width, then narrowing in weakly sinuate line toward hind angles; each hind angle with a small indentation preceded by an indistinct incision; base medially parallel with elytral base; laterally base slanted forward, causing hind angle to be wide open; sagittal line indistinct, basal pits weakly impressed; surface strongly coarsely and unevenly punctured ( Fig. 26 a).

Elytra fused, almost parallel, weekly convex, flattened on disc, wings reduced. Striae interrupted by punctuation, 1st stria strongly oblique to 2nd stria, joining it near base; intervals fairly convex, finely and densely punctured, sparsely covered by setae.

Underside covered by short setae, finely punctured medially, punctured near margins; metepisterna longer than wide, wider anteriorly than posteriorly ( Fig. 26 e, f). Legs moderately covered by black setae.

Aedeagus (Plate 4, Fig. 36) similar to those of C. impictus and C. ethmoides , but in dorsal view differing by curvature (Plate 4, cf. Figs 34 and 35).

Differential diagnosis. Craspedophorus ruvumanus sp. n. mostly resembles C. ethmoides differing from it by elytral sculpture with punctures much smaller, more rounded, arranged in a more orderly fashion, and spaces between them deeper than centers of intervals. From similarly colored C. impictus the new species differs by smaller size and the same characters as those given by Alluaud for separation of C. ethmoides from C. impictus . The aedeagus presents in lateral view the same curvature as in C. ethmoides and C. impictus , but in craniocaudal view the margins of the endophallus aperture are near base parallel, whereas in the other two species they converge (Plate 4, Figs 34–36).

Etymology. Named after the Ruvuma Region in Tanzania whre the specimen was found. Distribution. Known only from the type locality.

Figures

FIGURE 26. C. ruvumanus sp. n. a. HT (male), dorsal habitus; b. microsculpture of elytral humerus, dorsal view; c. ventrites, ventral view; d. NMWC labels; e. left metepisternum, oblique ventral view; f. left metepisternum outlined in yellow.