Euconnomorphus Franz

Jałoszyński, Paweł, 2012, Taxonomy of ' Euconnus complex'. Part I. Morphology of Euconnus s. str. and revision of Euconnomorphus Franz and Venezolanoconnus Franz (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 3555, pp. 55-82 : 69-73

Euconnomorphus Franz

Euconnomorphus Franz, 1980a: 207 . Type species: Euconnomorphus pilosissimus Franz, 1980a (original designation).

Revised diagnosis. Male: head elongate, with long, subconical vertex projecting dorso-caudad; tempora and sides of pronotum with dense, strongly erect bristles; fronto-clypeal groove absent; maxillary palpomere III strongly elongate and slender; mandible with broad basal part and abruptly narrowing, slender distal part with single mesal submedian tooth; pronotum bell-shaped, with four ante-basal foveae; basisternal part of prosternum about as long as procoxal cavities; prosternum without intercoxal process or carina; mesoventral intercoxal process long, narrow and strongly expanded ventrally (keel-shaped); mesoventrite without setose or asetose lateral impressions behind anterior ridge; mesothorax with two pairs of deep lateral foveae; metacoxae narrowly separated by subtrapezoidal metaventral intercoxal process; each elytron with single rudimentary and asetose basal fovea; parameres with broad sheath-like bases surrounding median lobe and with slender apical parts. Females and their diagnostic characters unknown.

Redescription. Body of male ( Figs. 46–47 ) strongly convex, elongate but moderately slender, with long appendages, BL nearly 3 mm; cuticle glossy, brown, densely setose, vestiture long and erect.

Head ( Figs. 48–49 , 52 ) elongate, rhomboidal in shape, with large eyes; occipital constriction ( Fig. 52 ; occ) in the narrowest place about as wide as half HW; tempora longer than eyes, gradually convergent caudad, each bearing long setae directed dorso-caudad and additionally oval patch of short and very dense setae adjacent to occipital constriction; vertex subconical and projecting dorso-caudad, bearing long setae directed dorso-caudad; frons between eyes transverse, abruptly and steeply declining towards strongly transverse clypeus; fronto-clypeal groove absent; antennal insertions separated by elongate part of frons slightly narrower than width of scape.

Labrum transverse with rounded anterior margin. Mandibles ( Figs. 48, 49 ) symmetrical, each with broad basal part, without noticeable prostheca, and with abruptly delimited, slender and curved distal part bearing single submedian mesal tooth. Each maxilla ( Fig. 52 ) with subtriangular basistipes ( Fig. 52 : bst), elongate galea ( Fig. 52 ; gal) and lacinia ( Fig. 52 ; lac) and long maxillary palp composed of minute elongate palpomere I ( Fig. 52 ; mxpI), strongly elongate, pedunculate palpomere II ( Fig. 52 ; mxpII), long and slender palpomere III ( Fig. 52 ; mxpIII) broadest near apex, and small, subconical and pointed palpomere IV ( Fig. 52 ; mxpIV).

Labium ( Fig. 52 ) with broad, subhexagonal submentum ( Fig. 52 ; smn) indistinctly delimited from gular plate ( Fig. 52 ; gp) and laterally fused with hypostoma ( Fig. 52 ; h), subtrapezoidal mentum ( Fig. 52 ; mn); and short prementum with a pair of median bristles and narrowly separated, small 3-segmented labial palps ( Fig. 52 ; lp).

Gular plate ( Fig. 52 ; gp) large and without demarcated anterior part; gular sutures ( Fig. 52 ; gs) superficial; posterior tentorial pits ( Fig. 52 ; ptp) indistinctly marked at base of submentum.

Antennae ( Figs. 46–47 ) gradually thickening towards apices, antennomere XI distinctly asymmetrical, with subconical apex.

Pronotum ( Figs. 46–47 ) in dorsal view bell-shaped, with moderately well-defined anterior and posterior corners; with rounded sides devoid of marginal carinae or edges; base of pronotum with two pairs of small antebasal foveae; sides of pronotum with dense, thick and long setae.

Prosternum ( Figs. 51, 53 ; ps) with long basisternal part not demarcated from procoxal cavities ( Fig. 53 ; pcc); median part of sternum without intercoxal carina or process; procoxal sockets ( Fig. 53 ; pcs) closed by lateral lobes of sternum; hypomera ( Fig. 53 ; hy) subtriangular; hypomeral ridge ( Fig. 53 ; hyr) disrupted near middle; notosternal sutures ( Fig. 53 ; nss) entire.

Mesoscutellum very small, subtriangular, barely visible between bases of elytra; mesoscuto-scutellar suture not visible in slide preparation.

Mesoventrite ( Figs. 51, 54 ;) with narrow anterior ridge ( Fig. 54 ; ar) without median projection; mesoventral intercoxal process ( Fig. 54 ; msvp) narrow and keel-shaped; mesanepisternum with long prepectus ( Fig. 54 ; pre) and posterior part ( Fig. 54 ; aestII) visible in ventral view; mesepimeron not visible in ventral view; sides of mesothorax with two pairs of deep foveae: ventro-lateral foveae ( Fig. 54 ; vlf) behind prepectus and dorso-lateral foveae ( Fig. 54 ; dlf) behind mesanepisternum.

Metaventrite ( Figs. 51, 54 ; vIII) strongly transverse, anteriorly fused with mesoventrite, posteriorly deeply bisinuate and with narrow median subtrapezoidal metaventral intercoxal process ( Fig. 54 ; mtvp). Metanepisterna ( Fig. 54 ; aestIII) and metepimera ( Fig. 54 ; epmIII) narrow.

Metafurca ( Fig. 54 ) with very short and broad stem and divergent lateral furcal arms ( Fig. 54 ; lmfa).

Elytra ( Figs. 46–47, 50 ) oval, each with single rudimentary and asetose basal fovea located in shallow and indistinctly delimited basal impression; humeral calli well-marked; each elytral apex ( Fig. 50 ) with setal brush inserted on small papilla.

Legs ( Figs. 46–47 , 51, 53–54 ) long and slender; procoxae subglobose, mesocoxae slightly elongate, metacoxae transverse, stout; all trochanters short; all femora gradually clavate, metafemora with indistinctly delimited, slightly impressed subapical dorso-internal area with setae directed from dorsal to ventral margin of femur; all tibiae slightly curved inwards; tarsi long and slender.

Abdominal sternites ( Figs. 51, 55 ) modified, IV–VI with sublateral groups of divergent setae; V–VI with a pair of sublateral expansions; VI with long median projection.

Aedeagus ( Figs. 56–58 ) stout, with well-defined apical part of median lobe; ventral and dorsal wall with subapical projections; internal armature moderately darkly sclerotized, with distal part projecting between subapical external ( Fig. 56 ; sep) and internal ( Fig. 56 ; sip) projection of ventral wall; basal orifice ( Fig. 57 ; bo) located subbasally; parameres with broad sheath-like bases and with abruptly delimited slender apical parts bearing apical setae.

Distribution and composition. Euconnomorphus is represented by a single species known from the northern part of Peru.

Remarks. Euconnomorphus superficially resembles some species of Euconnus in the general appearance, but clearly differs from Euconnus s. str. in the following characters: shape and vestiture of the head (vertex subconical and with long, dense bristles vs. vertex rounded and with sparse thin setae in Euconnus s. str.); shape of mandibles (abruptly separated basal and distal parts vs. gradually narrowing, subtriangular mandible in Euconnus s. str.); lack of fronto-clypeal groove (present in Euconnus s. str.); the sculpture of the pronotal base (four foveae vs. two in Euconnus s. str.); the length of basisternum (very long vs. rudimentary in Euconnus s. str.); structure of the mesoventrite (lack of sharply demarcated lateral setose impressions vs. presence of such impressions in Euconnus s. str.); the elytral base (with a single rudimentary basal fovea vs. two distinct foveae in Euconnus s. str.); shape of the metaventral intercoxal process (narrow, strongly projecting caudad vs. moderately broad and weakly projecting in Euconnus s. str.); and the aedeagus (with broad and sheath-like bases of parameres vs. slender parameres in Euconnus s. str.).

Figures

FIGURES 46 – 50. Morphology of Euconnomorphus pilosissimus Franz, holotype male. General habitus in dorsal (46) and left lateral (47) views; head in frontal view (48); head and prothorax in left lateral view (49); and elytral apices in dorsal view (50).

FIGURES 51 – 55. Morphology of Euconnomorphus pilosissimus Franz, holotype male. Venter (51; sternite VIII removed); head in ventral view (52); prothorax in ventral view (53); pterothorax in ventral view (54); and abdominal sternites IV – VI in ventral view (55). Abbreviations: ar, anterior ridge; aestII, mesanepisternum; aestIII, metanepisternum; bst, basistipes; cd, cardo; cxII, mesocoxa; cxIII, metacoxa; dlf, dorso-lateral fovea; epmIII, metepimeron; fo, foramen occipitale; gal, galea; gen, gena; gp, gular plate; gs, gular suture; h, hypostom; hyr, hypomeral ridge; hr, hypostomal ridge; hy, hypomeron; lac, lacinia; lb, labrum; lmfa, lateral metafurcal arm; lp, labial palp; md, mandible; mn, mentum; mscc, mesocoxal cavity; mscs, mesocoxal socket; mst, mediostipes; msvp, mesoventral intercoxal process; mtvp, metaventral intercoxal process; mxpI – IV, maxillary palpomere I – IV; nss, notosternal suture; occ, occipital constriction; par, projection of anterior ridge; pcc, procoxal cavity; pcs, procoxal socket; pn, pronotum; pre, prepectus; ps, prosternum; ptp, posterior tentorial pit; smn, submentum; stIII – VII, abdominal sternite III – VII; vII, mesoventrite; vIII, metaventrite; vlf, ventro-lateral fovea.

FIGURES 56 – 58. Morphology of Euconnomorphus pilosissimus Franz, holotype male. Aedeagus in ventral (56), dorsal (57) and lateral (58) views. Abbreviations: bo, basal orifice; lpe, lateral projection of endophallus; mpe, median projection of endophallus; sdp, subapical dorsal projection; sep, subapical external projection; sip, subapical internal projection.