Oedichirus pusillus, Rougemont, 2018

Rougemont, Guillaume de, 2018, The genus Oedichirus in New Caledonia (Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Pinophilini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1), pp. 537-586 : 565

Oedichirus pusillus nov.sp. (Figs 21)

Material studied: ♂ Holotype: NEW CALEDONIA, Col de Mouirange, 30 km E Nouméa , 300m, 11.VIII.78, S&J Peck, berl. Forest litter ♀ HOLOTYPE Oedichirus pusillus des. 2017 G. de Rougemont [ FMC] ; 1♀ paratype: [Ibid.] ♀ PARATYPE Oedichirus pusillus des. 2017 G. de Rougemont [ CRO] .

Additional material: 1♀: NEW CALEDONIA 12045, 22º15’S x 166º49’E, 280m, Pic du Pin , site 1, 21 Dec 2001, G.B. Monteith, rainforest ♀ Oedichirus pusillus Rgmt. det. 2017 G. de Rougemont [ QM].

Description: length: 4.8 mm; length of fore-body: 1.7; length of head: 0.5; breadth of head: 0.6; length of antenna: 1.58; length of pronotum: 0.8; breadth of pronotum: 0.72; length of elytron: 0.55; breadth of elytra: 0.7. Body dark brown; palpi, antennae and legs testaceous, femora slightly darker testaceous. Dorsal surfaces devoid of microsculpture except on anterior margins of abdominal tergites. Pubesence pale, short and erect or semi-erect on fore-body, longer, denser and decumbent on abdomen. Habitus: Fig. 21h.

Head moderately transverse; eyes shorter than temples, the latter broadly rounded, coarctate with base; post-ocular carina situated on lateral margin, the associated groove broad and shallow, not evident; puncturation fairly coarse, evanescent on frons, the interstices broader than diameter of punctures except on vertex. Pronotum rather short, very broad, the sides evenly rounded from anterior angles to base; lateral margins entirely, finely bordered; puncturation coarser and denser than that of head, homogeneous, the interstices everywhere narrower than diameter of punctures. Elytra short and very broad, humeral angles completely obsolete, the sides evenly rounded from base to posterior angles; puncturation a little coarser than that of pronotum, homogeneous, the interstices narrower than diameter of punctures. Keels and grooves on anterior margins of abdominal tergites fairly long and salient on tergites III-VII, obsolescent on tergite VIII; puncturation of tergites homogeneous, as dense and coarse as that of pronotum.

Male: emargination of abdominal sternite VIII broad (Fig. 21s8); aedoeagus: Figs. 21arl, av.

Female: sternite IX: Fig. 21vp.

The only other Oedichirus known from New Caledonia of comparable small size is O. unguesdraconis nov.sp. which has a similar facies and puncturation, but is entirely black and with a very different aedoeagus.