Oedichirus manautei, Rougemont, 2018

Rougemont, Guillaume de, 2018, The genus Oedichirus in New Caledonia (Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Pinophilini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1), pp. 537-586 : 554-555

Oedichirus manautei nov.sp. (Figs 1)

Material studied: ♂ Holotype: NEW CALEDONIA, R. Bleue, Pourina track, 18 Nov 2001, GB Monteith ♀ HOLOTYPE Oedichirus opaciceps Des. 2016, G. de Rougemont [ MNHN] ; 1 paratype: [abdominal segments VIII-IX missing]: NEW CALEDONIA, Mt. Koghis , Elev. 500, Montane forest, 22-24 May 1987, N.I. Platnick, R.J. Raven [ AMNH] ; 1♂ paratype: NEW CALEDONIA, Monts Koghis , Auberge near Nouméa, 500 m, 26.VII – 13.VIII. 1978, S.&J. Peck, rainforest ♀ berl. Rainforest leaf litter ♀ PARATYPE Oedichirus opaciceps Des. 2017 G. de Rougemont [ FMC] .

Description: length: ca. 12 mm; length of fore-body: 4.2; length of head: 1.5; breadth of head: 1.42; length of antenna: 3; length of pronotum: 1.65; breadth of pronotum: 1.42; length of elytron: 1.35; breadth of elytra: 1.47. Body black, palpi, antennae and legs testaceous, knees broadly infuscate. Head sericeous, sub-opaque, entirely covered with very dense reticulate microsculpture; pronotum likewise entirely micropunctate, but reticulation a little less dense; elytra devoid of microsculpture; abdominal tergites entirely covered with dense micro-striation. Pubescence very sparse, erect, short on fore-body, longer on abdomen. Habitus: Fig. 1h.

Head transverse; eyes prominent, a little shorter than temples; temples strongly convergent, retracted to neck in almost straight lines; post ocular border situated almost on lateral margin, the groove narrow, inconspicuous; puncturation very sparse, vertex almost impunctate, punctures, especially in post-ocular area small and shallow. Pronotum quite strongly elongate, behnd anterior angles as broad as head, the sides retracted in slight curves to base; lateral margin entirely bordered; disc coarsely, irregularly punctate, the punctures much larger than those of head, elongate and clustered at centre of disc, sparser and more irregular on sides and leaving a small mid-longitudinal impunctate area in basal 1♀ 3 rd. Elytra small, transverse, widest at middle, humeral angles completely obsolete, the sides evenly rounded, joint posterior margin arcuately concave; puncturation coarse and dense, comparable to that of pronotum. Keels and grooves of anterior margins of abdominal tergites obsolete; puncturation sparse, tergites III-VI each with an irregular transverse row of small punctures, four large punctures disposed in a square enclosing an impunctate area of middle of the tergite, and other randomly disposed punctures on sides.

Male: abdominal sternite VIII with a slightly asymmetrical emargination, most of the surface anterior to this flattened and densely microsculptate and impunctate, the right margin of this area elevated in the form of a small keel; aedoeagus: Figs. 1arl, av.

This species differs most notably from O. peckorum nov.sp. which has a similarly punctate abdomen and densely microsculptate head by the shape of the temples.

Dedication: to Joseph Manauté, manager of the Rivière Bleue Reserve, and dedicated conservationist.