Omophron (Omophron) schuelei, Anichtchenko & Valainis, 2023

Anichtchenko, Alexander & Valainis, Uldis, 2023, Revision of the subgenus Omophron (s. str.) Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera: Carabidae Omophron) of the Afrotropical region, Zootaxa 5284 (2), pp. 201-246 : 216-217

Omophron (Omophron) schuelei sp. n.

Material examined. Holotype, ♀: Zambia, Southern Kafue NP NW Nanzhila Plains, 16°12’35S, 25°47’40E, 18.01.2010, P. Schüle leg. [-16.209732, 25.794541] ( PSC).

Differential diagnosis. A very unusual species, easily distinguished from all known species by the following combination of characters: size large, pronotum strongly oblate, with widely explanate sides.

Description. Body length 6.4 mm; width 4.2 mm. Habitus ( Fig. 22 ).

Color: head uniformly dark brown, almost black, except narrow brown margin of clypeus. Labrum pearl color. Mandibles dark brown. Pronotum deep brown, almost black, with wide, reddish lateral margins. Elytra deep brown, almost black, with narrow reddish brown lateral pattern, lateral interval of pearl color. Legs, antennae and mouth parts light reddish brown. Venter dark brown.

Head relatively flat, evenly, densely and coarsely punctate, moderately wrinkled near the eyes, with a deep impression between frons and clypeus. Subocular ridge well developed, curved upwards and slightly rounded. Clypeus moderately convex, smooth, bisetose. Labrum slightly emarginate, with moderately rounded sides and six setae. Antennal scape unisetose apically, antennomeres 3 and 4 smooth, with a few longer setae around the apex, 5– 11 pubescent. Gula smooth, gena coarsely and densely punctate, strongly wrinkled near the eyes. HW: 2.18 mm.

The shape of the pronotum is peculiar and easy distinguishable from that of other African Omophron species. Pronotum (PL: 1.86 mm, PW: 3.64 mm.) strongly oblate on disc, base bisinuate on each side sides evenly rounded, with widely explanate border. Pale margin of pronotum wide, extended from base to anterior margin, becoming obsolete at the edge Anterior angles strongly acute. Disc of pronotum with wide transverse impression in anterior half, and with two wide impressions on the base; coarsely and densely punctate, sides smooth. Median impression absent Prosternum coarsely but sparsely punctate, proepisternum coarsely and more densely punctate, proepipleura almost smooth, with only 1–2 small punctures in anterior part.

Elytra (EL: 4.37 mm, EW: 4.23 mm.) moderately convex, flattened on disc and expressly oblate near pronotum, ovate, moderately rounded laterally, strongly rounded at apex. Border of elytra widened near shoulders and narrower towards apex. Elytra with 15 striae. Striae deep, densely but finely punctate. Intervals weakly convex on the disc, moderately convex on sides.

Venter ( Fig. 25 ). Mesepisternum punctate. Metasternum coarsely but sparsely punctate, metepisternum and metepimeron coarsely but unevenly punctate, slightly wrinkled near epipleura. Elytral epipleura almost smooth, with only 1–2 small punctures. Ventrites I–III coarsely but sparsely punctate, ventrites IV–V with 2–3 large punctures on sides and a row of small punctures along transversal sulcus; last ventrite VI with deep and very large punctures. Metacoxa bisetose, with 2–4 additional punctures.

Aedeagus. Male unknown.

Etymology. New species named after our friend and colleague Peter Schüle (Herrenberg, Germany), who collected the specimen.

Distribution. Zambia (Map. 2).

Figures

FIGURES 21–23. Habitus of Omophron “minutum”—species group, dorsal view: 21—O. (O.) muellerae sp. n.; 22—O. (O.) schuelei sp. n. (Holotype); 23—O. (O) mimeticum sp. n. (Holotype). Scale bar 5 mm.

FIGURES 24–26. Habitus of Omophron “minutum”—species group, ventral view: 24—O. (O.) muellerae sp. n.; 25—O. (O.) schuelei sp. n. (Holotype); 26—O. (O) mimeticum sp. n. (Holotype). Scale bar 5 mm.