Octavius woodbushensis Janák, 2025

Janák, Jiří, 2025, Overview of Octavius of Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Euaesthetinae) with descriptions of eight new species, Zootaxa 5737 (1), pp. 105-126 : 120-122

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5737.1.5
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:03EFBC3F-FDE3-4F66-B1A6-9D4DD42B40C0
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18021061
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/8D1B879F-FFAB-AF01-CD94-F8FDFB46FBDC
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Octavius woodbushensis Janák
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Octavius woodbushensis Janák sp. nov.

Figs. 72–76 View FIGURES 72–82 , 93–95 View FIGURES 89–94 View FIGURE 95

Type locality. South Africa, Limpopo, Woodbush Forest Reserve , 23°50.1'S 29°59.25'E GoogleMaps .

Type material ( 5 specimens). Holotype ♂: “ RSA, Limpopo 29.xi.2023 / 23°50.25'S 29°59.6'E / Woodbush Forest Reserve / 1560m, J. Janák lgt.”, “Berlese extraction / leaf & log litter / sifting”, “ HOLOTYPUS Octavius woodbushensis sp. nov. J. Janák det. 2025” ( TMSA) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: 4 ♀: same data as the holotype ( JJRC). All paratypes with additional labels: “ PARATYPUS Octavius woodbushensis sp. nov. J. Janák det. 2025” GoogleMaps .

Description. Body length 1.2–1.3 mm (M 1.3 mm, HT 1.3 mm), forebody length 0.5 mm (M 0.5 mm, HT 0.5 mm). Microphthalmous, apterous, rusty, head, pronotum and elytra dull, abdomen moderately shiny ( Fig. 72 View FIGURES 72–82 ).

Head ( Fig. 72 View FIGURES 72–82 ) almost as broad as pronotum (R 0.98), eyes extremely small, temples about 7–10 times as long as eyes (R 7.50–10.43, M 9.34, HT 10.00), sides of head slightly rounded, slightly widened behind eyes to maximal width, then moderately narrowed towards posterior angles, posterior angles angular, median impression on disc deep and long, lateral parts of head finely granulose, median part densely, deeply, finely reticulate.

Pronotum ( Fig. 72 View FIGURES 72–82 ) very slightly broader than long (R 1.02–1.08, M 1.06, HT 1.02), strongly narrowed posteriorly; anterior angles rounded, dorsal impressions deep, transverse impression deep, lateral impressions deep, not delimited by sharp longitudinal ridge laterally; lateral parts beside lateral impressions moderately densely granulose, remainder of surface very densely, deeply, finely reticulate.

Elytra ( Fig. 72 View FIGURES 72–82 ) subquadrate, much broader than long (R 1.27–1.40, M 1.32, HT 1.31), with two sharp longitudinal ridges laterally; between latter and suture with two longitudinal impressions, densely and moderately finely reticulate and sparsely shortly setose.

Abdomen subparallel, slightly widened to segment VI, with one paratergite and microsculpture consisting of triangular or rhomboid field, finely setose.

Male. Sternite VIII shallowly emarginate in posterior tenth ( Fig. 75 View FIGURES 72–82 ), sternite IX as in Fig. 76 View FIGURES 72–82 . Aedeagus asymmetrical, small ( 0.22 mm) and narrow, with apically hook-shaped narrow projection; parameres almost reaching median lobe, with two long setae in middle part, 3–4 setae in apical part and 2 setae before middle ( Fig. 74 View FIGURES 72–82 ).

Differential diagnosis. Octavius woodbushensis Janák , sp. nov. belongs among species with very small eyes, with temples at about 7–10 times as long as eyes, with the head not or at most slightly widened posteriorly, with very small body and the disc of the head with deep and long median impression. In the most recent key of South African Octavius ( Janák 2014) is to be arranged at the couplet 100 (99) near O. ocellifer Puthz, 2006 , but it differs from this species by much smaller body, still smaller eyes, shallower dorsal impression on head and by different shape of aedeagus.

Derivatio nominis. The name of the species refers to the type locality.

Distribution. Octavius woodbushensis Janák , sp. nov. is currently recorded only from the Woodbush Forest Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa ( Fig. 95 View FIGURE 95 ).

Bionomics. All specimens were collected in siftings of forest litter in an indigenous forest at the elevation of about 1560 m a.s.l. with the abundance of 0.6 specimens per kg of sifted material ( Figs. 93–94 View FIGURES 89–94 ).