Typhloleleupius Fagel

Herman, Lee, 2023, Generic Revisions Of The Scopaeina And The Sphaeronina (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Lathrobiini), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2023 (460), pp. 1-195 : 176-177

Typhloleleupius Fagel

Figures 392–403

Typhloleleupius Fagel, 1964: 390 . Type species: Typhloleleupius doryloides Fagel, 1964: 391 , fixed by original designation and monotypy.

— Janák, 2013: 81 (characters; revision of and key to species; excluded from Scopaeina ; subtribe placement not known incertae sedis).

DIAGNOSIS: The prohypomeron and profurcasternum of Typhloleleupius (fig. 393) do not touch, in contrast to Sphaeronum (fig. 355). The basisternum of the mesoventrite of Typhloleleupius has a deep, midlongitudinal depression; Sphaeronum and Coecoscopaeus have a barely discernible mesobasisternal depression. Typhloleleupius has two metatibial apical combs; Sphaeronum and Coecoscopaeus each have one. The anterior margin of the labrum of Typhloleleupius is emarginate and has an adjacent lobe or apically rounded to acute denticle (fig. 395; Janák, 2013: fig. 21); the labrum of Tripectenopus is bilobed and edentate (fig. 384); the former is confined to southern Africa and Madagascar, the latter to Australia.

Other important characters of Typhloleleupius , all subtribal features, include confluent gular sutures; absence of the pronotal marginal ridge; presence of the hypomeronal ridge of the postprocoxal lobe; trilobed anterior margin of sternum II; strongly sclerotized, dorsally directed, hypopharyngeal peg; and enlarged grooming concavity of the protibia.

DESCRIPTION: Body length 3.4–5.9 mm (from Janák, 2013).

Head (figs. 392, 403) with lateral margin gradually rounded to neck or to basal angles ( Janák, 2013: 85, 86); basal angle absent or broadly to strongly rounded; basal margin strongly to slightly emarginate to slightly rounded medially; anterolateral surface with fine, short to long, temporal ridge extending posteriorly from lateral surface of supraantennal hump onto temple (fig); lateroventral surface with long submarginal, subocular groove (fig. 403) extending from near base of mandibles posteriorly toward basal angle of head.

Dorsal surface of head with dense to moderately dense punctation; punctation distinct and coarse, absent from midlongitudinal line; microsculpturing present and distinct to feeble; pubescence fine and with scattered, longer macrosetae.

Clypeal margin of males with small to large, anteriorly directed, conical horn mesiad of supraantennal hump; females with smaller horn.

Eyes absent or reduced to one or a few ommatidia ( Janák, 2013: 82).

Neck width across nuchal about one eighth to one sixth as wide as greatest width of head.

Maxillary palpomere 4 small, conical. Labrum deeply (fig. 395) to moderately deeply emarginate ( Janák, 2013: fig. 21); anterior margin with small to moderately large, submedial lobe or denticle ( Janák, 2013: fig. 21). (Note: Janák, 2013, described considerable variation of the anterior labral margin among the five species.)

Prothorax about one fourth to one third longer than wide.

Pronotum (fig. 392) with moderately dense to dense and uniform punctation, but absent from median strip; microsculpturing distinct, weak, or absent; surface with low, midlongitudinal ridge; median ridge moderately developed basally, weak medially, absent anteriorly; median ridge with slight median groove.

Notosternal suture present, evident as narrow polished line through microsculptured surface.

Prohypomeron moderately densely punctate and pubescent; postprocoxal lobe moderately long, nearly vertical, apex rounded, surface without setae; transverse hypomeronal ridge present and sinuate.

Profurcasternum (fig. 393) long, narrow, tapered posteriorly, widely separated from hypomeron.

Procoxal cavity open posteriorly.

Elytra shorter than pronotum.

Mesoventrite without midlongitudinal carina; mesobasisternum with broad, median depression; depression with strong, midlongitudinal furrow.

Procoxa (fig. 394) with mesial carina near base.

Metatrochanter without spines on posterior margin.

Metafemur without spinelike setae on inner edge.

Metatibia without spinelike setae on inner edge; apex with comb on inner and outer sides.

Tergum VIII without palisade fringe.

Tergum IX with middorsal base fused. Segment IX of female with lateral gonocoxal plate, wide basally and tapered apically.

Aedeagus symmetrical and broad in ventral view; ventral process present; parameres absent; basal piece absent.

Spermatheca not examined.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT: Typhloleleupius is known from South Africa (Natal and Eastern and Western Cape Provinces), and Lesotho. Janák (2013: 98) reported several undescribed species are in Madagascar.

Collections have been made in scrubland vegetation, in forest litter and humus among roots of trees at a depth of 10 to 40 cm, and under stones at elevations of between 970 to 2000 meters ( Janák, 2013). Typhloleleupius near minutus was collected from Buddleia leaf litter at 1800 meters elevation.

DISCUSSION: Few characters distinguish Typhloleleupius and Tripectenopus . I am unconvinced these names represent different genera; their alleged separation is considered in more detail in the Discussion for Tripectenopus .

The South African Typhloleleupius was described by Fagel (1964: 390) for a new species represented by five females. He affiliated the genus with Scopaeus . The diagnostic characters, which can be sifted from the description, are essentially those cited for Tripectenopus and Scopaeodracus . Fagel described the anterior labral margin as having a fairly deep notch limited by two obtuse projections (“avec encoche assez profonde, limitée par deux saillies obtuses”).

Typhloleleupius was revised by Janák (2013). He redescribed the genus, illustrated characters, provided a key for identification, recognized four new species, and described the males for three of them. Because the genus lacked the supraocular trichobothrium Janák excluded it from Scopaeina and labeled it incertae sedis in the Paederinae . Typhloleleupius was compared with Coecoscopaeus .

Three of the five named South African species lack eyes, two have one corneal lens ( Janák, 2013; in litt., September 1, 2019). Janák (2013: 82) described the fourth and fifth metatarsomeres as having a bilobed posterior margin. For neither the slide-mounted specimens nor the point-mounted specimens of Typhloleleupius near minutus , were those tarsomeres bilobed, but rather the margin was broadly rounded. According to Janák (2013) the longitudinal furrow, below the fine temporal ridge, of the head varies in length among the five species. The males have a small, conical horn on the anterior margin of the clypeus mesiad of the antennae; the horn is reduced in females.

Figures

FIGS. 392–396. Typhloleleupius. 392. T. doryloides, right proleg omitted. 393–396. T. nr. minutus. 393. Prothorax. 394. Procoxa, anteromesial. 395. Labrum. 396. Maxillary palpus, fourth palpomere missing.

FIGS. 397–402. Typhloleleupius nr. minutus. 397–398. Labium, hypopharynx. 397. Lateral. 398. Anterior. 399–402. Mandibles.

FIG. 403. Typhloleleupius nr. minutus. Head, ventral.