Somoplatus depilis Schüle 2009, sp. n.
Creators: name: Schüle, Peter
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Somoplatus
Somoplatus depilis

description: Somoplatus depilis sp. n.
Figs 1, 9, 17, 24
Etymology: From Latin depilis (without hair, bald), referring to the glabrous body surface.
Diagnosis: S. depilis is the only species of the genus presenting a completely glabrous body surface except for extremely fine microsetae.
Description:
Measurements (n = 16 ♂/♀): Length 4.5–5.1 mm, width 2.3–2.6 mm, width/length of pronotum 1.69–1.81.
Colour: Uniform light reddish brown. Elytral surface dull.
Head: Wide, with large, protruding eyes; surface almost plain, frontal sulci shallow, subcircular, dimple-like. Surface of head with superficial fine microreticulation consisting of dense meshes and traces of highly superficial punctation. Meshes isodiametric in central portions of vertex, longitudinal and narrow along lateral portions near inner margin of eyes. Antennae long, antennomeres more than 2× longer than wide (Fig. 9).
Pronotum: Short and wide, base as wide as apex; lateral margin convex in apical half, slightly more curved, widest in front of the middle; apical angles protruding, rounded off; apical margin concave; basal angles completely rounded off; base undulate, middle of base convex. Surface of pronotum with fine microreticulation of dense transversal meshes, and with very fine regularly sparse punctation. Punctation microsetose. Base and lateral apex indistinctly margined, base more distinctly margined. Marginal impression distinct, narrow near apical angle, broadly widened to the basal angles. Near basal outer margin a very small, shallow comma-shaped basal impression on either side. Middle of base slightly concave. Hind margin glabrous.
Elytra: Short and wide, gently widened to the apical third, laterally subparallel. Humeri widely rounded, basal margin indistinct, almost reaching scutellum. Apical truncature indistict, apex obliquely rounded, outer angles widely rounded off. Surface of elytra glabrous, with fine microreticulation consisting of dense transversal. Fully winged.
Median lobe of aedeagus: Median portion subparallel, tapering to apex, simply curved, apex ending in a short simply rounded tip, orifice large on central-left side of apical fourth (Fig. 17), inner sac with a ring of 20–25 thorns in apical third, partly with microserrulation and folds in relaxed position.
Stylomere 2: Elongate, curved, outer margin with one long nematiform seta on inner margin, which is bent near the middle; one small seta on outer margin near apical fourth (Fig. 24).
Lower surface: Glabrous, except for abdominal sternites with microsetae. Prosternal apophyse with 8–10 distant setae.
Legs: As in generic diagnosis.
Holotype: ♂ ‘ IVORY COAST, NE, Comoé National Park, v. 2000, Philippe Moretto leg., inside termite hill’ (PSC).
Paratypes: 5 ♂ 10♀same data as holotype (PSC, PMC, TMSA, MRAC); 1 ♂ 4♀‘ IVORY COAST, NE, Comoé National Park, ix. 1998, Philippe Moretto leg., inside termite hill’ (PSC).
description: Published as part of Schüle, Peter, 2009, Notes on the genus Somoplatus Dejean, 1829 (Coleoptera: Carabidae), with descriptions of five new species, pp. 461 in African Invertebrates 50 (2) on pages 466-468, DOI: 10.5733/afin.050.0213, http://zenodo.org/record/7661654