Acylophorus densipennis Bernhauer
Creators: name: Lott, Derek A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Acylophorus
Acylophorus densipennis

description: Acylophorus densipennis Bernhauer
(Figs 9, 59, 85, 117, 132)
Acylophorus densipennis Bernhauer, 1929: 125; Scheerpeltz, 1933: 1466; Cameron, 1950: 43; Herman, 2001: 3028.
Redescription. Length 5–6mm. Body dark brown to black. Abdominal tergites vaguely iridescent. Legs and palpi pale. Antennae with first segment pale and remainder darkened.
Head large (pronotum 1.6x wider than head), as long as wide with rounded but unpronounced temples and pigmented area produced well in front of antennal insertion (Fig. 9). Eyes somewhat large. Dorsal surface of head densely covered with micro-punctures. Dense pale pubescence behind eyes. Two pairs of interocular setae arising from foveate punctures much closer to eyes than each other. Five postocular setae just about visible on each side, no additional seta on hind margin of eye. Underside of head strongly depressed at base. Maxillary palpi with terminal segment pubescent, almost angled on outer margin, gently rounded on inner margin and asymmetric, much broader than in A. orientalis, longer than glabrous penultimate segment which is broadly triangular (Fig. 59). First segment of antenna as long as next five. Segments I to II elongate, V to XI transverse (Fig. 85).
Pronotum slightly transverse (1.1x wider than long) with sides less rounded than in A. orientalis, widest in basal half, covered with dense micro-punctures. One pair of dorsal setae and one pair of lateral setae. Marginal setae long. Elytra transverse (1.5x wider than long) with close, bright yellow pubescence and asperate puncturation finer and denser than in A. orientalis. Apical fringe of bristles very short, shorter than pubescence on other parts of the elytra. Pubescence on elytra and abdominal tergites shorter than in A. orientalis. Punctures on tergites sparser than on elytra.
Males with genital segment highly modified. Apex of sternite IX deeply incised and styles of tergite nine each with large inward-pointing spine (Fig. 132). Aedeagus also highly modified (Fig. 117) with lobes of paramere fused. Sides of paramere with narrow, almost vertical flange, base lipped. Pegs arranged in rows along the margin well below the apex. Median lobe longer than paramere, but much narrower and acutely pointed at apex.
Type material. Bernhauer described the species from specimens collected at “Haut-Uele: Moto, Februar, März 1923” and “Ituri: La Moto: Madyu, L. Burgeon”. Three specimens can be recognised as belonging to the type series and one of these is here designated as the lectotype in order to fix the identity of the species. Lectotype 3: “ TYPE / MUSÉE DU CONGO; Ituri: La Moto: Madyu; L. Burgeon / R. DÉT. M 879 / Acyl. densipennis Brh. n. sp. / LECTOTYPE Acylophorus densipennis Bernhauer 3 det. DA Lott, 2009” (MRAC). Paralectotypes 1Ƥ: “ MUSÉE DU CONGO / Haut-Uelé: Moto; -II-III 1923; L. Burgeon / Acylophorus densipennis Bernh. Typus. / Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection / PARALECTOTYPE Acylophorus densipennis Bernhauer Ƥ det. DA Lott, 2009” (FMNH); 1Ƥ: “ MUSÉE DU CONGO / Ituri; La Moto: Madyu; L. Burgeon / Acylophorus densipennis Brnh. Cotypus. / Chicago NHMus M. Bernhauer Collection / PARALECTOTYPE Acylophorus densipennis Bernhauer 3 det. DA Lott, 2009” (FMNH).
Further material examined. R.D. CONGO: Bas-Congo: Singa-Karu, 26. ii.1924, 1 Ƥ (IRSNB); Seke- Banga, 13. iv.1924, 1 Ƥ (BMNH); Thysville, N.Leleup, 13. vii.1949, 1 Ƥ (IRSNB); Haut-Uelé: Watsa, L.
Burgeon, xi.1919, 1 Ƥ (MRAC). R. CONGO: Mayumbe: Suinbi, A.Collart, 4. v.1926, 13 (IRSNB). SIERRA LEONE: Western Area: near Bathurst, W Rossi, 26.v.1991, 133Ƥ (cBord & cLott); Regent, W Rossi, 6- 7. iii.1993, 1 Ƥ (cBord).
Distribution and bionomics. Known from West Africa and the Congo catchment (Fig. 143). Ecological data are somewhat sparse. Recorded from vegetation at the margins of a marsh and “le détritus de manioc”.
Comparative notes. Apart from the characters specific to the species group, A. densipennis has larger eyes on a larger head than A. orientalis. Very distinctive within the species group by virtue of the short fringe of apical bristles on the elytra and the highly modified male sexual characters. The bright yellow pubescence on the elytra is a character shared with several other species in the group.
description: Published as part of Lott, Derek A., 2010, The species of Acylophorus Nordmann (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) in continental sub-Saharan Africa, pp. 1-51 in Zootaxa 2402 on pages 16-17, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.275907