Craspedophorus dicranulothorax Häckel 2017, new species
Creators: name: Häckel, Martin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Craspedophorus
Craspedophorus dicranulothorax

description: 5. Craspedophorus dicranulothorax new species
(Plate 7, Fig. 60, Plate 8, Fig. 69a, Plate 9, Fig. 69b)
Type locality. “ Buea, Cameroon, Southwest ”.
Type material. Holotype (♀): “ Cameroun [Southwest Region] Buea / XI-2014 -46- / P. Moretto leg. // loan for study 5. 2016 / Peter Schüle, Collection Herrenberg ” (Plate 7, Fig. 60, Plate 8, Fig. 69a, Plate 9, Fig. 69b, ZSM).
Description of holotype. Length 18.8 mm, width 6.8 mm. Proportions: Pronotum 1.35 wider than long, 2.19 wider than head with eyes, elytra 1.23 wider than pronotum.
Colouration. Body throughout piceous black, opaque, densely covered by black setae. Legs black, only palps and distal articles of antennae beginning with IV lighter, almost brown. Each elytron with two dark yellow maculae, the humeral one on the VI–VIII interval overlapping to IX., elytral margin black, macula on VI interval short, laterally widening into the shape of an equilateral triangle. Preapical macula rounded, extending from V to VIII interval.Head elongately rectangular, labrum and mandibles smooth, opaque, terminal labial palpomere elongately bow-shaped (in female). Eyes strongly convex. Frons medially raised, coarsely and irregularly punctuated, in front of eyes with two longitudinal depressions, laterally in the form of a thin ridge running from the antennal base to anterior margin of eye (supra-antennary ridge), medially weak and wide from anterior margin of eye to clypeus base, coarsely and irregularly punctuated, almost furrowed. Vertex transversely slightly buckled, coming without strangulation into smooth occiput and neck. Anntenae whip-shaped, distally not widening nor flattering, reaching up to two thirds of body length. The basal antennomere (scapus) three times longer than the second, the third twice longer than the first, the fourth one a half times shorter than the first, surface covered with short setae, more setae cumulated at the distal end of the antennomere (Plate 8, Fig. 69a).
Pronotum not too transverse (length/width ratio 1.35), cordiform; anterior pronotal margin straight, parallel to base in its middle, straight part as long as neck is wide, laterally changing into anterior angles, rounded and slightly protruded forward, lateral margins towards the centre widely curved, maximum width at midlength, from there narrowing towards base with strong sinuosity, in front of posterior angles mild incisure, posterior angles in a sharp angle, almost rectangular, posteriorly prolongated to elytral base, reaching, but not overlapping it. Base straight at the centre, at the margins up to one fourth distinctly carved, forming a peduncle. Pronotal disc convex, separated by a weak depression from wide lateral rims which are distinct already from the anterior pronotal margin, the rim posteriorly somewhat widening, but elevated upwards along the entire length, the greatest elevation in front of the pedunculated base, thus posterior angles jutting out backwards, upwards and to the sides in a keel-like fashion. Disc and basal impressions grossly and irregularly punctured, less densely than frons, elevated lateral pronotal margins distinctly more glabrous than disc, sparsely and softly punctured. Dorsal surface covered with long black setae (Plate 8, Fig. 69a).
Elytra fused, prolonged, ovoid, widening posteriorly, maximum width in the apical third. Disc partially convex behind the distinct collar-like depression near elytral base and humeri. Humeri rounded and bevelled, weakly distinct, elytral base lined with a smooth rim, separating base from striae between strial suture and IV interval, V interval merged with the rim. Elytra laterally margined with a flattened rim—the rim without widening longwise, disappearing near base. Striae soft but not shallow, regularly interrupted by subtile punctuation. Intervals convex, distinctly and softly punctured in one or two lines. Intervals with subtile isodiametric microsculpure inbetween punctuations (Plate 9, Fig. 69b). Elytra densely covered with dark setae which are shorter than those covering pronotum.
Underside covered with short setae, finely punctured medially, coarsely punctured near margins; metepisterna rhombic, as long as wide. Legs moderately covered with black setae.
Differential diagnosis. The species based on a single female specimen resembles the preceding species C. dicranothorax (Alluaud, 1915) in its pronotal shape and in its elytral colouration. The similarity of both species reflects itself in their names as well. The new species differs from C. dicranothorax not only in its pronotum with less protruding posterior angles, but also in the shape and dimensions of the body, dimensions of the head and ratios between length and width of the pronotum and distincly in the shape and convexity of the elytra (Plate 5, Figs 60, 65). The shape of the body resembles Chaudoir’s lectotype C. ruficrus (Chaudoir, 1861) and another species C. lemariei which is newly described in this work (see the systematic part). From both above-mentioned species C. dicranulothorax n. sp. differs at first sight in the pronotal shape, i. e. in more bizzare posterior pronotal angles which resemble C. dicranothorax, but just out backwards less. C. dicranulothorax and C. dicranothorax are the only species of the C. strachani group whose pronotal base is—because of large lateral incisurespedunculated.
Etymology. The name refers to the shape of posterior pronotal angles which are similarly formed as in C. dicranothorax (Alluaud, 1915), only less distinct.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality.
description: Published as part of Häckel, Martin, 2017, A contribution to the knowledge of the subfamily Panagaeinae Hope, 1838 from Africa. Part 3. Revision of the Craspedophorus strachani and C. brevicollis groups (Coleoptera: Carabidae), pp. 1-67 in Zootaxa 4330 (1) on pages 11-12, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4330.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1010167