The ‘ curse of Horaeomorphus’ (almost) lifted. Revision of misplaced species from Madagascar, Comoros and Mascarenes (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae) Author Jałoszyński, Paweł text Zootaxa 2024 2024-09-04 5505 1 1 96 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5505.1.1 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5505.1.1 1175-5334 13745912 93F5E9F6-9EDC-4ED2-8F2B-1E6D0C18F893 Clepsydraphes gen. n. Type species: Euconnus nitidulus Franz, 1986b: 244 (here designated). Diagnosis. Body ( Fig. 312 ) with distinct constriction between head and pronotum and between pronotum and elytra; thick bristles present on genae and outer regions of hypomera ( Fig. 315 ); head ( Figs 313–315 , 321–322 ) round, with eyes situated closer to mandibular bases and antennal fossae than to occipital constriction; antennal fossae separated at middle by distance subequal to width of scape ( Fig. 313 ); antenna ( Fig. 316 ) gradually thickening distally; frontoclypeal groove lacking; posterior margin of vertex ( Fig. 313 ) rounded and not bulging posterodorsally; submental region ( Fig. 322 ; smn ) demarcated laterally by hypostomal sutures ( Fig. 322 ; hs ) strongly converging posteriorly, area between sutures subtrapezoidal; hypostomal ridges ( Fig. 322 ; hr ) extending posteromesad and connecting to hypostomal sutures at level of posterior tentorial pits; pronotum ( Fig. 321 ) oval, broadest in front of middle, lacking antebasal pits, grooves, impressions, and without lateral and sublateral carinae; prosternum ( Fig. 322 ) with precoxal (= basisternal) region vestigial, much shorter than procoxal rests, prosternal process lacking; notosternal sutures ( Fig. 322 ; nss ) complete; procoxal cavity closed by postcoxal prosternal lobe overlapped by (but not fused with) postcoxal mesal lobe of hypomeron; hypomeral ridges lacking; mesoventral intercoxal process ( Fig. 323 msvp ) elongate subtriangular, weakly elevated and posteriorly reducing in height, reaching middle of mesocoxal rests and not separating mesocoxae; metaventrite lacking anterior metaventral process; metaventral intermetacoxal process ( Fig. 323 ; mtvp ) short and subtriangular, divided into lateral halves by deep median fissure and not separating metacoxae; each elytron ( Fig. 321 ) lacking any traces of basal foveae; mesoscutellar shield not exposed between elytral bases ( Fig. 321 ); aedeagus ( Figs 317–320 ) with symmetrical median lobe and weakly sclerotized endophallus, with sclerotized ventral apical wall delimited from proximal area of median lobe by membrane, aedeagus with free, slender parameres. Description. Body form ( Fig. 312 ) elongate and slender, strongly convex, with distinct constrictions between head and pronotum and between pronotum and elytra. Head ( Figs 313–315 , 321–322 ) rounded; compound eyes situated much closer to mandibular bases and antennal fossae than to occipital constriction, each with posterior emargination ( Fig. 315 ); tempora rounded; vertex ( Figs 314–315 ) not bulging posterodorsally, confluent with frons, its posterior margin rounded. Bristles present on genae ( Figs 315 , 322 ). Occipital constriction ( Fig. 322 ) about as broad as half width of head; ‘neck’ region strongly broadening posterad. Antennal fossae large and situated anterolaterally, separated at middle by median longitudinal frontal area about as wide as width of scape ( Fig. 313 ). Frontoclypeal groove lacking; clypeus short, rounded anteriorly, with lateral margins converging towards labrum. Gular plate ( Fig. 322 ; gp ) subtrapezoidal, covered with transverse microsculpture, with indistinct gular sutures; posterior tentorial pits ( Fig. 322 ; ptp ) situated in transverse impression demarcating ventrally 'neck' region, each punctiform. Submentum ( Fig. 322 ; smn ) subtrapezoidal, laterally demarcated by complete hypostomal sutures ( Fig. 322 ; hs ); mentum subtrapezoidal, broadest near base, with bisinuate anterior margin; prelabium short with moderately broadly separated insertions of labial palps; labial palpomere 1 annulate, palpomere 2 strongly elongate, subcylindrical, nearly 4 times as long as broad, palpomere 3 narrow, elongate but distinctly shorter than 2, tapering distally and straight. Maxilla generalized as in most Stenichnini, with large semicircular cardo, subtriangular basistipes, elongate mediostipes, elongate lacinia and galea, each with thick and not very numerous setae along distomesal margin, palpifer elongate, maxillary palp with distinctly elongate and subcylindrical palpomere 1, long, pipe-shaped and weakly curved palpomere 2, strongly elongate and slender fusiform palpomere 3 about twice as wide as palpomere 2, and minute, strongly elongate subconical and pointed palpomere 4. Mandibles poorly visible in studied specimen. Labrum strongly transverse, with rounded anterior margin, and with sparse, symmetrically distributed dorsal setae directed anterad. Antenna ( Fig. 316 ) short in relation to body length, slender, with scape and pedicel each elongate; flagellomeres loosely assembled; antenna gradually thickening distally. All antennomeres sparsely setose. Prothorax in dorsal view ( Fig. 321 ) oval, broadest distinctly in front of middle. Anterior and lateral margins confluent, without anterior angles; lateral margins strongly rounded; posterior corners not marked; posterior margin convex posteriorly. Pronotum lacking antebasal pits, impressions, sublateral and lateral carinae. Bristles present only on posterior regions of outer hypomera ( Fig. 322 ). Hypomeral ridges lacking. Prosternum ( Fig. 322 ) much shorter than half length of prothorax, with precoxal region vestigial, much shorter than coxal rests; notosternal sutures ( Fig. 322 ; nss ) complete. Prosternal process not developed; posterior margin of furcasternum with shallow arcuate median emargination. Procoxal cavities closed; postcoxal hypomeral lobe overlapping (but not fused to) postcoxal prosternal lobe. Meso- and metanotum not studied; mesoscutellar shield not exposed between elytral bases. Mesoventrite ( Fig. 323 ) transverse, with massive prepectus, subquadrate and setose anteromedian impressions functioning as procoxal rests ( Fig. 323 ; pcr ) separated at middle by longitudinal carina that posteriorly extends into narrow, subtriangular and weakly elevated mesoventral intercoxal process ( Fig. 323 ; msvp ) which is posteriorly reducing in height and reaching only middle of mesocoxal rests. Metaventrite ( Fig. 323 ) subtrapezoidal, anteriorly fused with mesoventrite, lacking anterior metaventral process; metaventral intermetacoxal process ( Fig. 323 ; mtvp ) short and broad, triangular and divided into lateral halves by deep median fissure, not separating metacoxae. Metanepisterna and metepimera fully demarcated and narrow, partly exposed in ventral view. Legs short, lacking peculiar features. Elytra ( Figs 312 , 321 ) together oval, lacking basal impressions, humeral calli, humeral denticles and basal foveae. Hind wings in the only known species entirely reduced. Abdomen subtriangular, slightly shorter than metaventrite, with six exposed sternites (sternites III–VIII), division between VII and VIII slightly less distinct than between the remaining segments. Aedeagus ( Figs 317–320 ) with symmetrical median lobe and weakly sclerotized endophallus, with ventral apical wall delimited from proximal area of median lobe by membrane, aedeagus with free, slender parameres. Etymology. Clepsydraphes combines clepsydra (water clock) alluding to the body shape in dorsal view, and -raphes used in generic names of several Stenichnini. Gender masculine. Composition and distribution. Clepsydraphes includes one nominal species known to occur in Central Madagascar (Alaotra-Mangoro Region). Remarks. Clepsydraphes was included in the key to world genera of Stenichnini ( Jałoszyński 2024 ) under the code name ‘Mdg genus 1’. A combination of gradually thickened antennae, anteriorly situated eyes, narrow occipital constriction, hypostomal sutures demarcating elongate subtrapezoidal submentum, oval pronotum broadest in front of middle, complete notosternal sutures, lack of hypomeral ridges, subtriangular mesoventral process posteriorly reaching middle of mesocoxal rests, and contiguous metacoxae distinguish Clepsydraphes from all stenichnine genera. In dorsal view, Clepsydraphes resembles mostly the New Guinean Aenigmaphes Jałoszyński, 2020c . Both genera have adults showing a similar body shape, with round pronota setose only in posterolateral regions and elytra broadest far behind middle, strongly narrowing anteriorly. However, Aenigmaphes has dimerous antennal clubs (antennae gradually thickened in Clepsydraphes ), one median antebasal pronotal pit anteriorly prolonged into a median longitudinal groove (pronotum lacking any pits or grooves in Clepsydraphes ), the head lacking hypostomal sutures (present in Clepsydraphes ), and a long keel-like mesoventral intermesocoxal process posteriorly fused with the metaventrite (absent in Clepsydraphes ).