Omostropus Péringuey, 1896

Kataev, B. M., Yeshitla, M. A. & Schmidt, J., 2020, Systematic position of Omostropus rotundatus and notes on some other species of Harpalina (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from Ethiopia, Zoosystematica Rossica (China) 29 (2), pp. 195-204 : 200-201

Genus Omostropus Péringuey, 1896

Omostropus Péringuey, 1896: 418 , 429. Type species: Omostropus tersulus Péringuey, 1896 , designated by Basilewsky (1947).

Diagnosis. Body medium-sized (length about 6.5–12.0 mm), elongate, convex. Dorsum impunctate and glabrous (except for unsetigerous punctation at base of pronotum). Fully winged or brachypterous. Frontal foveae small, punctiform or stroke-like. Fronto-ocular furrows absent. Genae wide. Mentum separated from submentum by complete transverse suture, with wide medi- an tooth. Epilobes moderately or rather markedly widened apically. Submentum with one or two pairs of lateral setae. Basal labial palpomere not carinate. Penultimate labial palpomere not long, about as long as ultimate palpomere, with several setae at anterior margin. Ligular sclerite narrow, not widened apically, with two ventroapical setae at apical edge, in some species also with several short dorsal setae. Paraglossae setose at margins, wide, rounded apically, markedly longer than ligular sclerite. Pronotum with one pair of lateral setae. Pronotal basal margin completely bordered, its basal edge not ciliate. Elytra with or without one discal pore on interval 3 behind middle, without discal pores on intervals 5 and 7. Parascutellar pore present. Parascutellar striole more or less highly reduced. Elytral marginal umbilicate series widely interrupted medially, with a gap about as long as rows of umbilicate pores, consisting of six to eight setigerous pores in anterior group and of eight to ten such pores in posterior group; stria 8 slightly arched between anterior and posteri- or groups and interval 9 slightly widened there. Metacoxa without additional posteromedial pore. Metafemur ventrally in most species with two or three (in some species up to five) setae along posterior margin. Protibia with three to five preapical spines at outer margin and with one or two ventroapical spines. Tarsi glabrous dorsally. Pro- and mesotarsomeres 2–4 in male dilated and with biseriate vestiture ventrally; protarsomere 1 scarcely dilated and in most species without adhesive vestiture (in some species with one or two very small scales apically); mesotarsomere 1 scarcely dilated and without distinct adhesive vestiture. Abdominal sternites without additional long setae; two or three basal sternites finely punctate and with very short setae medially; last visible (VII) abdominal sternite without pronounced sexual dimorphism, with two pairs of marginal setae. Gonocoxite with several long setae at outer margin. Median lobe of aedeagus with apical orifice shifted to left (in many species very weakly, almost in dorsal position), without apical capitulum.

Composition. The genus includes nine described species from East and Southern Africa. The systematic position of O. bulirschi Facchini, 2012 from Madagascar needs further study.

Remarks. The genera Omostropus and Harpalus are closely related taxa which both are defined polythetically, by combination of several nonspecific characters. Omostropus differs from Harpalus in having in male the first protarsomere without developed ventral adhesive vestiture, at most with one or two very small scales apically. In addition, in all species of Omostropus , the male first mesotarsomere is only scarcely dilated and without distinct ventral adhesive vestiture, the elytral marginal umbilicate series is widely interrupted medially, with a gap about as long as rows of umbilicate pores, the stria 8 is slightly arched between the anterior and posterior groups, and the interval 9 is slightly widened there. In Harpalus , the male first protarsomere is furnished ventrally with normally developed paired adhesive scales; the male first mesotarsomere ventrally in most species is with distinct paired adhesive scales, the elytral marginal umbilicate series is continuous or more or less widely interrupted medially, and the elytral stria 8 in most species is not arched in its middle portion.