Hemipeplus suturalis Grouvelle, 1919

Kc, Sajan & Pollock, Darren A., 2025, Review of the Hemipeplinae (Coleoptera: Mycteridae) fauna of the world with descriptions of twenty-nine new species, Zootaxa 5574 (1), pp. 1-140 : 64-65

Hemipeplus suturalis Grouvelle, 1919

(Figs 30, 63)

Hemipeplus suturalis Grouvelle, 1919: 205 .— Kolbe 1919: 200; Hetschko 1930: 91; Scott 1933: 608; Kamiya 1963: 14; Pollock 1997: 91, Figs 8, 19, 21.

Type Material. Holotype, sex unknown, in ZMHB ( Guinea); not studied, see Grouvelle (1919) or Pollock (1997) for details.

Other Material Examined. REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Sangha Department. Kabo. 2.10° N 16.10°E environs Bomassa 07–09.iv.1993, D.H. Chadwick leg., ( MAIC, 1♂ (Fig. 30), 2 sex unknown) . UGANDA.

Ruwenzori Range. Semliki Forest . 2,850ft. 22.viii.–3.ix1952. D.S. Fletcher. leg., Ruwenzori Exped. B.M. 1952– 566, ( BMNH, 1). GABON . Woleu-Ntem Province. Okano. Mikongo (Rougier), Monts de Cristal , secondary forest 0°29’47.0”N 11°10’42.0”E 430 m, 28.vii–12.viii.2019, Albert, J-L., Aristophanous, M., Biemba, J., Dérozier, V ., Morerro, P. leg., MV light, BMNH (E) 2020–19, ( BMNH, 1). CAMEROON . Southwest Region. Fako. 2 km N Bakingili 200 m. 28–30.vii.1984, J. Rawlins, J. DiGiulio leg., ( CMNH, 1) .

Diagnosis. Hemipeplus suturalis can be distinguished by its acutely pointed temples and pronotum without pronotal pad. Hemipeplus suturalis has the following diagnostic features: temples short and strongly acute; scape submoniliform and externally produced on one side; eyes moderately large (as long as scape + pedicel), wide and convex; pronotum wide, flat, and subcordiform with distinct emargination on anterior margin; anterior half wider than posterior half; anterolateral angles strongly produced, broadly rounded; pronotal pad absent; posterolateral margins subparallel; posterolateral angles obtuse; pronotal lobe not prominent/truncate and without median notch; scutellar shield subhexagonal, transverse, less than twice as wide as long; body short and flat; elytra more or less flat; color dark testaceous, shiny, pronotum piceous–rufopiceous, head rufous–rufopiceous; distribution: west-central Africa ( Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Uganda) ( Pollock 1997).

Male Genitalia (Figs 30D–F). (Tegmen length = 0.50 mm (n = 1)) Lobe of basale extremely short, thick, and wide; shoulders very slanted and obtusely angled; apicale and basale with distinct suture; parameres very long and almost straight with minimum sinuation near basal half; apices very thin and sharp, directed inward; penis shorter than tegmen tapering toward apex.

Remarks. Hemipeplus suturalis resembles H. quadricollis and H. pseudoquadricollis from the New World except for the subcordiform pronotum.

Geographical Distribution (Fig. 63). West-central Africa ( Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Uganda) ( Pollock 1997).

Natural History. According to specimen label data, adults of H. suturalis have been collected at mercury vapor light and in secondary forest.

FIGURE 30. Hemipeplus suturalis Grouvelle, 1919 . A. Dorsal habitus (with scale bar); B. Dorsal head and prothorax; C. Lateral view of head and prothorax; D. Male genitalia dorsal view without spiculum gastrale; E. Tegmen dorsal view (with scale bar); F. Tegmen lateral view with one paramere removed.