Hemipeplus alluaudi Grouvelle, 1923

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 : 71-73

Hemipeplus alluaudi Grouvelle, 1923

(Figs 33.1, 33.2, 63)

Hemipeplus alluaudi Grouvelle, 1923: 270 .— Hetschko 1930: 90; Scott 1933: 608, 610; Kamiya 1963: 14; Pollock 1997: 89, Figs 5, 16, 22.

FIGURE 33. 1. Hemipeplus alluaudi Grouvelle, 1923 (S. Kenya). 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.

FIGURE 33. 2. Hemipeplus alluaudi Grouvelle, 1923 ( Malawi). A. Dorsal habitus; B. Dorsal head and prothorax; C. Lateral view of head and prothorax; D. Male genitalia dorsal view with spiculum gastrale; E. Tegmen dorsal view; F. Tegmen lateral view with one paramere removed.

Type Material. Lectotype, designated by Pollock (1997), sex unknown, only images sent from MNHN, labeled: ‘ Cote d’Afrique or. angl. RIVIERE RAMISI ALLUAUD ET JEANNEL NOV 1911 St. 8 / [pink label] Type / Hemipeplus alluaudi Grouv. / MUSEUM PARIS 1917 Coll. GROUVELLE / LECTOTYPE Hemipeplus alluaudi Grouvelle design D.A. Pollock 1996 / [with a barcode] MNHN, Paris EC 26371’, in MNHN (Grouvelle Collection) . Paralectotype, sex unknown, only images sent from MNHN, labeled: ‘ Cote d’Afrique or. angl. RIVIERE RAMISI ALLUAUD ET JEANNEL NOV1911 St. 8 / Hemipeplus alluaudi Grouv. / MUSEUM PARIS Coll.A. GROUVELLE 1917 / [red label] Type / [red label] PARALECTOTYPE Hemipeplus alluaudi Grouv. Designated by D.A. Pollock 1997 / [with a barcode] MNHN, Paris EC 26372’, in MNHN (Grouvelle Collection) .

Other Material Examined. KENYA. Kwale District. Shimba Hills Res. Forest 28.viii.1986, B.D. Valentine family coll., Valentine coll’n Rec. 2016, ( FSCA, 1♂); same locality, 26.viii.1986, ( FSCA, 1♂ (Fig. 33.1), 3♀) . REPUBLIC OF MALAWI. Mulanje District. Likhubula Forest Lodge 24–25.ii.2009 700 m, J. Heppner & R. Murphy leg., host-Leguminosae: Brachystegia , ( FSCA, 1♂) (Fig. 33.2) .

Diagnosis. Hemipeplus alluaudi can be distinguished from the similar-appearing H. africanus (Figs 32.1, 32.2) by its posterolateral pronotal margins not subparallel and uniformly paler color. Hemipeplus alluaudi has the following diagnostic features: temples short and angulate to somewhat rounded, slightly larger in some specimens; scape submoniliform, somewhat more elongate than in H. africanus (Figs 32.1, 32.2); eyes large (longer than scape + pedicel), wide and convex; pronotum wide to relatively narrow, subcordiform; anterior half wider than posterior half with deep to shallow anterior emargination in center; anterolateral angles moderately to strongly produced, broadly rounded; pronotal pad present, more distinct than in H. africanus ; hind angles obtuse, rounded to somewhat angled; posterolateral margins of pronotum not straight or subparallel; pronotal lobe indistinct and without median notch; scutellar shield transverse, elliptical to subhexagonal, less than twice as wide as long; body long; elytra slightly convex but distinctly flatter than in H. africanus ; color uniformly brown; distribution: Kenya, Malawi.

Male Genitalia (Figs 33. 1D–F, 33. 2D–F). (Tegmen length = 0.33–0.42 mm (n = 3)) Lobe of basale very short, and wide, shorter than in H. africanus ; shoulders slanted and obtusely angled; apicale and basale with somewhat clear suture; basale subequal to apicale (not including basal lobe); parameres long and almost straight, apices curved inward; apices thin and sharp; penis wide and longer than tegmen, apically pointed.

Variation. The specimen of H. alluaudi from Malawi is larger than those from Kenya.

Remarks. Hemipeplus alluaudi closely resembles the lighter form of H. africanus , and even male genitalia are virtually inseparable except for the shorter, wider lobe of the basale that appears consistent among the specimens. Externally, it can be distinguished from H. africanus using the keys provided in the diagnosis section.

Geographical Distribution (Fig. 63). Kenya (south), Malawi (new country record).

Natural History. A label on one specimen from Malawi in FSCA reads that the host is Brachystegia Benth. (Leguminosae) . If so, this is the first record of a dicot plant being “host” to Hemipeplinae , although they have been collected by sweeping dicots such as Salicornia before ( Pollock 1999). Apart from that, nothing is known regarding the natural history of H. alluaudi .