Pinoplanus Assing, 2022

Struyve, Tim, 2024, Revision of the Afrotropical Pinophilina (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae) Part 1: genera, Pinachenium, Pinoplanus, Pinobelus and Pinocolis, Belgian Journal of Entomology 152, pp. 1-75 : 14

Genus Pinoplanus Assing, 2022

TYPE SPECIES: Pinophilus aegyptius ERICHSON, 1840 , by original designation

Pinoplanus ASSING, 2022: 89

FAGEL (1963) considered only Pinophilus aegyptius ( Erichson, 1840) as a valid species, recognized the size differences between the central African species and the typical P. aegyptius but considered them as synonyms. ASSING (2022) described the genus Pinoplanus and three new species for the Afrotropical fauna: Pinoplanus spathulatus Assing, 2022 , P. constrictus ASSING, 2022 and P. auctior Assing, 2022 but without being able to check the types of two other possible species: P. densior (Bernhauer, 1935) and P. punctatulus (Fauvel, 1905) . It seems that ASSING (2022) made a typo in the species name of P. punctatulus and it is listed as punctulatus in his work. With the current study those types where found, which leads to new synonyms, and there seems to be more species recognizable. They are all very similar and it is difficult to interpret if the differences in characteristics are just variations or the specimens belong to other species. In the search of good characters to divide species properly, it seems that the distance of the carinae on the ventral side of the aedeagus (side with the parameres) is the best to start ( Table 1). The density of micropunctation on the head and pronotum seems to have small or large variations within the species, so for some females it is impossible to bring them to the species level. Due to these variations, I could not make a satisfying key, but made this overview instead. For the interpretation of “dense” and “sparse” I refer to the figures ( Fig. 4 A-F).

Figures

Fig. 4. A-F, Head, dorsal view. A, Pinoplanus aegyptius (Erichson, 1840). B, P. gastoni sp. nov. C, P. punctatulus (Fauvel, 1905). D, P. spathulatus Assing, 2022. E, P. vanderberghi sp. nov. F, P. vestigium sp. nov. Scale bar: 1 mm.