Micranops upembanus (Fagel)

(Figs 11–13)

Geoscopaeus upembanus Fagel, 1973: 26, 27.

Micranops upembanus (Fagel, 1973); Frisch & Herman 2014: 71.

Type specimen examined: Holotype ♂, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haut-Lomami: Mabwe (Lake Upemba), 585 m, 24.II.1949, Mission G. F. de Witte (RMCA).

The paratypes Fagel (1973: 27) designated, one from the type locality and three from Kivu, I did not see. However, I borrowed 17 specimens of Micranops upembanus from RMCA with the same locality label as the holotype. They originate from the same sample as the holotype, but were neither designated as paratypes by Fagel (1973: 27) nor do they bear Fagel’s identification labels.

New records: Democratic Republic of the Congo: South Kivu, Mt Kahuzi, 2000 m, 27.V.1985, leg. Mühle (MFNB). Burundi: Bujumbura, 3.V.1985, leg. Mühle (MFNB).

Redescription: Macrophthalmous species with palisade fringe of abdominal tergite VII; examined specimens macropterous with elytral sutural length about as long as pronotal length and with functional metathoracic wings. Body color light brown to medium brown; appendages light brown. Body surface subnitid with extremely fine, dense, setose punctation. Head about 1.2 times longer than wide, with moderately convex temples and straight posterior margin. Eyes 0.48–0.54 times as long as temples. Nuchal groove 0.21–0.27 times as wide as greatest head width. Trichobothrial cavity guttiform, with tapered anterior end connected to dorsoposterior margin of eye. Antenna compact, from very slightly elongate pedicellus and antennomere 3 gradually widened toward transverse penultimate antennomeres; antennomere 10 about 0.6–0.7 times, antennomere 11 about 1.3–1.4 times as long as wide. Total body length 2.0–2.3 mm; forebody length 1.1–1.2 mm.

Male: Protarsomeres 1–4 not dilated, about as long as wide.

Abdominal sternite VII in about median 0.2 of somewhat triangularly extended posterior margin with shallow, triangular emargination with two adjacent groups of five short, thick macrosetae directed medioposteriorly (cf. Fig. 143).

Abdominal sternite VIII with subbasal ridge evenly curved posteriorly, posterior margin triangularly incised to approximately 0.25 of sternite length, and lateral setae long, up to 0.3 times as long as sternite length (cf. Fig. 144).

Aedeagus with lobe-bearing apical portion occupying about 0.4 of aedeagal length (Fig. 11); apical portion in lateral view broad, elongate subrectangular (Fig. 11); phallobase not extended beyond base of ventral process (Fig. 11); in dorsal view, aedeagus elongate-oval, about three times as long as wide, with slightly concave lateral margins narrowed distad (Fig. 13). Apical lobes in lateral view each with broad, convex, strongly sclerotized apex (Fig. 11), in ventral view with slightly convex lateral margins narrowed toward subtruncate ends (Fig. 12). Dorsal lobe notably protruding over apical lobes and ventral lobe and with subapical, medial brush of ventrad pointing setae (Figs 11–13), in lateral view straight except for slightly ventrad curved base and with triangular end strongly sclerotized dorsally but membranous ventrally (Fig. 11), in ventral and dorsal view subtriangular (Figs 12, 13). Ventral lobe with strongly sclerotized ventral margin and round apex, reaching apical end of lateral lobes (Fig. 11). Ventromedial endophallic lobe not discernible. Endophallic sclerites large, compact (Figs 11, 13). Ventral process not reaching apex of ventral lobe, in lateral view strongly tapered toward narrow, subacute apex and at widest point about 0.3 times as wide as aedeagus at same level (Fig. 11); in ventral view, ventral process widely lanceolate with subacute end, at base very narrow, only about 0.15 times as wide as aedeagus at same level, and at widest point at about distal third of length about 0.6 times as wide as aedeagus at same level (Fig. 12). Dorsodistal opening of phallobase widely triangular (Fig. 13), lengthened to form dorsomidlongitudinal split occupying most of length of phallobase (Figs 11, 13); latter therefore collapsed in dry specimens (Fig. 11). Postforamen strongly projecting distoventrad, hook-shaped (Fig. 11). Circoforamen about twice as long as median foramen (Fig. 12). Length of aedeagus 0.31–0.33 mm.

Female: Protarsomeres 1–4 not dilated, about as long as wide.

Distribution: Micranops upembanus is known from the west and south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Lakes Kivu and Upemba) and from Burundi (new country record). A possibly conspecific specimen from the Republic of South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal: Ndumo Nature Reserve, 23.11.2001, leg. Schüle; SMNS) with the same features of the male abdominal sternites VII and VIII (Figs 143, 144) has a larger (0.36 mm) and more robust aedeagus (Figs 14–16) than the specimens from Equatorial Africa.