Oedichirus palawanensis nov.sp.

(Figs 36)

Material studied: ♂ Holotype: PALAWAN: Central, Sabang, trail to Undergr. River, sea level, 30.XI.95, I Löbl, forest, fungi on log / HOLOTYPE Oedichirus palawanensis des. 2015 G. de Rougemont [MHNG]; 3♂♂ paratypes: PHILIPPINES, Central Palawan, 4 km N Port Barton, 29.xii. 1996, 50 m, G. Cuccodoro, sifting moist and lush leaf litter and vegetable debris in forest above waterfalls / PARATYPE Oedichirus palawanensis des. 2015 G. de Rougemont [MHNG, 1 paratype in CRO].

Description: length: 6.2 mm; length of fore-body: 2.9; length of head: 0.8; breadth of head: 0.9; length of antenna: 2.4; length of pronotum: 1.4; breadth of pronotum: 0.92; length of elytron: 0.92; breadth of elytra: 1.05. Body black, palpi, antennae and legs uniformly testaceous. Body devoid of microsculpture. Pubescence moderately long, dark, erect. Habitus: Fig. 36h.

Head only a little transverse; post-ocular carina salient, ending anteriad under the posterior margin of eye, but forming a dentiform angle well behind eye; puncturation consisting of a dozen punctures on frons, two ocular punctures, another puncture between these but further removed from eye, two very large closely set punctures in front of base, and a number of small punctures on posterior margin and in post-ocular grooves. Pronotum strongly elongate, the sides narrowed in almost straight lines to narrow base; lateral margin without evident border; puncturation of disc consisting of a pair of discal series of four punctures each, the interval between first (starting from base) puncture and the next much greater than those between the three other punctures; in front of this six smaller punctures disposed in a circle; two lateral punctures, two punctures on either side on anterior margin, a number of punctures on lateral margins, and four punctures along posterior margin. Micropterous, humeral angles completely obsolete, sides dilated in almost straightlines to the widest point 2/3 ds the distance from base and then a little retracted to posterior angles. Punctures of abdominal tergites arranged in three discrete transverse rows behind row of long keels on anterior margin of each tergite.

Male: abdominal sternite VII unmodified; sternite VIII: Fig. 36s8, the surface of sternite with two divergent keels; aedoeagus: Fig. 36arl, the right paramere bent at a sharp angle; left paramere wanting.

O. palawanesis nov.sp., O. philippinus nov.sp., O. mutilus nov.sp. and O. sp. P1 are the only Oedichirus recorded from the Philippine Republic. The four species are very similar in their uniform colour, facies and pattern of puncturation; O. palawanensis nov.sp. is distinguished from the other three by its black body (brown in the other species) and the male sexual characters.