(Figs 7–9)

Type locality. South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal Province, Ongoye Forest, 28°50ƍS, 31°44ƍE.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: 3: ‘ SOUTH AFRICA, [KwaZulu-Natal Province]: KWZ Natal, Ongoye forest, 294 m, 28.50 S – 31.44 E, sifting forest litter, 4.–5.xii.2010, E-Y 3890, leg. Ruth Müller // Octavius muellerae sp. n., J. Janák det. 2013’ (TMSA). PARATYPES: 2 ♀♀: same data as holotype (1 spec. in TMSA, 1 spec. in JJRC).

Additional material examined. SOUTH AFRICA: KWAZULU- NATAL: Ongoye forest, 28.50 S – 31.44 E, 294 m, sifting forest litter, 4.–5.xii.2010, E-Y 3890, leg. Ruth Müller, 1 ♀ (TMSA)

Description (n = 3). Body length 1.2–1.3 mm (M 1.3 mm, HT 1.3 mm), forebody length 0.6 mm (HT, PT). Microphthalmous, apterous, light rusty, head and pronotum dull, elytra and abdomen moderately shiny.

Head slightly narrower than pronotum (R 0.89–0.92, M 0.90, HT 0.89), eyes very small, temples about three times as long as eyes (R 3.00–3.27, M 3.12, HT 3.27), subparallel, posterior angles moderately angular, median impression on disc present, lateral parts of head very ¿nely granulose, median part very densely and ¿nely reticulate.

Pronotum moderately broader than long (R 1.12–1.17, M 1.09, HT 1.14), strongly narrowed posteriorly; anterior angles slightly angular, dorsal impressions moderately deep, transverse impression deep, lateral impressions deep, but not delimited by a sharp longitudinal ridge laterally; lateral parts beside lateral impressions densely granulose, remainder of surface very densely ¿nely reticulate.

Elytra subquadrate, much broader than long (R 1.42–1.55, M 1.47, HT 1.45), with a sharp longitudinal ridge laterally; between the latter and suture with a moderate longitudinal undulation, irregularly sculptured, and moderately reticulate.

Male. Sternite 8 moderately emarginate in posterior one-¿fteenth (Fig. 8), sternite 9 as in Fig. 9. Aedeagus elongate and asymmetrical (length 0.41 mm), pointed apically, internal structure with long, apically pointed plate with several spines and long narrow tube reaching nearly to the apex of median lobe; parameres slightly shorter than median lobe, with about 10 apical setae (Fig. 7).

Variability. The female listed in additional material examined has most characters in variability range of the type series, but differs from the types by larger eyes (R = 2.30). It was not included into the type series.

Differential diagnosis. Octavius muellerae sp. nov. belongs among species with very small eyes, with temples more than three times as long as eyes and with the head not or at most slightly widened posteriorly. From already described species, it is externally most similar to O. ocellifer Puthz, 2006, but it differs by slightly larger eyes and more transverse pronotum with deeper dorsal impressions and by the different sexual characters of male. O. muellerae sp. nov. is externally very simillar to O. acutipennis sp. nov. occuring in the same locality, from which it can be distinguished (sometimes with dif¿culties) by deeper dorsal impressions on pronotum, coarsely reticulate head and pronotum, deeper median impression on head and smaller eyes. The new species differs from that species by the completely different shape of aedeagus with an apically pointed plate with several spines and a long narrow tube reaching nearly to the apex of median lobe.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Ruth Müller (Ditsong Museum, Pretoria, South Africa), who helped me signi¿cantly during my trips to the Republic of South Africa and supported my study of Staphylinidae.

Bionomics. All specimens have been found in siftings of forest litter in indigenous forest.

Distribution. Octavius muellerae sp. nov. is currently recorded only from Ongoye Forest in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.