Anoplocheilus (Anoplocheilus) matilei Antoine & Lequeux, 2001

Anoplocheilus (Anoplocheilus) matilei Antoine & Lequeux, 2001 View in CoL ( Fig. 7 View Fig )

Anoplocheilus (A.) matilei . Antoine and Lequeux 2001: 115; Beinhundner 2017: 504.

Remarks. This species was originally described from five specimens collected in the Udzungwa and Uluguru mountain region of central Tanzania. This is part of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot (EABH), within the East African Great Rift Valley, and therefore the species probably represents a local endemic taxon related to the high genetic exclusivity and restricted gene flow among mountain ranges occurring in that region ( Mairal et al. 2017). As pointed out from the onset by the authors, the systematic position of A. (A.) matilei Antoine & Lequeux, 2001 within the Diplognathini is far from clear-cut, because it exhibits a rather poor dorso-ventral convexity, its legs are rather slender and the tarsi elongated ( Fig. 7 A View Fig ). Above all it has a median pronotal expansion which partially covers the scutellum and is thus diametrically opposite to the arcuate/sinuate characteristic typical of Anoplocheilus in this body area. There are furthermore some apomorphic traits of sexual dimorphism, such as enlarged antennal clubs and presence of median longitudinal groove on abdominal sternites in the male. This again is in open contrast to the characteristics of Anoplocheilus , in which sexes are generally not recognizable on the basis of external morphology alone ( Marais and Holm 1989). On the other hand, most of the key characters exhibited by A. (A.) matilei are actually typical of the Charadronota / Diphrontis / Eriulis clade, with the best fit shown with Diphrontis Gerstaecker, 1883 , particularly in terms of aedeagal shape (e.g., presence of hook-like projections on apical margins), presence of median depression on abdominal sternites and expansion of posterior pronotal margin over the scutellar base ( Fig. 7 View Fig ). Indeed, pretty much all the diagnostic characters of this species are found in Diphrontis , with the exception of its elongated male antennal clubs and the denticles on the clypeal anterior margin. However, as also recognised by the authors, these features are likely to represent derived apomorphies ( Antoine & Lequeux 2001). It is thus proposed that the species be transferred to the genus Diphrontis , as one of its high altitude-derived forms: Diphrontis matilei ( Antoine & Lequeux, 2001) comb. nov.