The group Ochthebius (Ochthebius) metallescens, proposed by OR-

CHYMONT (1942), currently includes more than 50 species found in small headwaters in the occidental Palearctic region. All species of this group are basically characterized by having a clearly excised labrum, the anterior angles of the pronotum never ending with a spiniform process, black colour, usually with soft metallic refl ections, and male aedeagus with a short distal lobe, fl at and curved (JÄCH, 1989). In the north of Africa, this group comprises at least 8 species: O. meta