Psacasta exanthematica conspersa Germar, 1839 , stat. n.

Carapezza, A. & Kerzhner, I. M., 2005, Species of the subgenus Psacasta s. str. (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae), Zoosystematica Rossica (China) 14 (1), pp. 55-60 : 56-58

Psacasta exanthematica conspersa Germar, 1839, stat. n.

Psacasta conspersa Germar, 1839: 71 . Syntype(s): Russia (Sarepta [= Krasnoarmeysk nr Volgograd]); Zoological Museum of the University, Leipzig (probably lost).

Scutellera albopunctata Krynicki in Ivanov & Chernay, 1871: 74, syn. n. Syntype(s): Ukraine (Khar’kov); Khar’kov University.

Psacasta exanthematica f. minor Puton, 1881a: 11, syn. n. Syntypes: numerous specimens from Ukraine and/or south of European Russia (“Russie meridionale”) and 1 specimen from France (Yonne), the latter is probably a small specimen of P. e. exanthematica ; Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris.

Psacasta cerinthe var. argillacea Horváth, 1889: 173 (upgraded to species by Horváth, 1911: 574), syn. n. Syntypes: ♂, ♀, Turkmenistan; Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest.

Psacasta affinis Reuter, 1900: 214 , syn. n. Syntype(s): Russia (Sarepta [= Krasnoarmeysk nr Volgograd]); Zoological Museum, Helsinki.

Psacasta exanthematica var. antennata Halászfy,1954:411 , 413, 417, syn. n. Holotype: ♀, Hungary (Magyaróvár); Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest.

Type specimens examined. None.

Other material examined. Ukraine: many specimens from its southern part, except the southern coast of the Crimea; Russia: many specimens from the south of the European part ( to Kursk, Voronezh, Ulyanovsk and Orenburg in the north) and W. Siberia (foothills of Altai); Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan: many specimens; Turkey: 3 ♂, Anatolia, Dikman-Dagh; 3 ♀, Anatolia, Baraj; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Anatolia, Mogan Gölü; 1 ♂, Anatolia, Yukaricanli ; 1 ♀, Kars ; 1 ♀, Kazikoporan ; 1 ♂, Medjingert ; Kazakhstan: many specimens from western, central and southern part; Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan: many specimens from foothills and mountains; Iran: many specimens (Tadjrish near Teheran; Gorgan; Shahkuh; Golshan); Afghanistan: 1 ♀, Badakschan, Barak . Diagnosis. Body length: ♂ 7.9-9.7 mm, ♀ 8.2- 10.2 mm (exceptionally, slightly more). General colour of dorsum usually paler than in the nominotypical subspecies, dirty yellow with obscure pattern; in such specimens, yellowish callose speckles are mainly concentrated on sides and less distinct than in the nominotypical subspecies. However, some specimens, for instance all specimens from the NW Caucasus, do not differ in the coloration of dorsum from the nominotypical subspecies. Antennal segments 1 and 2 usually red or yellowish red, but specimens with these segments brown or black occur as well, especially in the Caucasus.

Distribution. The steppe zone from Hungary to Altai and also the foothills and mountains of Transcaucasia, Turkey, Iran, former Soviet Central Asia, and Afghanistan.

Comments. The identity and status of P. conspersa (considered by us a subspecies of P. exanthematica ) was among the main sources of confusion in the genus. Puton (1881a) misidentified this species, erroneously ascribed to it the main distinguishing character of P. granulata (antennal segment 3 half as long as 2), and this resulted in the description of P. affinis from the type locality of P. conspersa and the statement ( Kiritshenko, 1951) that records of P. conspersa from Russia are erroneous. Eleven specimens from Sarepta, the type locality of P. conspersa , and many specimens from the adjacent areas are represented in the ZIN collection. All of them are conspecific and fit well the original description, which indicates the body length 9 mm and red coloration of the 3 basal antennal segments. S. albopunctata, P. affinis and P. argillacea were synonymized with P. exanthematica by Reuter (1885), Putshkov (1961), and Kerzhner (1964), respectively. Judging by the examined specimens from their type localities, they refer to ssp. conspersa rather than to the nominotypical subspecies. We did not examine specimens from Hungary, but the body size given for var. antennata (8-9 mm) is within the limits of variability of P. e. conspersa .

Comparison of this form with the typical P. exanthematica did not reveal any distinctions in the male genitalia, except that in smaller specimens also the genitalia are smaller. External characters are more or less overlapping (see the Table for measurements) and the two forms do not co-occur, though the range of P. e. exanthematica in the Near East is probably disjunct and of complicate configuration. This is the reason why we consider them to be subspecies.