Themus (Haplothemus) bezdeki, Švihla, 2005

Švihla, Vladimír, 2005, New taxa of the subfamily Cantharinae (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) from south-eastern Asia with notes on other species II, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 45, pp. 71-110 : 87

Themus (Haplothemus) bezdeki sp. nov.

( Figs. 32-34 )

Type locality. Laos, Hua Phan Province, Ban Saluei, Mt. Phu Phan, 20°13′N 103°59′E. Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘ Laos: Hua Phan prov., Ban Saluei , Mt. Phu Phan , 20°13′N 103°59′E, 6.-17.v.2004, J. Bezděk lgt.’ ( NMPC).

Description. Coloration. Head dark slate blue, mouthparts sienna to sooty, antennomeres 1-2 dark slate blue, antennomeres 3-7 sooty, antennomeres 8-10 terra-cotta, antennomere 11 sooty and terra-cotta basally. Prothorax yellow, pronotum with large, transverse, hexagonal, dark slate-blue spot. Meso- and metasternum and scutellum glaucous bluish green, abdominal sternites dark slate blue with narrow yellow borders. Legs dark slate blue, elytra greenish olivaceous.

Male. Eyes relatively small but protruding, head across eyes slightly narrower than pronotum, temples almost straight and convergent posteriorly. Antennae slightly exceeding elytral midlength. Surface of head very finely and very sparsely punctate, finely brown pubescent, lustrous. Pronotum ca 1.2 times as wide as long, its anterior margin straight, anterior corners rectangular, slightly rounded, lateral margins very slightly sinuate, slightly diverging posteriorly, posterior corners obtuse, slightly rounded, posterior margin very widely rounded. Surface of pronotum sculptured and pubescent like that of head, lustrous. Elytra moderately narrowed posteriorly, elytral nervation absent, surface of elytra finely imbricate-punctate, finely yellow pubescent, matt. Aedeagus as in Figs. 32-34 . Female unknown.

Length J: 16.1 mm.

Differential diagnosis. Themus (Haplothemus) bezdeki sp. nov. seems to be related to T. (H.) pacholatkoi Wittmer, 1997 from southern Vietnam, from which it differs by the blue head, large transverse blue spot on the pronotum, green scutellum and especially by the concave and basally wider parameres, divergent laterophyses, and a shorter and less emarginate dorsal part of the aedeagus (cf. WITTMER 1997).

Etymology. Dedicated to its collector, Jan Bezděk (Brno, Czech Republic).

Distribution. Laos: Hua Phan Province.

Figures

Figs. 30-34. 30-31 – Themus (s. str.) milosi sp. nov. 30 – aedeagus, ventral view; 31 – ditto, lateral view. 32-34 – T. (Haplothemus) bezdeki sp. nov. 32 – dorsal part of aedeagus; 33 – aedeagus, lateral view; 34 – ditto, ventral view.