Acmaeodera (Acmaeodera) strumiai, Volkovitsh, 2019

Volkovitsh, Mark G., 2019, Two new species of Acmaeodera Eschscholtz, 1829 from the Arabian Peninsula and Mauritania (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Polycestinae: Acmaeoderini), Zootaxa 4648 (3), pp. 581-591 : 582-590

Acmaeodera (Acmaeodera) strumiai sp. nov.

( Figs 1–10, 14, 15 )

Type specimens studied. Holotype, ♀ ( MSUP), OMAN, Dhofar region, Strumia F. Leg. // Rd. Marbat – Sadh, km 22.4 E Marbat, 17˚03’07” N, 54˚50’98” E, m 110, 06.10.2001 // Museo di Storia Naturale e del Territorio Univer- sita de Pisa, Calci ( Pisa ) – Italia (p, green) ; paratypes as follows: 1 ♀ ( ZIN), OMAN, Dhofar / Wadi Mughsayl / 6.–8.IX.2007, J. Horák leg. (h); 4 ♀ ( FBCR), YEMEN: N Jemen, Badjil , 25 km Madinat ash Shriq , Takhstelle , 1250 m, 14˚43’ N, 43˚51’ E, 18.5.1998, leg. Brechtel, Ehrmann, Wurst (p) ; 1 ♂ ( KSMA), The Ain village / 31-III-2017, SW / A.M. Soliman + / M.A. Crul [?, unreadable] (h) // SAUDI ARABIA (Bahah) / Thee Ain ancient village / S of Al Bâha 760m / 19°55’47’’N 41°26’38’’E / 31.III.2017 - A.M. Soliman leg. (p) ; 1 ♀ ( VCMF), [ MAURITANIA] RIM – Kaedi (Gorgol) 15 km / au nord – 25/03/1990 – sur / Acacia rad. – J.-F. Vayssières (p) // RVA 4718 / J.-F. Vayssières coll.

Diagnosis. Body ( Figs 1–3 ) of medium size, slightly elongate, robust, 2.94 (2.82–3.05) times as long as pronotum width at base, flattened, without dorsal curvature; blackish-bronze, with bronze, copper, or violet sheen; elytra black-brown with irregular yellow pattern formed by confluent, longitudinal, transverse and oblique bands and isolated maculae; body dorsally covered with brown and white setae; ventrally with recumbent, fine, white setae; body length 7.6 (6.7–8.0) mm, width at pronotal base 2.6 (2.2–2.8) mm (n = 4: 1 ♂, 3 ♀). Holotype: body length 6.7 mm, width 2.2 mm, body 3.05 times as long as pronotum width at base.

Description. Head ( Figs 5, 6 ) broad, vertex flattened when seen from above; eyes slightly convex, not protruding beyond head contour. Vertex sometimes with medial carina, 1.97 (1.64–2.28) times as wide as transverse diameter of eye and 1.08 (1.03–1.14) times as wide as frons above antennal sockets. Frons convex, without medial line or depression, occasionally with poorly marked shallow fossa in lower part; with slightly curved, weakly diverging sides; covered with uniform reticulate to ocellate sculpture of dense, medium, round or weakly oval umbilicate punctures bearing flat central grains and fine micropunctures, intervals shiny, equal to 1/2–1/3 diameter of puncture; covered with rather long, erect, slightly curved, white setae, vertex with brown setae. Clypeus relatively broad with deep arcuate or slightly angular anterior emargination. Antennae long, in male 1.73, in female 1.69 (1.60–1.79) times as long as vertical diameter of eye; antennal segments abruptly expanded from antennomere 5 in both sexes, sexual dimorphism well expressed; in male ( Fig. 5, 6 ) scape long, weakly curved, expanded toward apex; pedicel slightly elongate, feebly swollen, barrel-like, as long as antennomere 3; antennomere 3 slightly shorter than 4, both elongate, weakly expanded toward apex; antennomere 5 sharply triangular, as wide as long; antennomeres 6–10 sharply triangular, slightly longer than wide; antennomere 11 missing; in female antennomeres 5–6 triangular, as long as wide; antennomeres 7–10 triangular, slightly wider than long; antennomere 11 nearly round, as wide as long.

Pronotum ( Figs 1, 4, 5 ) weakly convex, transverse, 1.70 (1.68–1.73) times as wide at base as long, widest at posterior 1/3–1/4, where it is distinctly wider than width of elytra at humeri; sides angularly projecting, weakly curvilinearly or nearly rectilinearly diverging from base toward widest point, then longer, curvilinearly converging toward anterior angles. Аnterior margin slightly angularly projecting, basal margin straight or slightly emarginate. Lateral carina poorly defined at posterior half. Pronotum dorsally weakly convex, without distinct medial depression, occasionally with a shallow medial line or groove at anterior half and prebasal transverse depression; basal margin slightly elevated between prebasal and lateral fossae forming two poorly defined elevations, vaguely reminiscent of basal carinae in Acmaeoderella (Carininota) species; prescutellar fossae large and deep, lateral fossae well defined, surrounded by flat depressions. Entire pronotal surface covered with uniform reticulate to ocellate (on disc) sculpture, consisting of round, deep umbilicate punctures with flat central grains and fine micropunctures, without concentric rugosity. Pronotal sides covered with recumbent white setae, disc with relatively long, semierect, curved, brown setae occasionally mixed with white setae.

Anterior prosternal margin ( Fig. 3 ) feebly bisinuate, bordered with transverse groove; prosternum and prosternal process convex, covered with ocellate sculpture of relatively large, round, deep umbilicate punctures; pronotal hypomeron bearing ocellate to reticulate sculpture of larger punctures with marked flat central grains. Meso- and metaventrites with reticulate sculpture of similar punctures.

Elytra ( Figs 1, 2 ) robust, 2.24 (2.20–2.32) times as long as wide at base, flattened; base transversely depressed; sides only weakly expanded at humeri, behind them subparallel toward posterior third, then curvilinearly converging to jointly rounded apices. Subhumeral excision absent, subhumeral portion of epipleura nearly straight; epipleural serrations distinct, visible at posterior 1/3, apical teeth saw-like. Strial punctures shallow, round or elongate, separate, usually not merging along entire elytral length, rarely merging in posterior half; striae visible up to base. Intervals flat, subequal, 2–4 times as wide as striae; 9th interval flat, not serrated; intervals bearing very fine, inconspicuous, nearly uniseriate micropunctures; covered with rather long (just longer than interval width), semi-erect, brown setae, mixed with white setae on sides. Elytral surface dull. Elytra black-brown with irregular yellow pattern forming by confluent, longitudinal, transverse and oblique bands and isolated maculae of “ rubromaculata ” type.

Legs ( Figs 1, 3, 5 ) black with bronze sheen; metacoxal plates with posterior margin weakly emarginate, deeply emarginate laterally, forming rectangular lateral tooth, protruding beyond elytral contour and easily visible from above. Tibiae slender, slightly expanded toward apices, covered with white and brown setae; metatibiae bearing comb of rather long brown setae externally. Tarsomeres 1–4 subequal, short, slightly expanded toward apices; tarsomere 5 slender, poorly expanded toward apex; tarsal adhesive pads poorly developed on tarsomeres 1–3, each larger toward distal end. Tarsal claws curved, relatively long, with rectangular (♂) or sharp (♀) tooth at mid-length.

Abdomen ( Figs 2, 3 ) blackish-bronze, with steel or copper sheen; laterally covered with reticulate sculpture of very dense, round, umbilicate punctures, toward disc changing to ocellate sculpture of small, entire, not horse-shoe, umbilicate or simple punctures; surface covered with relatively long, recumbent, white setae. Anal ventrite in male widely rounded, slightly truncate apically, transversally depressed in posterior half; in female regularly rounded apically.

Male. Tergite IX ( Fig. 10 ): proctiger narrowly rounded apically, almost entire, with poorly marked, short mem- branous medial stripe at the base only; paraprocts narrow, nearly merging medially at the base of proctiger. Aedeagus as in Figs 7–9 : parameres subparallel, with nearly straight sides; penis with large apical apodeme and wide triangular lamina.

Female. Ovipositor ( Figs 14, 15 ) of tubular type, about 2 times as long as length of expanded apical part, much longer than these in all known Old World species of Acmaeodera s. str.; with angularly emarginated apex, distance between styli nearly 2 times of length of each stylus which is long, slender and straight. Dorsal hemisternites strongly sclerotized along entire length, relatively narrow, expanded apically, far not reaching anterior margin, with poorly marked additional sclerotization toward apex. Ventral hemisternites very narrow, poorly sclerotized, weakly curved, extending to anterior margin. Lateral margins strongly angularly expanded in anterior half, their anterior margin and apex of ovipositor covered with rather long setae.

Variability. Paratype from Mauritania slightly differs by predominance of longitudinal merging of elytral markings, in other respects including ovipositor structure it completely matches the specimens from the Arabian Peninsula and cannot be separated as a distinct subspecies, at least based on the single specimen .

Differential diagnosis. It is difficult to attribute A. strumiai sp. nov. to a definite species-group within the subgenus Acmaeodera s. str., in the first place due to its atypical ovipositor which has some resemblance to the ovipositors of A. brunneipennis Kerremans, 1906 from A. brunneipennis (= A. elater Théry, 1930 ) species group and A. yunanna Fairmaire, 1888 of the monotypic A. yunnana species group ( Volkovitsh 1979, Figs 74, 75). In the structure of the aedeagus, particularly the large apical apodeme and lamina of penis, A. strumiai sp. nov. comes close to the species of A. brunneipennis group as well, and it can be preliminary attributed to this group. In its elytral pattern (though usually much lighter) and pronotal sculpture the new species is most similar and partly sympatric with A. guichardi Levey & Volkovitsh, 1996 from the Arabian Peninsula, but the latter differs by purely white dorsal pilosity, short uritiform ovipositor, structure of male tergite IX, and aedeagus ( Figs 11–13, 16 ) (for other diagnostic characters see Table 1 ) which are characteristic for A. cylindrica Fabricius, 1775 species-group ( Volkovitsh 1979). A. strumiai sp. nov. also shows some resemblance to A. tunisiana Krajcik, 2012 , known to me from description only; according to the illustrations in Krajcik (2012) which are of rather poor quality, the latter has a short uritiform ovipositor like that of A. guichardi , deep pronotal medial groove, and different elytral markings.

Ecological information. The paratype from Mauritania ( VCMF) was collected on Acacia raddiana Savi (Fabaceae) which most probable is its larval host based on the extensive range of this species.

Etymology. The species name is dedicated to Mr. F. Strumia (Pisa, Italy) who is the first collector of this species.

Distribution. Arabian Peninsula: Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen; Northwest Africa: Mauritania.

Remark. In the original description A. guichardi ( Levey & Volkovitsh 1996) , at that time known only by female holotype ( BMNH), was attributed to A. elater species-group but based on the male and female genital structures ( Figs 11–13, 16 ) it should be transferred to A. cylindrica species-group ( Volkovitsh 1979).

Acmaeodera (Acmaeotethya) dhofarica sp. nov.

( Figs 17–21, 23–26, 28–30 )

Type specimens studied. Holotype, ♂ ( ZIN), Oman, Dhofar / Wadi Al Mughsayl / 29– 31.8.2007 / J. Horák leg. (h) ; paratypes as follows: 1 ♀ ( NHMB), Oman, Dhofar, 20.09.1987, M.D. Ballagher / Jabal Qara, Wadi Jerdom , 17.03’ N, 53.58’ E (p); 2 ♂, 3 ♀ ( DGCC, GNCW, ZIN), S Oman, Dhofar / Zayk / Zeek , 1050 m / 29.8 2000, leg. D. Gianasso (h) ; 1 specimen, unsexed ( GNCW), S Oman, Dhofar / Jibjaat , 850 m / 29.8 2000, leg. D. Gianasso (p); 1 ♀ ( SPCB), S Oman, Dhofar / 5 km E di Jibiat, 15.ix. 2010, 883 m, / leg. D. Gianasso (h) ; 3 ♂, 1 ♀ ( MSUP), Oman, Dhofar region, Dellacasa M. leg. / Ain Razat , 17.07’75” N, 54.14’24” E, m 110, 29.09.2001 / Museo di Storia Naturale e del Ter- ritorio Universita de Pisa , Calci ( Pisa ) (p, green) ; 4 ♂, 2 ♀ ( MSUP, ZIN), same data, 2.10.2001 ; 2 ♀ ( MSUP), same data, 6.10.2001 ; 1 ♀ ( GNCW), same data, Strumia F. leg., 24.09.2001 ; 2 ♂, 5 unsexed specimens ( BLC, BMNH, NMWC), [not verbatim] Oman: Dhofar, near Dhalkut , 360m., 16°42’26” N, 53°13’25” E, 14.xi.2016, B. Levey; On yellow compositae ; 1 ♀ ( NMPC), Oman (p) 20.ix. (h) / Dhofar (p) 1987 (h) / M.D. Gallagher (p) // Jabal Qara / Wadi Jerdom / 17°03’ N, 53°58’ E (h) ; 4 unsexed specimens ( NMPC), Oman, Dzhophar / 20.09.03 Darbaat / 300 m S. Jákl leg. (p) ; 8 unsexed specimens ( WBCW, ZIN), Oman, Dzhophar Prov. / Darbaat env. / 250 m / 19– 20.09.2003 leg. Jákl (p) // Coll. / Barries (p., yellow) ; 3 ♂ ( EJCB, ZIN), same geographic label; 1 ♂, 2 ♀ ( NMPC, ZIN), E Yemen, Jabal al Fatk, / Hawf NE Al Ghaydah, / N 16°38’, E 53°03’, 151 m, / 14.X.2005, lgt. S. Kadlec. Some of above mentioned paratypes were later moved to the collections of late C.L. Bellamy, late G.H. Nelson (U.S.A.), S. Ohmomo ( Japan), T. Neef de Sainval ( Belgium), and possibly to other private and public collections.

Diagnosis. Body ( Figs 17–21 ) of medium size, weakly elongate, 3.16 (2.83–3.54) times as long as pronotum width at base, slightly convex, without dorsal curvature; black with steel, bronze, rarely copper sheen; frons and pronotum frequently with yellow maculae; elytra black-brown, nearly black, with variable yellow-orange pattern formed by confluent, mainly transverse and oblique fasciae and isolated maculae; body dorsally covered with short, recumbent and semi-erect, white and brown setae, ventrally with longer, recumbent white setae; body length 7.9 (6.8–9.5) mm, width at pronotal base 2.5 (2.1–3.1) mm (n = 20: 10 ♂, 10 f #). Holotype: body length 7.9 mm, width 2.6 mm, body 3.04 times as long as pronotum width at base.

Description. Head ( Figs 24, 25 ) broad, vertex slightly convex and flattened medially when seen from above; eyes slightly convex, weakly protruding beyond head contour. Vertex without medial carina or line, 1.94 (1.74–2.11) times as wide as transverse diameter of eye and 1.14 (1.07–1.21) times as wide as frons above antennal sockets. Frons slightly convex, with shallow, poorly marked fossa in the middle; with slightly curved, weakly diverging sides; covered with uniform ocellate to reticulate sculpture of dense, medium, round umbilicate punctures bearing flat central grains and fine eccentric micropunctures, intervals shiny, equal to 1/2 diameter of puncture; covered with rather short, semi-erect, white (holotype) or mixed white and brown setae. Clypeus relatively narrow with shallow, broad, arcuate anterior emargination, separated from frons by deep transverse depression. Antennae moderately long, in male 1.56 (1.46–1.78) times, in female 1.50 (1.33–1.66) times as long as vertical diameter of eye; antennal segments expanded from antennomere 4 in both sexes, sexual dimorphism poorly expressed; in male ( Figs 24–26 ) scape weakly curved, expanded toward apex; pedicel slightly elongate, feebly swollen, oval; antennomere 3 nearly as long as 4, conical; antennomere 4 triangular, nearly as wide as long, distinctly narrower than 5; antennomeres 5–10 trapezoid, slightly wider than long, antennomere 11 longer than wide, with truncate apex; in female antennomeres similar but less expanded.

Pronotum ( Figs 23, 24 ) convex, moderately transverse, 1.52 (1.44–1.61) times as wide at base as long, widest at posterior 1/3 or between mid-length and posterior 1/3, where it is slightly wider than width of elytra at humeri; sides rounded, shortly curvilinearly diverging from base toward widest point, then longer, curvilinearly converging toward anterior angles. Аnterior margin slightly curvilinearly projecting, feebly bisinuate, basal margin straight. Lateral carina well defined, sharp, visible from above along entire length. Pronotal surface without distinct medial depression, occasionally showing traces of medial groove; prescutellar fossa poorly marked, shallow, lateral fossae well defined, deeply depressed. Pronotal sides covered with almost alveolate sculpture of rather deep umbilicate punctures with distinct central grains and micropunctures, changing to pseudoalveolate sculpture of large, dense and deep simple punctures on disc, concentric rugosities poorly marked. Pronotum covered with short, recumbent setae, white on sides and mixed white and brown or purely brown on disc. Pronotum frequently with small, yellow-orange marginal maculae at posterior third and prescutellar macula at base Fig. 24 ), rarely also small maculae near anterior corners and anterior margin or marginal stripe ( Fig. 21 ).

Anterior prosternal margin ( Fig. 20 ) nearly straight or feebly bisinuate, bordered with deep transverse sulcus, swollen; prosternum and prosternal process convex, covered with pseudoalveolate to ocellate sculpture of relatively large, round, deep punctures; pronotal hypomeron bearing reticulate sculpture of large round, umbilicate punctures with marked flat central grains and micropunctures. Meso- and metaventrites with ocellate to reticulate sculpture of smaller umbilicate punctures.

Elytra ( Figs 17–19, 21, 23 ) wide, 2.40 (2.29–2.49) times as long as wide at base, slightly convex; sides weakly expanded at humeri, behind them feebly diverging toward posterior third, then curvilinearly converging to jointly rounded apices. Subhumeral excision moderately deep, distinct; epipleural serrations poorly developed at posterior 1/3, apical teeth small, saw-like. Strial punctures moderate-sized, elongate, merging over the major part of elytra; striae finely sulcate, visible up to base. Intervals slightly convex, subequal, 2.5–4 times as wide as striae; 9th interval weakly elevated, not serrated; intervals bearing rather large, distinct, multiseriate punctures, particularly wellmarked at basal third; covered with short (shorter than interval width), confusedly multiseriate, semi-erect, white and brown setae. Elytral surface weakly shiny. Elytra black-brown, nearly black, with variable yellow-orange markings of modified “ degener ” type formed by confluent, mainly transverse and oblique fasciae and isolated maculae arranged in 5 rows; in basal row maculae extending longitudinally while in other rows these are mainly transverse, frequently broken into separate fragments ( Figs 17, 19, 21, 23 ).

Legs ( Figs 24–26 ) blackish-brown, without metallic sheen; metacoxal plates with posterior margin weakly concave, deeply emarginate laterally but without lateral tooth. Protibiae distinctly expanded toward apices, bearing well defined carina along entire length which separates the flat external part ( Fig. 26 ), meso- and metatibiae moderately expanded toward apices; all tibiae covered with white and brown setae; metatibiae bearing comb of brown setae externally. Tarsomeres 1–4 subequal, short, slightly expanded toward apices; tarsomere 5 rather short, swollen toward apex; tarsal adhesive pads well developed on all tarsomeres, each larger toward distal end. Tarsal claws curved, in male internal tooth rather large, located at apical 1/3, in female smaller and located near mid-length.

Abdomen ( Fig. 20 ) black, with steel or bronze sheen; sides of first visible ventrite covered with ocellate sculpture of small, round, umbilicate punctures, changing to horse-shoe punctures toward disc and apex and to simple punctate sculpture centrally; surface covered with relatively long, recumbent, white setae. Anal ventrite in male short, regularly rounded apically, transversally depressed; in female longer and more narrowly rounded apically.

Male. Ventrite VIII entirely sclerotized, anteriorly without membranous areas at each side of medial line, with apical tooth. Tergite IX: proctiger with angular apex and short membranous medial stripe at base. Aedeagus as in Fig. 28 : sides of parameres ( Fig. 29 ) at anterior third curvilinearly converging to bluntly acuminated apices; penis ( Fig. 30 ) fusiform with triangular apical apodeme, lamina narrow rod-shaped and gradually expanded toward base, and narrow transverse sclerotized fascia in anterior third.

Female. Ovipositor of the usual tubular type, long, approximately 4 times as long as expanded apical part, with angularly emarginate apex.

Variability. Besides the differences in body length, the new species exhibits a rather extensive variation in pronotal and elytral patterns. Frontal and pronotal markings frequently missing; normally pronotun bearing small marginal maculae at posterior third and prescutellar basal macula ( Figs 23, 24 ), more rarely there are also marginal maculae near anterior corners and medial macula close to anterior margin; female paratypes from Yemen bearing marginal stripes along entire length ( Fig. 21 ). Elytral pattern varies from almost typical “ degener ” type with transversely confluent maculae ( Fig. 19 ) to the pattern much resembling that in A. (Lisposcelis) kerremansi Stebbing, 1914 from Pakistan (see Volkovitsh & Singh 2018) ( Fig. 21 ).

Differential diagnosis. Systematic position of A. dhofarica sp. nov. within the species-groups of subgenus Acmaeotethya is not quite clear. In its distinctly expanded protibiae ( Fig. 26 ) it can be classified as a member of ottomana species-group ( Volkovitsh 1979) but the species of this group have protibia flat, without longitudinal carina, ventrite VIII anteriorly with membranous areas on each side of medial line, and lamina of penis lacking. There are some vague similarities in the pronotal and elytral markings and sculpture, as well as in shape of protibiae with some Afrotropical representatives of subgenus Acmaeotethya (for example, A. signata Laporte et Gory, 1836 , A. gentilis Péringuey, 1888 ; see Holm 1978) but a close relation of A. dhofarica sp. nov. to these species is doubtful. Among other species of the subgenus Acmaeotethya occurring in Oman and adjacent countries, A. dhofarica sp. nov. can be confused with large specimens of A. vanharteni Volkovitsh, 2011 ( Fig. 22 ) from cisti species-group but the latter differs by smaller and subcylindrical body, regularly arcuate pronotal sides, slender protibiae without longitudinal carina ( Fig. 27 ), structure of aedeagus ( Figs 31, 32 ), and some other characters (see also Table 2 ). A. (A.) batelkai Volkovitsh, 2011, having somewhat similar shape of body and pronotal and elytral markings, can be easily distinguished by spatulate protibiae with a slightly serrate external margin ( Bílý et al. 2011).

Ecological information. Larval host plants unknown, possibly Acacia ; Dr. B. Levey collected adults near Dhalkut on yellow Asteraceae .

Etymology. The species epithet reflects the name of Dhofar Province in Oman where the new species was first collected.

Distribution. Oman (Dhofar), Yemen (Al Mahrar).

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Acmaeodera (Acmaeodera) strumiai sp. nov., habitus. Fig. 1, paratype, ♂, Saudi Arabia (KSMA), dorsal as- pect, 7.9 mm; Fig. 2, the same, lateral aspect; Fig. 3, the same, ventral aspect; Fig. 4, the same, head, pronotum and anterior part of elytra, lateral aspect; Fig. 5, the same, head, pronotum and elytral base, dorsal aspect; Fig. 6, the same, head, frontal aspect.

FIGURES 7–16. Acmaeodera (Acmaeodera) strumiai sp. nov. and A. (A.) guichardi Levey & Volkovitsh, 1996, male and female genitalia. Fig. 7, A. strumiai sp. nov., paratype, ♂, Saudi Arabia (KSMA), aedeagus, dorsal aspect, 1.6 mm; Fig. 8, the same, tegmen, 1.5 mm; Fig. 9, the same, penis, 1.05 mm; Fig. 10, the same, tergite 9, 1.0 mm; Fig. 14, the same, holotype, ♀, Oman (MSUP), ovipositor, 1.5 mm; Fig. 15, the same, paratype, ♀, Mauritania (VCMF), ovipositor, 1.7 mm; Fig. 11, A. guichardi, ♂, Oman (ZIN), microslide no. 1730, tergite 9, 0.65 mm; Fig. 12, the same, tegmen, 1.2 mm; Fig. 13, the same, penis, 0.75 mm; Fig. 16, the same, ♀, microslide no. 1729, ovipositor, 0.6 mm.

FIGURES 17–32. Acmaeodera (Acmaeotethya) dhofarica sp. nov. and A. (A.) vanharteni Volkovitsh, 2011, habitus, append- ages, and male genitalia. Fig. 17, A. dhofarica sp. nov., holotype, ♂, Oman (ZIN), habitus, dorsal aspect, 9.0 mm; Fig. 18, the same, lateral aspect; Fig. 23, the same, head, pronotum and anterior part of elytra, lateral aspect; Fig. 24, the same, head, pronotum and elytral base, dorsal aspect; Fig. 25, the same, head, frontal aspect; Fig. 26, the same, left fore-leg and distal anten- nomeres, dorsal aspect; Fig. 28, the same, aedeagus, dorsal aspect; Fig. 19, the same, paratype, ♂, Oman (EJCB), habitus, dorsal aspect, 8.3 mm; Fig. 20, the same, ventral aspect; 21, the same, paratype, ♀, Yemen (NMPC), habitus, dorsal aspect, 10.3 mm; Fig. 29, the same, paratype, ♂, Oman (ZIN), microslide no. 1820, tegmen, 2.1 mm; Fig. 30, the same, penis, 1.5 mm; Fig. 22, A. vanharteni, holotype, ♂, UAE (ZIN), habitus, dorsal aspect, 6.1 mm (photo; A.V. Kovalev); Fig. 27, the same, paratype, ♂, UAE (ZIN), left fore-leg, dorsal aspect; Fig. 31, the same, paratype, ♂, UAE (ZIN), microslide no. 1821, tegmen, 1.35 mm; Fig. 32, the same, penis, 1.1 mm.

Tables

TABLE 1. Diagnostic characters between Acmaeodera (Acmaeodera) strumiai sp. nov. and A. (A.) guichardi Levey & Volkovitsh, 1996

Character	A. strumiai	A. guichardi
Body shape, length / width at pronotal base ratio	Robust, flattened (Figs 1–2),	Slender, subcylindrical,
	2.94 (2.82–3.05)	3.19 (3.00–3.41)
Pilosity dorsally: color	Brown (on vertex, pronotal and elytral discs) and white (on frons, pronotal and elytral sides) setae (Figs 1–6)	Purely white setae
Width of vertex / transverse diameter of eye ratio	1.97 (1.64–2.28)	1.74 (1.58–1.90)
Antennae, antennomeres 5–10	As long as wide or longer than wide (Fig. 5)	Wider than long
Clypeus, anterior emargination	Rather deep (Fig. 6)	Shallow
Pronotum, medial depression	Absent or shallow medial groove or line (Fig. 5)	Deep medial groove
Pronotum, base	Slightly elevated between prescutellar and lateral fossae (Fig. 5)	Not elevated
Elytra, surface	Dull	Shiny
Elytra, markings	Extensive, of “rubromaculata” type (Fig. 1)	Poorly marked, consists of separate, irregular, transverse maculae and bands; elytra predominantly dark
Abdomen, sculpture	Entirely covered with round, umbilicate punctures, which are slightly sparser on disc (Fig. 3)	Entirely covered with horse-shoe shaped punctures
Tergite IX, proctiger	Narrowly rounded apically, almost entirely sclerotized, with short membranous medial stripe at base (Fig. 10)	Widely rounded apically, with wide membranous medial stripe separating lateral sclerotized lobes (Fig. 11)
Tergite IX, paraprocts	Narrow, apices nearly merging medially (Fig. 10)	Relatively broad, apices widely spaced medially (Fig. 11)
Aedeagus, shape	Subparallel, with sharp apices and nearly straight sides (Figs 7, 8)	Fusiform, with blunt apices and arcuate sides (Fig. 12)
Penis, shape	With wide apical apodeme and large triangular lamina (Fig. 9),	With narrow apical apodeme and transverse lamina (Fig. 13)
Ovipositor, shape	Tubular, about 2 times as long as length of expanded apical part (Figs 14, 15)	Uritiform, wider than long (Fig. 16)

TABLE 2. Diagnostic characters between Acmaeodera (Acmaeotethya) dhofarica sp. nov. and A. (A.) vanharteni Volkovitsh, 2011

Character	A. dhofarica	A. vanharteni
Body, length / width at pronotal base	7.9 (6.8–9.5) / 2.5 (2.1–3.1)	6.0 (4.4–7.3) / 1.8 (1.3–2.3)
Body, shape	Weakly elongate, slightly convex (Figs 17–21)	Subparallel, subcylindrical (Fig. 22)
Antennae of male and female, length / vertical diameter of eye, ratio	♂: 1.56 (1.46–1.78)	♂: 1.99 (1.83–2.25)
	♀: 1.50 (1.33–1.66)	♀: 1.65 (1.53–1.84)
Pronotum, width at base / length ratio	1.52 (1.44–1.59)	1.39 (1.31–1.48)
Pronotum, maximal width	Just behind mid-length to posterior 1/3 (Fig. 24)	At mid-length (Fig. 22)
Pronotum, sides	Shortly converging to base and longer converging to anterior corners (Fig. 24)	Nearly regularly curved (Fig. 22)
Pronotum, lateral carina	Sharp, visible along entire length from above	Partly or almost completely obliterated, invisible from above
Pronotum, markings	Usually present at sides and base (Figs 23, 24), rarely absent (Fig. 19) or forming marginal stripes (Fig. 21)	Rarely present at posterior corners
Elytra, length / width at base ratio	2.40 (2.29–2.49)	2.57 (2.40–2.74)
Elytra, markings	Normally comprises 5 rows of markings, basal markings always present (Figs 17, 19, 21)	Normally comprises 4 rows of markings, basal markings lacking or occasionally present in males (Fig. 22)
Protibia	Distinctly expanded toward apices, bearing longitudinal carina or fold separating flat anterior margin (Fig. 26)	Weakly expanded toward apices, without longitudinal carina (Fig. 27)
Aedeagus, shape	External margin curved and abruptly acuminated towards blunted apices (Fig. 29)	External margin nearly straight and gradually acuminated towards sharp apices (Fig. 31)
Penis, shape	Fusiform, with triangular apical apodeme and long medial lamina extending to basal 1/3 (Fig. 30)	Nearly parallel-sided, with widely rounded apical apodeme and short medial lamina extending only to mid- length (Fig. 32)
Penis, additional sclerotization	Narrow, at apical 1/3 (Fig. 30)	Broad, extending approx. from midlength to apical 1/4 (Fig. 32)