Aplocnemus (Aplocnemus) pertusus Kiesenwetter, 1859

Liberti, Gianfranco, 2019, The Aplocnemus Stephens, 1830, of Greece (Coleoptera, Cleroidea, Dasytidae). A contribution to their knowledge, Natural History Sciences 6 (1), pp. 3-26 : 20-21

Aplocnemus (Aplocnemus) pertusus Kiesenwetter, 1859

(Figs. 4, 7, 28-31)

Haplocnemus pertusus Kiesenwetter, 1859: 172 , loc. typ. Nafplio ( Greece); Schilsky, 1894a: 79; Schilsky, 1897: 34KK; Pic, 1937: 39; Peacock, 1987: 155 [ Aplocnemus ]; Liberti, 1988: 14; Schmalfuss, 1991: 103; Mayor, 2007: 411.

= Haplocnemus pertusus var. adaliensis Pic, 1908:50 [synonymized

by Mayor, 2007: 411], loc. typ. Antalya ( Turkey).

= Haplocnemus pertusus var. elongatior Pic, 1902:32 [synonymized

by Mayor, 2007: 411], loc. typ. “Anatolie” [sic].

= (?) Haplocnemus libanicus Pic, 1901: 9 [a doubtful synonymy:

see below], loc. typ. Beirouth: Betmeri ( Liban).

The Kiesenwetter’s types should be considered lost, however this species is rather well characterized and the original description is sufficient for a reasonably reliable identification.

At MNHNP, in collection Pic, box “ Aplocnemus 5”, one ♂ specimen of Aplocnemus pertusus var. elongatior Pic has been found, labeled: “Asie min. / Anatolie / CD [Charles Delagrange] 1888”, “161”, “61” and “v. elonga- tior Pic variation”, without any indication of typical status .

In the same box it is also kept one Syntypus, ♀, of Aplocnemus pertusus var. adaliensis Pic , labeled “ Adalia [now Antalya] / 1886 Korb.” hw; “type” hwA, “ TYPE ” prr. “pertusus v. adaliensis Pic ” hwA .

As Pic (1902, 1908) reports, both var. elongatior , described on male(s), and var. adaliensis , described on female(s), mainly differ from the typical form for the more or less pale (yellow to red) legs. But this character is very variable and nearly all specimens studied have legs, at least in part, yellowish to reddish.

In the same “ Aplocnemus 5” box (collection Pic) 4 Syntypes of Aplocnemus libanicus Pic (2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀) have been found. They are labeled:

1 ♀: “Betmeri [a suburb of Beirouth]” hwA; “ type ” hwA; “ TYPE ” prr.; “ H. libanicus Pic ” hwA .

1 ♂, 1 ♀: “Betmeri / Mai 99” hwA; “ type ” hwA; “ TYPE ” prr.; “ H. libanicus Pic ” hwA .

1♂: “Sirie / Pic 1899” pr.; “Betmeri” hwA; “ VI ” hwA; Haploc. n. sp.” hwA; “type” hwA; “ H. libanicus Pic ” hwA; “ Syntypus / Aplocnemus / libanicus Pic / vidit Li- berti 2008” prr .

The last specimen has been dissected. The here suggested synonymy with A. pertusus should be taken with care: the median lobes show no differences but A. libanicus looks smaller and brighter. More material should be available to understand whether it could be considered a valid subspecies.

Description - ♂. Antennae pectinate; articles 4 and 5 si- milar, straight or convex at inner side, 5 slightly larger than 4, both narrower than 6-9; articles 6 and 7 transverse; 8 and 9 more or less balanced. Integuments brown rather bright; antennae brown with basal articles paler: light brown to yellowish; femora usually darker than tibiae; mouth parts brown; palpi paler than integuments; pubescence brown with whitish setae intermingled on elytral sides and apex. Pronotum not very convex, transverse, max. width approx. in the middle; punctuation rather strong but variable from sparse to very dense: brightness varies accordingly and so does the space between punctures; lateral sides granulose to feebly crenulated. Elytra punctuation stronger than on pronotum, rather dense, surface between punctures con- vex and bright (but, as for pronotum, a variable character); elytral apices mostly jointly rounded; apical angle right to acute. Abdomen first visible sternite with a dull, setose, small round area in the middle (not a true depression); second sternite simple; penultimate (fifth visible) moderately emarginated on posterior border; median process of last sternite rather long (Fig. 31). Tegmen basal part, undivided, not exceeding ¼ of total length.

♀. As the ♂ but antennae shorter, serrate; elytra mode- rately widened in apical half; first and fifth visible sterni- tes simple. Pronotum brightness appearing more variable than in ♂♂.

Dimensions in mm. TL: ♂♂ 4.6-5.5; ♀♀ 4.8-6.0.

♂♂. TL = 5.12±0.30, PL = 1.00±0.08, EL = 3.72±0.22, PW = 1.54±0.13, EW = 1.86±0.13 .