Lacon mucheibensis, Kundrata & Mertlik & Németh, 2019

Kundrata, Robin, Mertlik, Josef & Németh, Tamás, 2019, Unexpected diversity of Lacon Laporte, 1838 (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Agrypninae) in the Levant: revised species concepts, new species, and an identification key, Zootaxa 4679 (3), pp. 401-449 : 428

Lacon mucheibensis sp. nov.

( Figs 119–125 , 194 )

Type material. Holotype, male, „ Israel, opposite Mucheibe [Mucheiba], 2.III.1978, A. Freidberg [leg.], Holotypus Lacon mucheibensis n. sp. Platia & Preiss 2000“ ( SMNH) . Paratype, male, „Israel, opposite Mucheibe [Mucheiba], 2.III.1978, M. Kaplan [leg.], Paratypus Lacon mucheibensis n. sp. Platia & Preiss 2000“ ( SMNH) .

Type locality. Israel: opposite Mucheibe [Mucheiba] .

Etymology. The species name is derived from the type locality, i.e., Mucheibe [Mucheiba] ( Israel).

Comparative remarks. This species is easily recognizable from all its congeners from Levant by the relatively small robust body ( Fig. 119 ), its surface covered by thin setae (this is known only in L. gillerforsi , but it has body vestiture denser; Figs 28 , 124 ), pronotum almost as wide as elytra, with small, sparsely distributed punctures ( Fig. 122 ), and elytra less than twice as long as pronotum ( Figs 119, 120 ). Lacon mucheibensis sp. nov. superficially resembles L. safitensis sp. nov. due to the relatively short and narrow elytra compared to pronotum ( Figs 126, 127 ). Differences between these species are listed under L. safitensis sp. nov.

Description. Male ( Figs 119–125 ). Body 6.8–7.8 mm long and 2.0– 2.3 mm wide (holotype: 7.8 mm long, 2.3 mm wide), dorsally moderately shiny to matt, reddish dark brown to blackish-brown, with scape and pronotal posterior angles ferruginous, antennomeres II–XI even lighter; covered with mostly reddish brown setae (most of them with white tips) and several white setae, all rather long and very thin.

Head including eyes 0.6 times as wide as pronotum, frons with large shallow median depression; punctures small, sparsely distributed. Labrum transverse, slightly convex, sparsely punctate, covered with long, semi-erect to erect setae. Maxillary palpi with apical palpomere elongate, about twice as long as wide, hatchet-like, apex obliquely cut and flattened. Antenna serrate from antennomere III, moderately long, reaching pronotal posterior angles; length ratio of antennomeres II–V = 1.0: 2.1: 1.6: 1.4; antennomere II short, about as long as wide; antennomere III about 1.3 times as long as wide, antennomeres IV–X transverse, median antennomeres about 1.25–1.35 times as wide as long, with serrations narrowly rounded; apical antennomere oblong-ovate, less than twice as long as wide, apically narrowly rounded; surface of antennomeres densely covered with relatively short setae.

Pronotum 1.10–1.15 times as long as wide, widest after half, moderately convex dorsally; sides gradually widely rounded; anterior angles short, slightly produced forward; posterior angles short, almost rectangular, slightly divergent; disk sparsely covered with small, deep, setiferous punctures, usually separated by about twice their diameter; surface between punctures more matt. Pubescence on pronotal disc sparse, long, curved, almost decumbent. Prosternum sparsely covered with moderately large punctures, with short semi-erect setae; prosternal lobe with frontal margin rounded; prosternal process more than three times as long as diameter of procoxal cavity. Scutellar shield elongate, about 1.25–1.35 times as long as wide, slightly convex, widest basally; anterior margin slightly emarginate, sides shallowly emarginate, apex narrowly rounded; punctures coarse, rather small, sparse; pubescence sparse, moderately long, decumbent. Elytra elongate, 2.05–2.10 times as long as wide, and 1.80–1.85 times as long as pronotum, very slightly convex, widest at about half, subparallel-sided for most of their length, in apical third narrowed toward apex; striae and interstriae formed by lines of rather small, setiferous punctures, punctures on striae slightly larger than punctures on interstriae; pubescence sparse, long, curved, almost decumbent. Tarsomeres rather robust and short; tarsomere I more than twice as long as tarsomere II; tarsomeres II–IV gradually shorter, tarsomeres II and III only slightly longer than wide; apical tarsomere elongate, narrow, about as long as tarsomere I.

Abdomen with ventrites finely punctate, covered with short, more or less decumbent pubescence. Aedeagus with median lobe shorter than parameres, barely reaching lateral subapical hook of paramere; parameres subparallel-sided along most of their length, apically with inner sides slightly diverging; apical parameral lobe elongate, narrow, with outer margin slightly sinuate, apically rounded.

Female unknown. Immature stages unknown.

Distribution. Israel ( Fig. 194 ).

Figures

FIGURE 194. Distribution of Lacon spp. in the mainland Levant. Dots representing L. candezei in Lebanon and Syria are only approximate since there are no exact data for these countries.

FIGURES 119–132. Morphology of Lacon spp. Lacon mucheibensis sp. nov., holotype, male: 119, habitus, dorsal view; 120, habitus, lateral view; 121, antenna; 122, pronotum, dorsal view; 123, scutellar shield; 124, detail of elytral surface; 125, aedeagus. Lacon safitensis sp. nov., holotype, male: 126, habitus, dorsal view; 127, habitus, lateral view; 128, antenna; 129, pronotum, dorsal view; 130, scutellar shield; 131, detail of elytral surface; 132, aedeagus. Scale bars = 2.0 mm (Figs 119, 120, 126, 127), 1.0 mm (Figs 122, 129), 0.5 mm (Figs 121, 125, 128, 132), 0.2 mm (Figs 123, 130); Figs 124 and 131 not to scale.

FIGURES 22–30. Morphology of Lacon gillerforsi. Habitus: 22–23, holotype, male, dorsal and lateral view, respectively. 24–25, female from Turkey, dorsal and lateral view, respectively. Pronotum, dorsal view: 26, holotype, male; 27, female from Turkey. 28, holotype, male, detail of elytral surface. 29, holotype, male genitalia. 30, paratype, female from Turkey, large sclerite of bursa copulatrix. Scale bars = 2.0 mm (Figs 22–25), 1.0 mm (Figs 26, 27), 0.5 mm (Figs 29, 30); Fig. 28 not to scale.