Labidostomis (Labidostomis) elegans Lefèvre, 1876

(Figs 1, 7, 13, 19, 26–29)

Labidostomis elegans Lefèvre, 1876: LXXII (original description); Winkler 1929: 1236 (catalogue); Rapilly 1984b: 217; Medvedev 1990: 121 (key); Warchałowski 2003: 31 (key); Warchałowski 2004: 557 (key); Regalin & Medvedev 2010: 570 (catalogue); Warchałowski 2010: 83 (key).

Labidostomis (Labidostomis) elegans: Warchałowski 1985: 673 .

Labidostomis elegans var. inhumeralis Pic, 1920: 6 (unavailable infrasubspecific name); Warchałowski 2004: 557 (as synonym of luristanica); Warchałowski 2010: 82 (as synonym of luristanica).

Labidostomis reitteri Weise, 1885: 314 (original description); Demaison 1896: 13 (= elegans); Bodemeyer 1906: 432; Rapilly, 1984b: 217 (= elegans).

Type localities. Labidostomis elegans: “Asterabad (Perse)” [= Iran, Gorgan]. Labidostomis reitteri: “ Lenkoran ” [= Azerbaijan, Lankaran]. Labidostomis elegans var. inhumeralis: “Perse”.

Types examined. Labidostomis elegans: Holotype: ♂, “Perse sept. / (Staudinger) [w, h] // elegans / E. Lef. / Ann. Fr. 1976. Bull. / No. 74, p. 76 [w, h] // HOLOTYPE [r, p] // Museum Paris [p] / elegans / Lef. [w, h] // Labidostomis / elegans Lefèvre [h] / M Rapilly dét. 19 [p] 82 [w, h]” (MNHN—coll. generale).

Labidostomis reitteri: Syntype: ♂, “ Lenkoran / Leder / (Reitter) [w, p] // ex. coll. / J. Weise [w, p] // Wse. [h] / Type [p] / Reitteri [r, h] // elegans Lef. / (Reitteri Ws.) [w, h] // HOLOTYPE [r, p] // Labidostomis elegans Lef., / 1876 = L. reitteri Weise, / 1885 . [h] / M. Rapilly dét. 19 [p] 82 [r, h]” (ZMHB).

Original material of infrasubspecific entity. Labidostomis elegans var. inhumeralis: 1 ♂, “ type [w, h] // v. inhumeralis / Pic [w, h] // v. inhumeralis Pic [b, h] // v. Bodemeyer / Persien / Luristan [w, p] // TYPE [r, p] // Comparé au type / par [p] M. RAPILLY / 1981 [w, h] // Museum Paris [p] / Pic [w, h] // Labidostomis / elegans Lefèvre [h] / M Rapilly dét. 19 [p] 81 [w, h]” (MNHN—coll. generale).

Additional material examined. 98 specimens — AZERBAIJAN: Elisabethpol [= Ganja], 2 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀ (NMPC); Elisavetpol [= Ganja], 1916, 2 ♂♂, N. L. Sacharow leg. (BMNH); Lenkoran [= Lankaran], 5 ♂♂ (NMPC); Liaki [= Laki], 1 ♂ 1 ♀ , A. Kricheldorff leg. (NMPC). ARMENIA: “Russ . Armenia”, 1 ♂ (NMPC). ARMENIA / TURKEY: Araxesthal [= Aras river valley], without the date of collecting, 44 ♂♂ 19 ♀♀, Leder & Reitter leg. (NMPC, BMNH) . IRAN: Alborz prov.: Keredj [= Karaj], 1934, 1 ♂ 1 ♀ , Dr. Kargl leg. (NMPC). Lorestan prov.: “ Persien , Luristan ”, 1 ♂, Bodemeyer leg. (MMB) . Azarbaijan-e Gharbi prov.: 9 km NW of Marganlar, 39°14.4´N 44°53.3´E, 9. v.2006, 6 ♂♂ 1 ♀ , J. Hájek & P. Chvojka leg. (NMPC, 1 ♂ BMNH, 1 ♂ JBCB). Tehran prov.: 12 km NW of Aftar, 35°41.5´N 53°03.5´E, 2120 m, 14.–15. v.2006, 3 ♂♂, J. Hájek & P. Chvojka leg. (NMPC) . UNCLEAR LOCALITY: Caucas, 1 ♂ , Kambersky leg. (NMPC); Kavkaz, 3 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀ (NMPC); Persia, 2 ♀♀ (BMNH).

Diagnostic characters. Body length: ♂♂ 6.4–8.7 mm; ♀♀ 5.5–6.5 mm.

Colouration. Labrum yellow. Elytra with small black humeral spot (rarely missing). Discal spots variable, usually each elytron with large elongate spot and thin pale suture (Figs 27, 29), rarely spots very small and somewhat blurred (Fig. 26) or spots enlarged and united through the suture (Fig. 28).

Head (Fig. 13) with large shallow frontal impression. Surface covered with large punctures, posteriorly modified to wrinkles. Anterior clypeal processes small short triangular and moderately divergent, clypeal margin between processes moderately rounded. Mandibles relatively narrow with outer margins nearly straight (except one male from Lorestan with the outer margins of mandibles distinctly rounded), and with obtuse and not distinctly elevated dorsal keel. Outer and inner slopes of mandibles visible in dorsal view. Aedeagus (Fig. 1) with apical part convergent with straight margins, apex triangular with obtuse tip. Dorsal median impression large, distinctly concave and with thin median keel, lateral sides of dorsal median impression rounded, convergent posteriorly. Apex of aedeagus without inward triangular crooked folds. Operculum trapezoidal. Non-everted anterior sclerite visible as thin median process. In lateral view, aedeagus relatively narrow. Ventral side with two large oval impressions with distinct obtuse keel between them.

Everted aedeagus (Fig. 19). Ejaculatory guide small, formed by two thin widely round branches directed backwards, anteriorly connected by narrow semicircular conjunction. Lateral sclerites large, subtriangular, with rounded upper angle. Anterior sclerite relatively large, forming two concave plates connected at basal suture.

Spermatheca (Fig. 7). Vasculum widely round, apical part distinctly narrower than basal part, moderately convergent to almost sharp apex. Bulbus subtubular. Ductus spermathecae ca six times as long as vasculum, with tangled middle part, proximal ca 5/6 very thin and with many small coils, distal 1/6 wider, subparallel, uncoiled.

Distribution. Armenia (present study); Azerbaijan (Weise 1885, Warchałowski 1985, Medvedev 1990, present study); Iran (Fig. 43): East Azerbaijan (Rapilly 1984b), Fars (Rapilly 1984b), Golestan (Lefèvre 1876), Lorestan (present study), Mazandaran (Rapilly 1984b); Turkey (Regalin & Medvedev 2010).

Differential diagnosis. Labidostomis elegans differs from all the species with united elytral spot by the combination of following characters: structure of male mandibles with obtuse dorsal keel placed in middle of each mandible, so that outer and inner slopes are visible in dorsal view (Fig. 13); aedeagus with large and deep dorsomedian impression; aedeagus narrow in lateral view; small ejaculatory guide (Fig. 19) and the structure of spermatheca with very long ductus with many small loops (Fig. 7).

Comments. Labidostomis elegans var. inhumeralis was described in a publication containing also the description of one subspecies (Pic 1920, Bezděk & Regalin 2015), thus it became infrasubspecific according to Article 45.6.4 of the Code (ICZN 1999). Based on the examination of the aedeagus of the original specimen, var. inhumeralis is conspecific with L. elegans .