Heterocerus fausti Reitter, 1879

Sazhnev, Alexey S., 2018, Redescription of Heterocerus fausti Reitter, 1879, bona species (Coleoptera, Heteroceridae), Zootaxa 4441 (3), pp. 597-600 : 597-600

Heterocerus fausti Reitter, 1879 ( Figs. 1, 2B, 3 )

Heterocerus fausti Reitter, 1879: 546 stat. nov.

Type locality. Azerbaijan: Baku.

Type material examined. Syntypes: “ Heterocerus Fausti Rtt ” [Reitter's handwriting], “Caucasus” [red label], “к.

А. Яковлева” [cоllеctiоn оf А. Jаcоvlеv—in Russiаn], 2♂♂ (ZISP); “Bаku Fаust.”, gоldеn squаrе plаtе, “ Heterocerus Fausti Reitt. ” [Reitter's handwriting], 2♀♀ [one specimen without head] (ZISP).

Additional material examined. 9 exs. TURKMENISTAN. Balkan Region (Velayat): Uzun-Ada (now the territory of Hazar Nature Reserve ), 15.04.1895, leg. Varentsov, 7 exs. ( ZISP) ; Turkmenbashi ( Krasnovodsk ), 0 6.1900, leg. P. Maksimovitsh, 1 ex. ( ZISP) ; Esenguly, 3.07.1932, unknown collector, 1 ex. (IBIW).

Diagnosis. Body size 3.8–5.0 mm. Body moderately elongated, dorsal-ventrally compressed ( Fig. 1 ). Males and females do not differ. Aedeagus as in Fig. 3 .

Heterocerus fausti is similar in body form and drawing of elytra on Heterocerus parallelus but can be easily distinguished by the shape of its aedeagus ( Fig. 4A–B ) and smaller size.

Redescription. Color. Ground color is yellow or red-yellow; a combination of black-brown blotches on the pronotum, and brown blotches of elytra and abdomen form a characteristic pattern. Head and labrum are black-brown. Antennae completely yellow. Pronotum is black-brown with a more or less wide yellow edging on the sides and narrow yellow stripe along the front edge. Scutellum is black-brown. Drawing of elytra characteristic of flexuosus species-group sensu Charpentier (1965). Yellow pattern of each elytron normally forms edging, S-shaped basal mark, M-shaped medial mark, apical spot and suture stripe. Dark pattern of the elytra brownish almost blending with the yellow background. Prosternum black-brown with yellow episternae and yellowish front margin. Mesepisternum and metepisternum blackbrown. Abdomen black-brown with yellow pattern in form of edging. Legs, except dark metacoxa, yellow.

Head. Clypeus transversal, widely incised on the front edge. Antennae 11-segmented with 7-segment club. Hairs whitish. Puncturing uniform.

Thorax. Pronotum not bordered basally; slightly narrower or comparable in width with base of elytra in females, and slightly wider than elytra base in males. Hairs on the disc are double: comprise dense, short, pressed, and long and standing hairs; whitish. Puncturing very dense, fine and uniform.

Elytra covered with erect hairs; hair length is comparable with the length of few first spines of mesotibia; hairs slightly longer along sides and near the elytral apex; hairs whitish.

Legs of structure typical for family, covered with whitish hairs. Claws of tarsus noticeably longer or equal to the last tarsomere ( Fig. 2 ).

Abdomen. Abdomen covered with whitish hairs. Postmetacoxal lines absent.

Remarks. The records of Heterocerus fausti for Uzbekistan ( Jacobson, 1913; Zaitsev, 1946) are not confirmed. Specimen from Uzbekistan (Qamashi) signed of F.A. Zaitsev as “ Heterocerus fausti ” is Heterocerus heydeni Kuwert, 1890 .

Ecology. The long claws are probably an adaptation to the psammophilous way of life.

Distribution. Pre-Caspian Region including Caucasus: Azerbaijan, West Turkmenistan ( Fig. 5 ).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Distribution of Heterocerus fausti Reitter, 1879. Red circles—studied material.

FIGURE 1–4. Heterocerus fausti Reitter, 1879, 1—male from Turkmenistan, Uzun-Ada (photo by A.V. Kovalev). Metatarsomers Heterocerus spp. 2A—H. parallelus Gebler, 1830, South Kazakhstan; 2B—H. fausti, Turkmenistan; 2C—H. fossor Kiesenwetter, 1843, Russia, Dagestan; 2D—H. flexuosus Stephens, 1828, Kazakhstan; 2E—H. persicus Mascagni, 1989, Iran. Male genitalia of Heterocerus fausti, 3A—penis, 3B—tegmen. Scale bar—0.5 mm. Tegmens Heterocerus spp. 4A—H. parallelus, South Kazakhstan; 4B—H. fausti, Caucasus; 4C—H. fossor, Russia, Dagestan; 4D—H. flexuosus, European part of Russia (Litovkin et al., 2013), 4E— H. persicus, Iran. Scale bar—0.5 mm.