Malthodes obscuricollis ( Motschulsky, 1853 )

Kazantsev, S. V., 2021, New species of Malthodes Kiesenwetter, 1852 from the Caucasus, with taxonomic notes on Malthininae (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) of Russia, Caucasian Entomological Bulletin (Caucas. entomol. bull.) 17 (2), pp. 285-291 : 286

Malthodes obscuricollis ( Motschulsky, 1853)

( Figs 1, 5–8)

Hapaloderus obscuricollis Motschulsky, 1853: 10 .

Hapaloderus pumilus Motschulsky, 1853: 13 (homonym).

Malthodes moczarskii Ganglbauer, 1912: 181 , syn. n.

Malthodes tauricus Pic, 1917: 13 (replacement name), syn. n.

Malthodes tauricus Istomina, 1969: 1104 .

Material. Neotype, ♂ ( ZMMU), Crimean Reserve , Chuchelsky Pass, 1100 m, 17.07.1959 (M.K. Tikhonravov) (printed label), “Neotype, Kazantsev des.” (handwritten, red rectangle), “ Malthodes obscuricollis Mots., S. Kazantsev det. 2021” (printed label).

Additional material. 1♂ ( ZIN), Simferopol , Ayanskaya Dacha, 20.05.[19]07, (O.G. and K. Khristoforovs), “ M. moszarskii Ganglb. ” ; 1♂, 2♀ ( ZMMU), Crimean Reserve , Chuchelsky Pass, 1100 m, 30.06.1957 (M.K. Tikhonravov) ; 1♂, 1♀ ( ZMMU), Crimean Reserve , Alabach, 3.07.1957 (M.K. Tikhonravov) ; 1♀ ( ZMMU), Crimean Reserve , Khyr-Alan, 12.07.1957 (M.K. Tikhonravov) ; 2♀ ( ZMMU), Crimean Reserve , Nikitskaya Yayla, 1400 m, 17.07.1959 (M.K. Tikhonravov) ; 1♂ ( ICM), [Crimea], Chatyrdag Mt. , foothills, 700 m, 10.07.1960 (B. Rodendorf) ; 1♂ ( ICM), “USSR, Crimea , Yaila Mts, 800 m, 3.VI.1983, J. Strejcek leg.” ; 2♂, 1♀ ( ICM), Crimea , 15 km S Bakhchisarai, 440–570 m, on elder flowers, 2– 3.05.2010 (S. Kazantsev).

Notes. The type of Malthodes obscuricollis , as that of Malthinus robustus , mentioned above, and all the other types of Cantharidae from the territory of Russia and adjacent countries appears to have been lost. However, the description of M. obscuricollis is quite clear (the species is placed in the group with ‘corselet unicolore, obscure, étroit et en selle c.a.d. fortement incliné sur les bords latéraux’): “Forme voisine des précédents (angusticollis M., maurus Ziegl, fuscescens Duft), corselet également en selle, mais un peu plus petit et proportionnellement plus large que[chez] le Hapal. fuscescens Duft. D’un gris cendré clair, corselet, tête et antennes noires. Ceux-ci très longes, art. 2 presqu’aussi long que 3. Segment pygidial du mâle en dessous prolongé en crochet très long, courbé vers l’abdomen et terminé par une fourche à fâces dilatés en palettes. Tauride et midi de la France ” [ Motschulsky, 1853: 10]. This description of a malthinine from ‘Tauride’ corresponds to M. moczarskii Ganglbauer, 1912 , also from Crimea [ Ganglbauer, 1912]. As there seem to be no other Malthodes in the peninsula that could be distinguished by this shape of the abdominal terminalia, the latter taxon apparently also belongs to M.obscuricollis . As for M.tauricus Pic,1917 , it was suggested as a replacement name for M. pumilus ( Motschulsky, 1853) due to its homonymy with M. pumilus (Brébisson, 1835) . The description of M. pumilus ( Motschulsky, 1853) from the group with ‘corselet unicolore, obscure, large, peu incliné sur les cotés, qui sont sinueux’ reads as follows: “Taille, forme et couleurs du Hapal. brevicollis Payk. , mais antennes encore plus courtes et plus épaisses que chez le Hapal. obscurellus Schüpp., a peine de la longueur de la moitié du corps. Angles antérieurs du corselet moins saillants que chez le Hapal. brevicollis , cotés latéraux droits. Élytres recouvrant à peine la moitié de l’abdomen. Tauride” [ Motschulsky, 1853: 13]. This description suggests it is a female (in case of males Motschulsky tends to describe ultimate abdominal segments) and fits to a M. obscuricollis female.

For these reasons Malthodes moczarskii Ganglbauer, 1912 , syn. n. and M. tauricus Pic, 1917 , syn. n. are proposed to be regarded as junior synonyms of Malthodes obscuricollis ( Motschulsky, 1853) , and a neotype of M. obscuricollis is designated to be deposited in ZMMU.