Microlontha iranica Uliana & Keith, 2022

Uliana, Marco & Keith, Denis, 2022, Discovery of a second species in the genus Microlontha Petrovitz, 1967 (Coleoptera Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae), Zootaxa 5134 (1), pp. 135-143 : 136-139

Microlontha iranica Uliana & Keith , new species

( Figs. 1–9 )

Type material. Holotype. Male : SE IRAN, Sistan and Baluchestan prov., Qaregi vill. [=Korgi-ye Gharbi], 26m. 25°37’21”N, 61°16’59”E, 29.IV.2019 O. Pak lg. (in CMU, temporarily deposited at MSNVE).

Paratypes (234 specimens, partly examined on photos only). Same data as holotype, 6♂♂ ( CMU). Same data as holotype, but leg. I. Pljushtch, 3♂♂ ( CMU). Same data as holotype, but 18.III.2016, leg. O.Pak, 7♂♂ ( COP). Same data as holotype, but 20.III.2016, leg. Yu. Skrylnyk, 1♂ ( CYS). Same data as holotype, but 21.III.2018, leg. Y. Skrylnyk, 3♂♂ ( CMU). Same data as holotype, but 21.III.2018, no legit, 6♂♂ ( COP). SE Iran Sistan & Baluchestan prov. , Qaregi vil., 25 m 25°37’37.69”N, 61°16’43.45”E, 17.03.2016 Yu. Skrylnyk lg., 2♂♂ ( CYS). Idem, but 18.03.2016, 3♂♂ ( CYS). Idem, but 19.03.2016, Yu. Skrylnyk lg., 3♂♂ ( CYS). Idem, but 19.03.2016, I. Pljushtch lg., 4♂♂ ( CMU). SE IRAN, Sistan and Baluchestan prov. , Korgi-ye Gharbi (Qaregi) vill., 25°37’21.45”N / 61°16’59.04”E, h= 26m, 19.III.2016, leg. Igor Pljushtch, 1♂ ( CIP). Idem, but 29.IV.2019, 6♂♂ ( CIP). Idem, 1♂ ( CMU). SE IRAN, Sistan and Baluchestan prov. , Qaregi vill. env., 25 m, 25°35’16”N, 61°19’39”E, 30.IV.2019, O. Pak leg., 63♂♂ ( COP) Idem, 2♂♂ ( CMU). SE Iran Sistan & Baluchestan prov. , 6.5 Km NEE Korgi-ye Gharbi vil., 30 m 25°38’22.48”N, 61°20’34.19”E, 30.04.2019, leg. Yu. Skrylnyk, 54♂♂ ( CYS). Idem, 7♂♂ ( CMU). Idem, leg. Pljushtsch, 2♂♂ ( CDK). SE Iran Sistan & Baluchestan prov., Korgi-ye Gharbi vil., 30 m 25°37’36.37”N, 61°16’47.42”E, 29.04.2019, leg. Yu. Skrylnyk, 7♂♂ ( CYS). SE IRAN, Sistan and Baluchestan prov., Korgi-ye Gharbi (Qaregi) vill., 25°38’22.53”N / 61°20’34.02”E, h= 30m, 30.IV.2019 53♂♂ ( CIP) .

Description of the holotype. Habitus as in Figs. 1 and 4 .

Body length: 6.7 mm from the apex of clypeus to apex of elytra, 7.0 mm including pygidium.

Parallel, strongly convex, nearly glabrous on upper side; very moderately shiny; upper side, antennae and appendices mostly light yellowish, head black, outer margins of protibiae, metatibiae, metatarsi, clypeus, margin of scutellum, two symmetrical bands starting from anterior pronotal margin as well as two lateral dots, suture narrowly, part of underside dark brownish.

Clypeus concave, with flat bottom, moderately rectangularly transverse, strongly sex-dented: two dents on anterior angles, two dents symmetrically from middle, a smaller dent on posterior angle above eye canthus; sides parallel; anterior and laterals margins strongly reflexed; anterior side abrupt, trapezoidal, very sparsely moderately punctate; upper side sparsely, roughly, superficially raspy punctured; eye canthus strongly lobed, long as anterior half of the eyes. Frons and vertex moderately convex, with coarse striolations.

Pronotum strongly convex, margined all around, stronger anteriorly, sides and base more finely margined, sides strongly evenly rounded, more towards anterior angles than posterior ones, the greatest width nearly at middle, lateral margins not crenulate, with long and fine ciliation; anterior angles very obtuse, posterior angles broadly rounded; anterior margin with membranous fringe. Integument shagreened, punctures rather coarse and unevenly scattered, sometimes irregularly grouped; a shallow median longitudinal furrow extending from base to 4/5 th of the pronotal length.

Scutellum nearly triangular, clearly longer than broad, rounded at apex; large, flat with a central longitudinal furrow, sparsely and irregularly punctured.

Elytra 1.4x longer than wide; suture narrowly reflexed; some partly ill-defined striae visible, with various posteriad extends, delimited on each side by a row of dense and evident punctures; interspaces flat, twice as wide, punctation irregular; lateral interval less densely punctured; humeral callus distinct, apical one obsolete; epipleural keel narrow, extending to elytral apex, shortly bristly ciliated; membranous fringe very short, reaching elytral apices.

Eyes big, more prominent underneath. Meso- and metasternum nearly smooth, with deep longitudinal median furrow. Six visible sternites not fused, individually punctate and hairy, laterally larger than in the middle; propygidium densely, blurredly punctate and hairy; pygidium transversely triangular, convex, with a rounded apex, punctate and finely hairy on margins.

Antennae nine-jointed, with long, strongly outward curved, three-jointed club, 1.9 times as long as funicle, scape strong; terminal palpomere of maxillary palps fusiform, labial palps minute; mesofemora narrow, punctate and hairy, metafemora more than twice as broad, with some scattered punctures and almost glabrous on the disc; protibiae with three strong outer teeth, nearly equidistant, without movable spur; internal proclaw thicker than the external one, apex simple, acute, not truncate nor toothed, however a minute tooth is present along the external margin at about 2/3 of the length; meso- and metatibiae with a distinct near complete transverse carina on apical third and a vague trace of a basal one, apical spurs slender and sharp; metatibiae strongly and abruptly inflated on internal margin; meso- and metatarsi longer than meso- and metatibiae with first joint shorter than second; claws of the same length, very slender, little curved, nearly as long as the corresponding tarsomere, outer claw slightly stronger than the inner, not dented or incised.

Genitalia simple ( Figs. 2–3 ).

Relevant variability of male paratypes. Body length. Highly variable: 5.6–8.9 mm, from the apex of the clypeus to the apex of elytra.

Color. The extension of the medial dark bands on pronotum is broadly variable. The most common condition is two well-developed and disjointed dark bands, as in the holotype ( Figs. 1 , 4 ). However, bands range from virtually absent ( Fig. 7 ), to scarcely developed and each split in two (a dark area on the margin of the pronotum separated from one on the discal area, Fig. 8 ), to broadly developed and narrowly joining across the medial line of pronotum ( Fig. 9 ). Each of the two lateral spots can be more or less reduced and divided in two ( Figs. 7–8 ). The dark band along the elytral suture may be almost absent. Posterior tibiae and tarsi can be light as in the medial legs.

Morphology. Antennal club 1.6–2.2 times as long as funicle, degree of elongation not related to the size of the specimen. Clypeal teeth may be rather blunt (cfr. Fig. 7 ) probably due to wear. Elytra 1.2–1.4 times as long as wide. Fronto-clypeal suture from unperceivable to marked by a thin ridge.

Female. Unknown.

Derivatio nominis. In reference to its geographical origin.

Differential diagnosis. A species of Microlontha with sexdentate clypeus and dark pronotal pattern completely or almost completely split along the medial line.

Ecological notes. All specimens were attracted by light traps, approximately between 20.00 and 22.00 (local time), and only males were observed (O. Pak and Y. Skrylnyk, personal communication). All collecting sites are close to each other (maximum distance between two sites <5 km), in the vicinity of Korgi-ye Gharbi village (locally called Qaregi). The area is a desertic flatland with scarce cover vegetation ( Figs. 14–16 ) included in the South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert ecoregion ( Olson et al. 2001) and in the tropical desertic bioclimatic zone ( Djamali et al. 2011).

Figures

FIGURES 1–3. Microlontha iranica Uliana & Keith, new species, holotype, male. 1, habitus, dorsal view; 2, aedeagus, dorsal view; 3, aedeagus, lateral view.

FIGURES 4–9. Microlontha iranica Uliana & Keith, new species. 4, holotype, inclined lateral view; 5, apex of left protarsus, dorsal view. Arrowhead evidencing the minute tooth on the external side of the internal claw; 6, holotype, head, inclined lateral view; 7–9, variability of pronotal pattern in paratypes. Not to scale.

FIGURES 14–16. Landscapes in the close vicinity of the type locality of Microlontha iranica Uliana & Keith, new species (Korgi-ye Gharbi, 18-30 March). Precise coordinates are available for Fig. 14 (25°34‘24.3“N 61°18‘47.7“E). Photos courtesy of Yuryi Skrylnyk.