Apalochrus flavicollis Schaufuss, 1870

Tshernyshev, Sergei E., 2015, A review of species of the genus Apalochrus Erichson (Coleoptera, Malachiidae), Zootaxa 3941 (3), pp. 358-374 : 365-367

Apalochrus flavicollis Schaufuss, 1870

( Fig. 6 , 20–23, 28 (circle))

Apalochrus flavicollis Schaufuss, 1870: 157 . Type locality: Chu river, Kirghisia. Hapalochrus flavicollis: Reitter, 1889: 109 .

Paratinus flavicollis: Abeille de Perrin, 1891: 214, 222–223.

= Malachius fulvicollis Gebler, 1860: 7 ; a junior homonym of M. fulvicollis Gebler, 1844 : Abeille de Perrin, 1885: 153. Apalochrus flavicollis: Mayor, 2003: 90 ; 2007: 416.

Description. Male. Head black without metallic lustre, clypeus, genae and labrum, base of mandibles, palpi and underside of mouthparts, 1st–4th and basal half of 5th antennomeres, tibiae and tarsi, anterior and intermediate trochanters yellow. Elytra dark brown with green metallic lustre. Scutellum reddish-yellowish lacking metallic lustre, anterior femora light-brown, intermediate and posterior dark brown, lacking metallic lustre. Ventral side of thorax, coxae and abdomen brown; thoracic mesepimera brown, borders of sternites and vesicles yellow.

Head not large, slightly narrower and shorter than pronotum, with a slightly raised lateral margin near antennal insertion, with a thin indistinct longitudinal groove in the middle of basal part of disc; evenly covered with thin, very short, pale and semi-erect pubescence and dense, long, black and erect bristles behind the eyes; surface densely and coarsely punctate and wrinkled on temple, distinctly microsculptured, labrum short, transverse, bearing semi-erect, white setae; genae short, straight; eyes distinctly protruding, round. Maxillary palpi short, 1st segment large, triangular, 1.5 times shorter and narrower than 3rd, 2nd small, transverse; apical segment securiform, 1.5 times longer than 1st and 3.5 times than 2nd, truncate at apex; surface bright with short, semi-erect and pale setae. Antennae not long, reaching pronotum base; 2nd segment very small, rounded, almost completely hidden by the previous one, 1st and 3nd cylindrical, not swollen, widened apically, 1st slightly wider than 3rd, 4th–6th rectangular, each somewhat shorter than the previous one, 7th–10th rectangular, each slightly shorter than the previous one and sinuate at base; apical segment nearly oval with sinuate and rounded tip, 1.3 times longer than 10th. All segments covered with thin, pale, very short, sparse and semi-erect pubescence.

Pronotum transverse, strongly sinuate basally, anterior margin very slightly convex, posterior margin straight, all angles rounded, anterior almost right; strongly depressed at base; surface smooth, bright, sparsely and finely punctate, microsculpture indistinct; covered with pale double pubescence: even, short and depressed on the whole surface and several sparse, long and erect setae near anterior angles.

Scutellum rectangular, transverse, small, almost completely hidden by pronotum, with straight anterior margin; surface smooth, sparsely pubescent with thin, short, pale and depressed setae.

Elytra parallel, narrow, very slightly widened posteriorly; shoulders distinct; apices evenly rounded, simple, lacking impressions or appendages; surface moderately bright, shagreened, densely punctured and microsculptured, evenly covered with fine, short, golden and semi-erect pubescence and with sparse, erect, dark and long setae.

Legs not long, thin, posterior femora reaching the apical fifth of elytra, covered with pale, short, semi-erect, sparse, long and black hairs. Tibiae thin, very slightly expanded anteriorly, round. All tarsi narrow, laterally compressed except the 5th, dorsally depressed; apical tarsomere larger than the previous ones, as long as 1st and 2nd together and somewhat longer than 3rd and 4th together. Anterior tarsomeres simple, lacking comb. Claws narrow, sharp, almost completely straight, with a small round basal tooth.

Apical sternite ( Fig. 21 ) elongate, approximately semicircle shaped, 1.2 times wider than long, divided in two lobes coupled by transparent membrane and adjoined at tips, each lobe fitted with sparse, long, strong and dark setae; dark coloured with an elongate longitudinal stripe in middle; apical tergite ( Fig. 20 ) approximately semicircular, 1.4 times wider than long, evenly rounded and slightly emarginated on anterior side, covered with sparse black setae which are dark coloured at the posterior side forming a narrow transverse band. Median lobe ( Figs. 22 ) simple, very slightly curved ventrally, almost completely straight, widened and with short, stretched, narrow and slightly curved ventrally lamella; internal sac showing groups of small denticles both at apical, median and basal parts, plus three teeth: two triangular and one strong placed apically. Tegmen elongate, narrow, 2 times longer than wide, slightly emarginated apically without thread-like appendages ( Fig. 23 ).

Length (male) 4.3–4.5 mm, width (at elytral base) 1.3–1.4 mm.

Female. Similar to male, except antennae narrower; elytra more strongly widened in posterior half. Claw segment shorter.

Length (female) 4.8–5.6 mm, width (at elytral base) 1.4–1.5 mm.

Material. Afghanistan: Baglan, 36°07N, 68°42’E, 12.VIII.1966, Sugoniaev leg.— 1 ♂ (SCH); Tajikistan: Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, 37°16N, 68°25’E, 14.V.1985, V. Yanushev leg.—1 ♀ (SCH); Kazakhstan: Atyrau, Beskala, 47°07N, 51°53’E, 5.VII.1980, S.G. Hachikov leg.—1 ♀ (SCH).

Distribution. Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, doubtfully also southern Russia.

Notes. This species, previously known from “Turkestan”, is recorded from Afghanistan for the first time. Occurrence in south Russia needs to be confirmed.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 10. Habiti of Apalochrus Er. species. A. femoralis femoralis (Erichson, 1840), male, dorsal (1), ventral (2); A. femoralis pallipes Motschulsky, 1860 stat. nov., male, dorsal (3), ventral (4); A. turkestanicus (Pic, 1907), female (5); A. flavicollis (Schaufuss, 1870), male (6); A. notatithorax (Pic, 1936), male (7); A. fulvicollis (Gebler, 1845), male (8); A. notatus (Zoubkoff, 1833), male (9, 10); A. notatus (pronotal colour as in morpha mongolicus), male (10). Scale bar 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 20 – 28. Apalochrus flavicollis (Schaufuss, 1870), male, (20 – 23, 28 (circle )), and A. fulvicollis (Gebler, 1845), male (24 – 27, 28 (triangle )); apical tergite (20, 24); apical sternite (21, 25); median lobe, lateral (22, 26); tegmen (23, 27); distribution map (28). Scale bar 1.0 mm.