Helops aereus Germar, 1824

Nabozhenko, Maxim, Nikitsky, Nikolay & Aalbu, Rolf, 2016, Contributions to the knowledge of North American tenebrionids of the subtribe Cylindrinotina (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Helopini), Zootaxa 4136 (1), pp. 155-164 : 158-160

Nalassus (?) aereus ( Germar, 1824) , comb. n.

( Figs. 4–6 )

aereus Germar 1824: 160 (Helops) ; Horn 1870: 396 ( Helops ); Allard 1876: 19 ( Stenomax ); Allard 1877: 36, 148 ( Stenomax ); Horn 1880: 152 ( Helops ); Seidlitz 1896: 695 ( Helops ); Steiner 2009: 332 –333, fig. 1 ( Helops ).

= aratus Say 1827: 241 ( Helops ); Allard 1877: 49, 201 ( Catomus ). The name was synonymized by LeConte (1866).

Material (prepared for genitalia). 2♂♂, 5♀♀ (CN): USA, Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Russett, near Oxbow Lake, 39°06′52″ N, 76°48′25″W, 17.iii.2013 (leg. W. Steiner).

Comments. Subgeneric position of this species is unclear. The coarse, sparse punctation on the first male abdominal ventrite is similar to males of the subgenus Caucasonotus Nabozhenko, 2000. This is in contrast to all other subgenera, in which males have denser and finer punctation on the first abdominal ventrite than on other ventrites. On the other hand, males of Caucasonotus have a V-shaped setal brush and V-shaped punctation of very coarse and longitudinal punctures.

Distribution. USA: District of Columbia, Virginia, Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Nalassus aereus, genital structures. A—aedeagus ventrally; B—aedeagus laterally; C—male inner sternite VIII; D—gastral spicula; E—female genital tubes. g—the spemathecal accessory gland; s—spermatheca; bds—basal duct of spermatheca; o—oviduct; v—vagina. Scale bars 1 mm.

FIGURE 5. Nalassus aereus, aedeagus, SEM. A—lateral view; B—dorsal view; C—ventral view; D—setation of apical piece; E—laterally flattened keel. Arrow shows laterally flattened keel of apical piece.

FIGURE 6. Nalassus aereus, ventral view of head with ventral posterior grooves (arrow).