Malachius suturalis Motschulsky, 1854

Švihla, Vladimír & Hájek, Jiří, 2009, Taxonomic changes in Eastern Mediterranean Malachius (Coleoptera: Malachiidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (1), pp. 217-224 : 223

Malachius suturalis Motschulsky, 1854 stat. restit.

Malachius suturalis Motschulsky, 1854: 31 .

Type locality. Asia Minor.

Type material. SYNTYPE ( ZMUM), labelled: ‘ Smyrna [= Izmir] [handwritten] // Malachius / Suturalis / Motsch. / Anatolia [handwritten]’.

Notes on the type material. The number of syntypes is unknown. The only syntype at our disposal is badly damaged and only the right elytron and wing, mesothorax, metathorax and abdomen are preserved. Because the syntype does not provide any characters necessary for a reliable identification of the species, we do not designate it as a lectotype and hope that additional specimens in better condition will be found in ZMUM.

Comments on classification. Malachius suturalis Motschulsky, 1854 was described from a female from Asia Minor (= Turkey) and subsequently synonymised with M. carnifex by PEYRON (1877). However, the syntype at our disposal has dark brown, slightly metallic epimera of mesothorax and red elytra with a narrow metallic-blue sutural stripe. Based on these characters it cannot represent a senior synonym of M. stolatus (= M. carnifex sensu auctorum). Most probably it represents a junior synonym of M. rubidus or a senior synonym of Malachius dama Abeille de Perrin, 1888 . As the bad condition of the syntype does not allow us to resolve its identity, we leave M. suturalis as a valid species until a detailed revision of whole group.