Odocnemis molecularica, Nabozhenko, Maxim & Keskin, Bekir, 2016

Nabozhenko, Maxim & Keskin, Bekir, 2016, Revision of the genus Odocnemis Allard, 1876 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Helopini) from Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran with observations on feeding habits, Zootaxa 4202 (1), pp. 1-97 : 16

Odocnemis molecularica sp. n.

Figs. 8 , 42F, G, 50

Type material. Holotype, ♂ ( ZDEU), 65 paratypes (6♂♂ and 59♀♀) in ZIN and CN, 11 paratypes (4♂♂, 7♀♀) in ZDEU: Turkey, Afyonkarahisar Province, Çakmaktepe geçidi, 38°28′24.74″N 30°23′18.12″E, 1880–1920 m, 16.iv.2015, leg. M.V. and S.V. Nabozhenko, B. Keskin, I. Chigray .

Description, male. Body length 9.5–13.2 mm, width 4.3–5.6 mm. Body slender, brown, shining, glabrouse. Head widest at eye level. Eyes large, moderately convex. Ratio of head width at eyes to distance between eyes: 1.37. Anterior margin of clypeus straight. Genae strongly rounded; outer margin of head between gena and clypeus with smooth obtuse emargination. Punctation of head coarse and dense, punctures round, their diameter 2 × as long as distance between them. Antennae moderately long (reaching 1/4 of elytral length), with 4 apical antennomeres extending beyond base of pronotum. Pronotum transverse (1.22–1.42 × as wide as long), widest in middle or after middle, 2 × as wide as head. Lateral margins weakly rounded, straight in basal third, not sinuate basally. Anterior margin weakly emarginated, base straight, sinuate in middle. Anterior angles projected, acute, with narrowly rounded apex; posterior angles right or weakly obtuse, with distinct apex. Lateral margins narrowly beaded, anterior margin and base with wider and more flattened bead; anterior margin sometimes with bead interrupted in middle. Disc weakly convex, narrowly flattened on outer margins. Punctation of disc moderately coarse, not dense; puncture diameter less than distance between them in middle and equal on sides. Hypomera with flattened outer margins, longitudinally rugose. Elytra elongate, oval (1.5 × as long as wide), widest in middle, 2.6–2.7 × as long and 1.44 × as wide as pronotum, 2.13 × as wide as head. Strial punctures elongate, merged in narrow furrows on elytral apex. Elytral intervals flat, their punctation fine and sparse; intervals 3 and 5–8 with small distinct tubercles in apical half. Epipleural carinae wide (completely visible dorsally), reaching sutural angles of elytra; epipleura with inner narrow carinae reaching elytral apex. Lateral margins of elytra not sinuate apically. Ventral side of body glabrous; mesepimera, metepisterna and metaventrite with sparse fine punctation. Metaventrite with tubercle; this tubercle with longitudinal furrow in middle. Abdominal ventrites with fine and moderately dense punctation; ventrite 1 without hair brush; ventrite 5 without weak round depression apically, completely beaded on apex. Legs comparatively long, pro- and metatibiae straight; mesotibiae weakly bent. Inner side of femora densely pubescent and punctated. Protibiae with 4 large teeth, mesotibiae with 3 large teeth and small granules; metatibiae with weak large acute tooth in basal third on inner side. Trochanters with single long setae.

Description, female. Body length 9.5–13.2 mm, width 4.3–5.6 mm. Body more robust. Antennae shorter, with 3 apical antennomeres extended beyond posterior margin of pronotum, reaching 1/6 of elytral length. Pronotum usually more transverse (1.4 × as wide as long). Elytra more elongate (1.53–1.7 × as long as wide), 1.2 × as wide as pronotum. Metaventrite with very small indistinct tubercle or rarely without tubercle, with only short longitudinal furrow in middle. Abdominal ventrite 5 with oval transverse depression in middle.

Etymology. Named after molecular analyses, which showed this initially cryptic species. The name is devoted also to Professor of molecular systematics Alfried Vogler (Imperial college London), who helped us with molecular analyses of Odocnemis .

Bionomics. The species was found on high near 2000 m on stones and rocks with lichens from 20:30 to 22:00. Some specimens crossed the snow from stone to stone.

Diagnosis. The species is close to O. svetlanae (especially O. svetlanae beydagensis ), but differs by the presence of a large acute tooth on the male metatibiae and a weakly or not developed tubercle in middle of female metaventrite.

Figures

FIGURE 8. O. molecularica sp. n., male A) Aedeagus, ventral view. B) Aedeagus, lateral view. C) Gastral spicula. D) Inner sternite VIII. E) Metaventrite. F) Pronotum. G) Protibia. H) Mesotibia. I) Metatibia. Scale bars— 1 mm.