Nebrioporus laeviventris ( Reiche & Saulcy, 1855 )

Toledo, Mario, 2009, Revision in part of the genus Nebrioporus Régimbart, 1906, with emphasis on the N. laeviventris-group (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), Zootaxa 2040, pp. 1-111 : 68-69

Nebrioporus laeviventris ( Reiche & Saulcy, 1855)

Figs 29, 58

Hydroporus laeviventris Reiche & Saulcy (1855: 642) (orig. descr.); Bertolini (1872: 37); Régimbart (1877: 349).

Deronectes laeviventris (Reiche & Saulcy) ; Marseul (1882: 69); Branden (1885: 47); Seidlitz (1887: 55).

Deronectes (Potamodytes) laeviventris (Reiche & Saulcy) ; Zimmermann (1919: 188; 1920: 127).

Deronectes (Potamonectes) laeviventris (Reiche & Saulcy) ; Zimmermann (1933: 173).

Potamonectes laeviventris (Reiche & Saulcy) ; Porta (1949: 107); Guignot (1958b: 29): Franciscolo (1979: 476); Angelini (1984: 108).

Nebrioporus (s. str.) laeviventris (Reiche & Saulcy) ; Nilsson & Angus (1992: 288); Miller et al. (1997: 25); Fresneda et al. (1997: 288); Nilsson (2001: 172; 2003: 66).

Deronectes scutellaris Sharp (1882: 426) (orig. descr.); Marseul (1882 66); Branden (1885: 48); Jakobson (1908: 422) (synonymy of laeviventris Reiche & Saulcy ).

Type locality. H. laeviventris : Lebanon ; D. scutellaris : Cyprus.

Type material. Hydroporus laeviventris : Lectotype ♂ ( MNHN) designated by Fresneda et al. (1997).

Deronectes scutellaris : Lectotype ♂ ( BMNH), here designated " Type [ BMNH circular, red bordered label] \ Cyprus, n. sp. [ Sharp hw.] \ Type 252 \ Sharp Coll. 1905-313 \ Deronectes scutellaris [Sharp hw.]" plus BMNH circular, blue bordered " Lectotype " label, added by me and my red designation label . Paralectotypes: ( BMNH) 1 ♂ and 1 ♀ same data as lectotype exception made for BMNH circular, yellow bordered "Cotype" label, and rectangular labels with "cotype" for the ♂ specimen and " paratype " for the ♀; finally BMNH circular, light-blue bordered " Paralectotype " label, added by me and my red designation label.

Additional material examined. Cyprus: Aya Mavi Monastery , 27.VII.1937, G.A. Mavromoustakis (9 exs. BMNH, GWW) ; Mandria , 16.VII.1937, G.A. Mavromoustakis. (1 ex. BMNH) ; Phasoulla , 11.XI.1938, G.A. Mavromoustakis (1 ex. BMNH) ; Entre , Lapithos et Keynia, 3.XI.1932, A. Ball (20 exs. IRSNB) ; Pedoulas , Kalopanayotis, 24.X.1932, A. Ball. (3 exs. IRSNB) ; Palaeomylos (1100 m), 27.X.1932, A. Ball. (6 exs. IRSNB) ; Evrikhou , 600 m, 29.X.1932, A. Ball 21/1 (1 ex. IRSNB) ; Kerynia (vers Karavas), 5.XI.1932, A. Ball. 32/5 (4 exs. IRSNB) .

? Syria: [ancient indications for Syria could be comprehensive also of Lebanon and South Turkey as well]: "Syrie, Coll. Odier B.M. 1921-288" (3 exs. BMNH) ; " Syrie, Coll. Chevrolat, det. Sharp 82" (1 ex. IRSNB) ; " Syria Heynie [?], coll. Severin, determin. Régimb. 1891" (2 exs. IRSNB) .

Description. TL: 4.6–5.0 mm.; MW: 2.2–2.5 mm. Elongated-oval, rather flat. Surface rather shiny in males, a bit duller in females. Angle between pronotum and elytra visible.

Head reddish-yellow, with two well developed dark periocular bands, starting from the postocular band; front often with some poorly defined macula. Mouthparts reddish-yellow, with distal part of last article of maxillary palpi darkened; antennae yellow, normally with last 5 or 6 articles darkened apically.

Pronotum subrectangular, maximum width near the base. Lateral sides slightly rounded, finely bordered, slightly but visibly converging inward. Posterior angles rounded.

Elytra elongate, with maximum width near the shoulders. Lateral sides, behind the shoulders, almost straight up to the apical fourth. Longitudinal rows of punctures normally visible. Apical denticle visible in both sexes.

Dorsal colouration ( Fig. 29a,b): pronotum reddish-yellow, anterior and posterior margins with a marked dark band, extending to two large central spots, often fragmented into four. Elytra testaceous, with dark patterns as in Fig. 29, sometimes the longitudinal lines can be completely separated or variably confluent.

Underside black, prosternal process and apex of metacoxal process reddish. Surface covered by a dense and finely impressed punctuation, with a fine reticulation hardly visible between the punctures. Sternites with a small apical comb of setae. Epipleuron reddish-yellow.

Legs reddish-yellow, with tarsi darkened. Hind tibiae darker, often with a long row of setigerous punctures, almost as long as the main row.

Male: Protarsi dilated. Anterior claws unequal in length ( Fig. 29d,e): the outer flattened dorsoventrally in the apical half, with tip acuminate. Median lobe of aedeagus ( Fig. 29g) with apical fourth rather abruptly bent downward in lateral view. Parameres ( Fig. 29 f) elongate, not sinuate dorsally.

Female: Slightly duller. Preapical denticles of elytra slightly more developed ( Fig. 29c).

Distribution ( Fig. 49). This species is known with certainty for Lebanon (type locality) and Cyprus, where it was considered common. At present it seems to be very rare, as it has not been collected in recent decades. Data for Syria and Asia Minor ( Zimmermann 1933) must be revised, whereas data for Sicily ( Zimmermann 1933; Porta 1949), Sardinia ( Bertolini 1872) and Kashmir ( Guignot 1958b) are most probably due to misidentifications.