Trechus kouroshi, Muilwijk & Seiedy & Wrase, 2021

Muilwijk, Jan, Seiedy, Marjan & Wrase, David W., 2021, Contribution to the knowledge of Carabidae in Iran with the descriptions of five new taxa, proposing of four synonyms and providing of nine new records (Insecta: Coleoptera), Zootaxa 5067 (1), pp. 55-81 : 59-61

Trechus kouroshi sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:83977913-FB4E-48E7-AC91-5C77E066A015

( Figs. 2.1, 2.2 )

Type material. Holotype, ♂ labeled: “ Iran, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad / Suq cave, 812 m / 30°49ˊ25.9´´ N, 50° 25ˊ37.9´´ E, 5.vi.2019 / S. Rahideh, Y. Fatemii & J. Muilwijk leg.” // “ Holotype / Trechus kouroshi sp. n. / Muilwijk, Seiedy & Wrase des. 2021” (black print on red label), deposited in HMIM . Paratype, 1 ♀ with same data but “ Paratype ”, in CJM .

Comparing material: Trechus saulcyanus Csiki, 1928: 1 ♂, Israel, Upper Galilee Ya'ar Bar'am , 683 m, 23.iii.2011, 33°02´21´´ N, 35°2´26´´ E; Meybohm leg.; W. Ziegler det. 2011. CJM.

Description. A small to middle sized and bicoloured Trechus species (3.5 mm) with piceous brown head and pronotum and yellowish elytra; appendages yellow; pronotum slightly shiny; micropterous ( Fig. 2.1 ).

Head eyes slightly convex, much longer than tempora (tempora/eye: 0.33–0.36). Frontal furrows moderately deep, evenly impressed, semi-circular. Clypeus with two pairs of setae, located in a slight deepening of the clypeus. Two pairs of supraorbital setae, the anterior setae at level of the middle of the eye, the posterior setae behind the eye. Antennae short (1.95 mm), reaching to one quarter of the elytra.

Pronotum cordate (PW/PL: 1.28–1.37); slightly convex. Lateral sides of pronotum sinuate towards posterior angles, posterior angles distinct, nearly rectangular, apically upwards pointed. Anterior angles rounded. Posterior margin slightly emarginate laterally. Basal fovea deep. Middle line deep on disc, not reaching the anterior edge; lateral margin with 2 pairs of setae, one pair in the posterior angles, the other pair at the widest point.

Elytra oblong-ovate (EL/EW: 1.3–1.4); humeri prominent, though rounded; maximum width around the middle; the marginal border reaching anteriorly interval 5. Three setiferous punctures in intervals, the anterior 2 pores situated along striae 3, the preapical pore connects stria 2 with 3; all striae punctated; striae 1–2 deep, ending at apical setiferous punctures, striae 3–4 superficial, towards apex shortened, striae 5–6 consists of a row of punctures, strongly shortened, stria 7 indistinct, consisting of a few punctures in the middle. Parascutellar striole short, superficially; parascutellar pore small surrounded through a keel formed by the thickened suture. The deep recurrent striole not reaching stria 5; series umbilicata with 8 setiferous punctures, 4 punctures at the base, 2 punctures just behind the middle, and 2 punctures apically.

Microsculpture of head with isodiametric meshes, pronotum with more transverse meshes and elytra with superficial, transverse meshes.

Legs slender; protarsomeres 1–2 dilated in male, each with a massive inner and obtuse outer tooth. Front tibiae grooved on exterior surface.

Ventral side underside colour yellow except the dark meso- and metasternum and mes- and metepisternum.

Median lobe ( Fig. 2.2 ) small, 0.5 mm long, regularly bent, apex in vertical view asymmetric. Sclerites of endophallus in lateral view (l) triangular plate shaped, in dorsal view (d) and ventral view (v) arrow shaped, pointed to the apex. Left paramere with three setae, right paramere with four setae.

2.1 habitus holotype, scale: 2 mm.

2.2 median lobe holotype, l = lateral, v =ventral, d= dorsal view, scale: 0.5 mm.

2.3 Trechus saulcyanus , median lobe, l = lateral, v =ventral view, scale: 0.5 mm; Israel.

Comparative notes. So far only three Trechus species are known from Zagros: T. liopleurus Chaudoir, 1850 , T. melanocephalus Kolenati, 1845 and T. quadristriatus (Schrank, 1781) ( Pawłowski, 1979) . T. kouroshi sp. n. differs from these species by the shape of the pronotum, shape of median lobe and sclerites in the endophallus. T. quadristriatus and T. liopleurus have slightly convex lateral sides of the pronotum. T. melanocephalus has a dark brown dorsal and ventral side and elongated elytra.

Probably Trechus kouroshi sp. n. is more related to T. saulcyanus Csiki, 1928 by the combination of punctated striae, small body size, cordiform pronotum and lamelliform sclerite in the median lobe ( Fig. 2.3 ). However, in T. saulcyanus the sclerite has in horizontal view an arch shape and in lateral view a plate shape. The median lobe is more bent than in Trechus kouroshi sp. n.

Distribution. Iran (Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad). Only known from the collecting site, a small cave.

Habitat. The cave is located in a gorge where a small brook flow through. The cave is approximately 100 m long, almost horizontal, with a streamlet between stones and small rocks. At the far end of the cave streams a larger brook, too narrow and too low to follow without diving equipment. There is hardly any debris or mud between the stones. The specimens were found not far from the cave entrance. The cave is surrounded by an extensively agricultural area with very high temperatures (more than 35 ° C) and very low humidity in summer.

Etymology. The species’ epithet refers to Koerosh (Cyrus the Great), the founder of the Achaemenid Empire.

Identification references: Morvan & Pawłowski (1977); Pawłowski (1979).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Trechus kouroshi sp. n.