Lathrobium (Lathrobium) kacari sp. n.

(Figs. 1−9; Map 1)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 986EFB79-5AEE-4CD4-AEDE-58D6EDDE58E5

Type material. Holotype: Turkey: ♂, “TR. Çorum province, Osmancık, Danişment 4 km S, 1480 m, 41°04’26’’N, 34°57’03’’E, 01.V.2021, leg. Örgel, Kacar & Çelik. / Holotypus ♂, Lathrobium (Lathrobium) kacari sp. n. det. S. Anlaş 2021” (AZMM) . Paratypes: 8♂, 13♀, same data as holotype (AZMM) . 1♂, 2♀, Osmancık, Danişment 3 km S, 1490 m, 41°04’36’’N, 34°55’48’’E, 01.V.2021, leg. Örgel, Kacar & Çelik (AZMM) . 4♂, 4♀, Osmancık, Danişment 3 km E, 1461 m, 41°04’37’’N, 34°56’04’’E, 01.V.2021, leg. Örgel, Kacar & Çelik (AZMM) .

Description. Habitus as in Figure 1. Body 5.4−5.9 mm long. Colouration: forebody uniformly reddish brown, abdominal segments III–VI blackish or dark brown, abdominal segments VII–X reddish brown; antennae reddish brown, and legs yellowish brown.

Head slightly oblong, approximately 1.05−1.10 times as long as wide (Figs. 1−2); integument with shallow fine microreticulation; punctation non-umbilicate, relatively coarse and not very dense, interstices on average slightly wider than diameter of punctures in lateral areas and wider in median dorsal area; pubescence brownish and very sparse; eyes reduced, slightly protruding from lateral contours of head (Fig. 3). Antennae long and slender (Fig. 1), approximately 1.8−1.9 mm long, all antennomeres distinctly oblong.

Pronotum with subparallel lateral margins in dorsal view, distinctly oblong, approximately 1.30−1.35 times as long as wide (Figs. 1−2), approximately 0.95 times as wide as head and narrowed posteriorly; punctation similar to that of head, but slightly denser and larger; pubescence brownish and very sparse; microsculpture absent.

Elytra at suture distinctly shorter and broader than pronotum, approximately 1.15 times as wide as pronotum (Figs. 1−2), punctation similar to that of pronotum, but well-defined and slightly smaller; pubescence brownish and very sparse; microsculpture absent. Hind wings completely reduced.

Abdomen wider than elytra (Fig. 1), approximately 1.15-1.20 times as wide as elytra, widest at segment VII; punctation fine, small and shallow, moderately dense and well-defined; all tergites with distinct microsculpture; posterior margin of tergite VII without palisade fringe.

♂: sternite VII distinctly modified, with semi-circular median impression and with broadly concave posterior margin, median impression bearing short, stout and black setae (Fig. 3), posterior margin of sternite VIII with triangular median emargination, along median line without pubescence (Fig. 4). Aedeagus large (Figs. 7−9), approximately 1.05−1.10 mm long, ventral process stout and longer, triangular-shaped apically in ventral view; apical sclerotized structure of internal sac in lateral view shaped like a spoon apically and basally bent (Fig. 7−8).

♀: posterior margin of tergite VIII distinctly convex (Fig. 5); sternite VIII increasingly narrowed, with convex projection; without micro-pubescence in median posterior area (Fig. 6); tergite IX separated in the middle, lateral processes long, with acute spine-like extension apically; posterior margin of tergite X densely and finely micropubescent.

Comparative notes. The new species can be separated from all other congeners in Turkey by the distinctive morphology of the aedeagus in both ventral and lateral view. It is additionally distinguished as follows:

From L. brignolii Bordoni, L. distortum Assing and L. deforme Assing by the only weakly reduced eyes: in L. brignolii, eyes completely reduced, without ommatidia or pigmentation; in L. distortum Assing and L. deforme, eyes very small, barely visible in dorsal view, without distinct ommatidia, but with pigmentation. The above species are also completely different in sexual characters.

From L. bodemeyeri Bernhauer by the much less modified setae, which do not extend further anteriad on male sternite VII, by the lack of micro-pubescence on the median posterior area of female sternite VIII, and by the different shape of the apical sclerotized structure of the internal sac in the aedeagus. In L. bodemeyeri, the apical sclerotized structure of internal sac is shaped like a hook apically in lateral view.

From L. newtoni Anlaş by the darker colouration of the forebody, by the much less modified setae, which do not extend further anteriad on male sternite VII, by the lack of micro-pubescence on the median posterior area of female sternite VIII, and by the different shape of the apical sclerotized structure of the internal sac in the aedeagus. In L. newtoni, the apical sclerotized structure of internal sac is basally curved and apically as a straight spine in lateral view.

From L. uncinatum Assing by the darker colouration of the forebody, by the more distinct punctation of the whole body, by the much less modified setae, which do not extend further anteriad on male sternite VII, by the lack of micro-pubescence on the median posterior area of female sternite VIII, and by the different shape of the apical sclerotized structure of the internal sac in the aedeagus. In L. uncinatum, the apical sclerotized structure of internal sac is shaped like a barb apically in lateral view.

For descriptions and illustrations of the above species, see Bordoni (1980), Assing (2001, 2007) and Anlaş (2018).

Etymology. The species is dedicated to Enes Zafer Kacar, Manisa, who collected some of the type specimens of this new species.

Distribution and bionomics. The species was found at three localities from Çorum (Osmancık, Danişment). The type specimens were collected under stones in various grassland areas and sifted from leaf litter at altitudes of 1460−1490 m.