Protapalochrus (Latapalochrus) arcticus ( Medvedev, 1958 ) Medvedev, 1958

Tshernyshev, Sergei E., 2016, A review of species of the genera Protapalochrus Erichson and Paratinoides L. Medvedev (Coleoptera, Malachiidae), Zootaxa 4139 (3), pp. 369-390 : 381-382

Protapalochrus (Latapalochrus) arcticus ( Medvedev, 1958) comb. n.

( Figs 1 , 20–23, 29, 30 (asterisk))

Collops arcticus Medvedev, 1958: 469 –470— North-East Russia: Chukotka, Chaunskaya Guba, Ichun River mouth. Paratinoides arcticus ( Medvedev, 1958) : Wittmer 1970: 98.

Material examined. Type material. Holotype of Collops arcticus Medvedev, 1958 , male ( Fig. 29 ), white-yellow handwritten in Russian geographic label: “ Russia, Chukotka Automonous Region: Chaunskaya Guba, mouth of Ichun’ river 10.VII.1939, Semenov” (N48o10′, E88o43′) ( ZISP), red rectangular card with printed name “ Holotypus ”, white card with handwritten name “ Collops arcticus L. Medv. 1986 ” and printed words “L.N. Medvedev det.”; paratypes, 2 males, 1 female, ibidem, 25, 19, 28.VI.1939 ( ZISP).

New material: Vrangel island: Bay Somnitelnaya, stony slope of southern exposition, grassy graminea-sedge association, 15–25.VI.1986, O. Hruleva— 2 males, 1 female ( ZISP); Pevek, 7 km South of Pevek, dam, foothill with shrub-moss-grass association, 69о38' N, 170о15' E, 21.VI.2011, O.A. Hruleva— 2 males ( SCH).

Description. Holotype, male ( Fig. 1 ). Body dark-brown to black, lacking metallic luster, head and pronotum black, elytra and scutellum black-brown, segments of palpi, lateral sides of 1–4th antennomeres, tibiae and tarsi, underside of the body brown, remaining arts dark-brown. Thoracic mesepimera brown, vesicles dark-yellow.

Head slightly narrower than the pronotum, slightly biimpressed just before clypeus; rarely covered with thin, short adpressed light pubescence, with several elongate black erect bristles on the temple behind the eyes; surface coarsely and densely punctured, slightly wrinkled on temples behind eyes, with indistinct microsculpture, dull; labrum short, transverse, bearing semi-erect gold hairs; genae short, straight; eyes small, protruding, round. Maxillary palpi short, 1st segment slightly elongate and triangular, slightly shorter and narrower that the 3rd, the 2nd segment very small, transverse, 3–3.5 times shorter than the 3rd, apical segment dolabriform, slightly archly cut at apex; surface shining with short gold semi-erect and several long hairs. Antennae long, reaching basal fifth of elytra; 2nd segment very small, rounded, almost completely hidden by the scape, 3nd segment cylindrical, not swollen, the longest, 1.5 times longer than the 1st and twice as long as the 4th, the 1st segment slightly swollen and clavate-shaped, the 4th triangular, the 5–10 segments rectangular, each one slightly shorter than the previous, slightly sinuate at base and flattened, apical segment almost completely conic with narrowed and pointed tip. All segments covered with very short thin gold and sparse semi-erect pubescence.

Pronotum transverse, not narrowed at base, with anterior margin very slightly archly protruding, posterior straight, all angles rounded, posterior almost completely right, disc of the pronotum slightly depressed laterally at basal fifth; surface smooth, shining and sparsely punctate in a middle and densely and roughly and slightly wrinkled on sides and near hind angles, microsculpture indistinct; sparsely covered with short adpressed goldish pubescence.

Scutellum transverse-rectangular, small, almost completely hidden by the pronotum, with straight distal margin slightly depressed in middle; surface shining, densely punctured and pubescent with similar hairs as the pronotum.

Elytra slightly ovoid, shortened, evenly widened posteriorly and uncovered pygidium; shoulders distinct; apices evenly rounded, simple, lacking impressions or appendages; surface dull, shagreen, sparsely punctured, evenly covered with fine, short light semi-erect pubescence and sparsely with erect dark elongate setae. Margination of epipleurae and suture strong and slightly elevated.

Hind wings partially reduced.

Legs not long, slightly widened, posterior femora reaching the apical fifth of the elytra, covered with very short goldish adpressed hairs. Tibiae thin, slightly expanded posteriorly, rounded. All tarsi 5-segmented, narrow; Anterior tarsi with transverse not large tarsal comb on second segment; claw segment depressed dorsally, somewhat longer or the same in length as 1st tarsomere or general length of 3rd and 4th. Claws narrow, sharp, almost completely straight, with a small dent basally.

Ventral body surface densely and finely punctured with distinct microsculpture, semi-shining, evenly and sparsely covered with fine, adpressed gold pubescence; metathorax simple. Pygidium transverse, evenly narrowed and rounded distally, with simple slightly emarginate apex bearing row of hairs distally ( Fig. 20 ), ultimate abdominal ventrite bilaciniate, narrow, transverse, with simple, evenly narrowed rounded apices ( Fig. 21 ), aedeagus simple, not curved, narrow, endophallus with a horn-like tube in a middle located from base to apical fifth and two rows of denticles, one disposed above the tube in median part, and the second surrounding its apical part ( Fig. 22 ), tegmen elongate, widened at base and at apex, with extremely short thin pointed parameres ( Fig. 23 ).

Female. Similar to male, except for the following: antennae narrower; elytra strongly widened behind the middle and strongly shortened, not covering at least 3 abdominal segments.

Length 4.3–4.6 mm, width (at elytral base) 1.3–1.4 mm.

Distribution. North Asia, Russia: Chukotka, Vrangel, Pevek ( Fig. 30 (asterisk)).

Remarks. This little known species was described from the most distant region of Eurasia, and was known only by description for a long time. Slightly shortened elytra and reduces hind wings allowed W. Wittmer (1970) to transfer this species into Paratinoides L. Medvedev. After a type series investigation it was obvious that the species belongs to Protapalochrus . It is similar to P. puncticollis (Wittmer) , with wide elytra slightly shortened, aedeagus with straight horn-like tube, whereas Paratinoides apterus L. Medvedev is “staphylinoid”-shaped, with a strongly reduced elytra and narrow body, and a strongly curved laterally horn-like tube inside endophallus.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 10. External appearance of Protapalochrus Ev. species, males. P. arcticus (L. Medvedev, 1958), holotypus (1); P. puncticollis (Wittmer 1970), dark form (2); P. puncticollis (Wittmer 1970), light form (3), holotypus, dorsal (5), lateral (6); P. festivus (Zoubkoff, 1833), (7); P. persicus (Champion, 1920), holotypus (8); P. fedtschenkoi (Solsky, 1882), (9); P. flavolimbatus (Mulsant et Rey, 1853), (10). Scale bar 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 20 – 30. Protapalochrus (Latapalochrus) arcticus (L. Medvedev, 1958), holotype, male, (20 – 23, 29, 30 (asterisk )) and P. (Latapalochrus) puncticollis (Wittmer 1970), male (24 – 28, 30 (quadrate )); pygidium (20, 24); abdominal ventrite (21, 25); aedeagus, lateral (22, 26); tegmen (23, 27); original labels (28, 29); distribution map (30). Scale bar 1.0 mm.