Jelinekius prisniyi, Kovalenko, 2017

Kovalenko, Yakov N., 2017, Jelinekius prisniyi sp. nov., new species of genus Jelinekius Majer, 1990 (Coleoptera: Dasytidae: Rhadalinae) from Tajikistan, Zootaxa 4338 (3), pp. 595-600 : 596-600

Jelinekius prisniyi sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–3, 5–11 )

Type locality. Tajikistan: Varzob district , Varzob valley, Kondara gorge.

Type material. Holotype, male, Tajikistan: “у. Кондара 1100 м д. Варзоба, Тадж. Гуссаковский 21.IX.38 ” [ Varzob district , Varzob valley , Kondara gorge, h~ 1100 m, 21 September 1938, V.V. Gussakovsky leg.] (Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences) .

Other material. Female , Tajikistan: “ Хатлонская область, Шамсиддин-Шохинский район, Дашти-Джум, хребет Хазратишох, h~1250 м, 38º3'28.22''N, 70º12'32.47'' E , 6.V.2012, А.С. Зубов leg.” [Khatlon region, Shamsiddin Shohin district, Dashti-Jumjamoat, Khazratishokh ridge, h~ 1250 m, 38º3'28.22''N, 70º12'32.47'' E, 6.V.2012, A.S. Zubov leg.] (Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences ).

Diagnosis. J. prisniyi sp. nov. is closest to J. persicus , the type species of the genus. The main differences are in the structure of the head (smaller and more widely separated eyes than in J. persicus , as well as a much smaller antennal notch of the eye), as well as in the structure of the male genitalia (more elongated and parallel-sided penis, a different tegmen structure) and VI visible abdominal ventrite with pygidium. It should be specifically noted that the accessory gland, present in J. persicus (as well as in J. brunneus Majer, 1990 ) is abscent in J. prisniyi sp. nov. (as well as in J. minor Majer, 1990 , which brings the latter species closer to the newly described). However, in our opinion, J. prisniyi sp. nov. is much closer morphologically to J. persicus than to J. minor .

Description. Male. ( Figs. 1 , 3, 5–9 ). Length: 5.9 mm, width: 1.7 mm. Body elongated, elegant, brownyellowish, the head is somewhat darker than the pronotum and the elytra, legs and antennae lighter ( Fig. 1 ). The underside of the body is the same color as the upperside. Covered with light-yellow, long, sparse, semi-raised setae.

Head. Longitudinal, its length (from the base of the head to the top of the labrum) exceeds the width (including the eyes) by approximately 1.13 times. The vertex of the head goes into a weakly expressed neck-like structure, which is densely covered with powerful punctatuion and wrinkles, which makes it look like a mesh. The anterior vertex is somewhat convex at the level of the posterior margin of the eyes, punctured and covered with a fine wrinkled microsculpture, shallower and sparser than that on the pronotum. Clypeus, almost unseparated from the forehead, is punctured more sparsely than the forehead; the microsculpture is less developed. The antennal tubercles are well developed, convex and angular. Labrum is coarse, semicircular-transverse and not completely covering the mandibles. The entire head is covered with setae, long, relatively sparse and protruding on the vertex and on the clypeus, and shorter and more appressed on the neck constriction. The eyes are large, almost round (antennal notch is weak), large facetted, covered with short protruding setae. The antennae are long, serrate starting from the third segment, and are probably 11-segmented (in the holotype, each of the antennae consists of 10 segments, since, apparently, the last segment of each antenna has been lost). First antennal segment elongated (approximately 3 times longer than wide), its basal part (approximately 1/5 of its length) is narrow and is at an obtuse angle to the gradually widening apical part (comprising approximately 4/5 of its length). Second antennal segment is uniformly conical, twice as long as it is wide at the apex (its maximum width). Third antennal segment elongated, 1.5 times longer than the second segment, in its basal ¾ almost cylindrical, in its last ¼ unevenly flattened and widened, forming a weak indentation on the outer surface. Fourth antennal segment of approximately the same length as the third strongly extended apically to form an outer indentation. 5th–7th antennal segments are similar to the 4th, although slightly longer, and even more extended apically. 8th–10th antennal segments even more elongated than the 5th–7th segments, (approximately 1.25 times longer), but less elongated apically than three preceding segments. The mandibles are strong, well sclerotized, with bidentate apex. The apical joint of maxillary palpus large, elongate and axe-shaped, the last segment of labial palpus is spindle-shaped, truncated at the end.

Thorax. Pronotum subcordiform, transverse, its width exceeds the length by 1.13 times. The pronotum is convex, hardly wider than the head with eyes. The lateral margin of pronotum is coarsely and unevenly serrate, the perimeter of pronotum is edged. The anterior angles of the pronotum are rounded, with a small number of small denticles, which are a continuation of the lateral serration, the posterior angles are sharper and almost straight. The top of the pronotum is in double punctation: small dots bear long light setae; the large dots are distributed less evenly, on the sides of the disc are so dense that puncturation in these places looks wrinkled. The pronotum surface between the points is covered with a distinct, sometimes rather coarse microsculpture, consisting of many small cells, as well as, predominantely at the pronotal disc, of small, weak wrinkles, spreading radially from every large dot, with the dot being the centre of such “flower-like” formation (similar to Jelinekius persicus , see Majer (1990), Fig. 7 ). The pronotum is covered with variously directed light setae: most of them are directed forward and a little bit laterally, and some, especially at the anterior margin are directed sideways. Scutellum is rounded, smooth with a sparse fine puncturation and a poorly developed microsculpture (consisting of minute round and oval cells), covered with light setae, slightly transverse: its width at the base slightly exceeds the total length of the scutellum. The proepimera and the proepisternum are smooth, with very small and sparse puncturation, are covered with light setae. The prosternum in front of the procoxae is also smooth, finely and rarely punctured and covered with light setae. Its length is approximately equal to the length of the procoxal cavities, which are large, transverse and widely open posteriorly. The pointed triangular process of the prothorax is wedged between the procoxae approximately to the middle of their length. Mesothorax is relatively short, covered with setae. The metathorax is well developed, long, fairly and densely punctured, with developed microsculpture between the points, represented, mostly laterally, by small wrinkles, radially spreading from the few large dots, as on the pronotal disc, as well as small oval and round cells. Metathorax covered with adjoining setae, more densely located in the center of the disc of the metathorax. Elytra with double puncturation: the large, deep points, with the distances between them smaller than the diameter of the points themselves, are adjacent to small dots, which represent pores bearing thick light and semi-raised long setae covering the elytra. The sutural angle of the elytra is well expressed, almost right-angled, lateral margins of elytra are finely serrate, distances between denticles of lateral margin of elytra is approximately equal to the diameter of points on their disc. The microsculpture between the points on the surface of the elytra is poorly developed, they are almost smooth, the microsculpture is more developed closer to the lateral and apical margin of the elytra and is represented by a large number of tightly-packed, minute round and oval cells. Epipleura of elytra are almost smooth, covered with small adjoining setae. Wings are developed normally.

The procoxae are large, transverse, conically protruding and touching each other. The mesocoxae are large, conically projecting and separated by a thin outgrowth of the mesothorax. The metacoxae are sharply transverse, somewhat obliquely positioned with regard to the longitudinal axis of the body. The legs are long, lightly-coloured, delicate, covered with dense light setae. The length of the front tarsi is much less than the length of the front tibiae, the length of the middle and hind tarsi is only slightly less than the length of the corresponding tibiae.

Abdomen. Abdomen is rather densely and finely punctured, covered with lightly-coloured appressed setae, with developed microsculpture between points, represented mostly by oblique wrinkles and longitudinal cells, as well as, on the discs of the 1st–4th of the visible abdominal ventrites, by wrinkles radiating from large dots, as on the pronotal disc. The abdominal ventrites are convex and sharply transverse. Pygidium as in Fig. 3 . Abdominal visible ventrite VI as in Fig. 6 .

Aedeagus. ( Figs. 7–9 ). Phallus is long, thin, slightly flattened in dorso-ventral direction in its basal half, much more flattened in the apical half and flat at the apex ( Figs. 8–9 ). Its width is almost uniform from the base to the apical part, where it narrows to the sharp point. Tegmen with short paramerae, which carry long setae ( Fig. 7 ). Accessory glands in the reproductive system of the male are absent.

Female. ( Fig. 2 , 10–11 ). Length: 6.3 mm, width: 2.2 mm. The female differs from the male (holotype J. prisniyi sp. nov.) by the following features: the body is darker brown, somewhat more robust and broad, the antennae become serrate from the 5th segment (not from the third, as in the holotype), eyes are less large and convex, pronotum is more transverse (ratio of width to length is 1.25), elytra are also large. The VI abdominal visible ventrite as in Fig. 11 . The remaining external morphological features of the female are similar to those of the male (holotype J. prisniyi sp. nov.).

Female genitalia. ( Fig. 10 ). The ovipositor is soft, weakly sclerotized, typical for representatives of the subfamily Rhadalinae of the family Dasytidae .

Larva. Unknown.

Variability. Unknown.

Etymology. Named in the honour of my mentor in entomology, the Russian entomologist Dr. Aleksander V. Prisniy (Belgorod).

Distribution. Southwestern Tajikistan: Gissar range and Khazratishokh ridge (southwestern part of Darvoz range).

Remarks. According to the data of the labels of two specimens of a new species, available at our disposal, imagos of J. prisniyi sp. nov., are probably characterized by autumn and spring activity. The species is known so far only from to the middle altitudes (1100–1300 m above sea level) of the Gissar and Darvoz ranges on the territory of Tajikistan.

The only female that we have at our disposal is conditionally assigned to Jelinekius prisniyi sp. nov. and is not included in the type series, since the author cannot be completely sure that the described male and female belong to the same species. Taking into account the morphological similarity of the specimen of the Jelinekius female from Tajikistan to the holotype J. prisniyi and also the fact that this specimen does not correspond to the description of the female J. persicus and J. brunneus and is almost certainly not a female J. minor , the author suggests that the described female specimen in this publication belongs to the species J. prisniyi sp. nov. until the contrary is proved.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 2. Habitus of imago Jelinekius prisniyi sp. nov., dorsal view. 1. Male, holotype (5.9 mm). 2. Female (6.3 mm).

FIGURES 3 – 11. Jelinekius prisniyi sp. nov. and the geographical label of the holotype (3, 5 - 9 holotype male; 10 - 11 female). 3. Male abdominal visible ventrite VI. 4. Geographical label of the holotype. 5. Male spicular fork. 6. Male pygidium. 7. Tegmen. 8. Phallus dorsally. 9. Phallus laterally. 10. Ovipositor. 11. Female abdominal visible ventrite VI. Not to scale.