Pocadius ferrugineus ( Fabricius, 1775 )

Cline, Andrew R., 2008, Revision of the sap beetle genus Pocadius Erichson, 1843 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Nitidulinae, Zootaxa 1799 (1), pp. 1-120 : 64-66

Pocadius ferrugineus ( Fabricius, 1775)

(Figs. 19, 60, 103, 146, 188, 226)

Nitidula ferruginea Fabricius 1775 , non Nitidula ferruginea Herbst 1792 , nec Nitidula ferruginea Heer 1841

Nitidula aestiva Herbst 1784 , non Nitidula aestiva Fabricius 1775 , nec Nitidula aestive Illiger 1789

Nitidula striata Olivier 1790

Nitidula fulva Marsham 1802

Sphaeridium pilosum Rossi 1794

Pocadius ferrugineus Erichson 1843 (partim); Letzner & Kraatz 1859 (partim); Ganglbauer 1899 (partim); Reitter 1919 (partim); Horion 1960 (partim); Spornraft 1967 (partim): Franz 1969 (partim); Audisio 1980, 1984 (partim); Kirejtshuk 1992 (partim); Spornraft 1992 (partim); Audisio 1993 (partim); Audisio et al. 2000 (partim);

Pocadius ferrugineus var. thoracicus Reitter 1888

Pocadius ferrugineus var. rottrautae Kniephof 1913

Pocadius striatus Grouvelle 1913 (partim)

Specimens examined.> 450 specimens ( CAS, CSCA, DEI, FMNH, HNHM, MCZ, NMPC, RMNH, USNM, ZISP, ZMHB, ZMUC) from throughout Palearctic including: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark ,

England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine.

Diagnosis. Similar to P. adustus , but delimited by: short pronotal and elytral fimbria; protibial notch deep; antennal pedicel short; terminal antennomere with unique depressed region; male anal sclerite broadly convex; tegmen with diffused/scattered inner rows of setae; median lobe rectangular with sub-perpendicular sides; basal piece of internal sac sclerites elongate; gonocoxites with few elongate setae.

Description. Length 3.8 mm, Width 2.1mm, Depth 1.8mm. Body moderately convex, somewhat shining, reddish-brown to dark reddish brown, head, pronotum and antennal club often darker. Pronotal and elytral margins with moderately long fimbria. Dorsal and ventral pubescence golden, moderately long.

Head surface deeply, irregularly punctate, punctures larger on vertex with few interspersed small ones, becoming smaller towards orbits and fronotclypeal region. Large punctures 5X diameter of eye facet, small punctures 3X diameter; interspaces smooth to alutaceous becoming granular in fronotclypeal region. Pronotal surface with large punctures equal to large punctures on head, interspersed with few small punctures, equal to small ones on head; interspaces smooth to alutaceous, large punctures 0.25–0.5 diameters apart. Scutellar surface with moderately impressed punctures 0.75 diameter of large punctures on pronotum, interspaces smooth with some microreticulation. Elytral surface with serial rows of small punctures equal to small ones on pronotum, large serial punctures 2.5–3X diameter small ones. Small serial punctures giving rise to semi-decumbent moderately long setae, large serial punctures to shorter decumbent setae; interspaces broad between punctures of a row and between different rows. Within a row, small punctures separated by 2 diameters, large punctures by 0.5–0.75 diameter. Rows separated by 1–1.5 large diameter; interspaces smooth to granular. Pygidium densely punctate, punctures equal to smaller ones on pronotum; interspaces narrow, 0.33–0.5 diameter, alutaceous to granular.

Venter with similar pubescence as dorsum. Mentum with large shallowly impressed punctures, equal to large ones on head, each giving rise to short setae; interspaces alutaceous to finely granular. Prosternum and epimeron irregularly punctate, punctures equal to those on mentum, interspaces alutaceous to granular, prosternal punctures separated by 0.5 diameter, those on epimeron by 0.5–0.75 diameter. Mesoventrite with smaller deeper punctures than prosternum, 0.75 diameter of those on prosternum, interspaces alutaceous to granular, separated by 1 diameter. Metaventrite with moderate faint punctures on disc similar to those on mesoventrite, interspaces smooth to alutaceous becoming microreticulate to granular laterally, 1–3 diameters apart on disc. Abdominal sternite 1 with moderately impressed punctures equal to those on metaventrite, interspaces alutaceous to granular, separated by 0.5–1 diameter. Hypopygidium with moderately deep punctures, similar to those on sternites 2–4, interspaces granular, separated by 0.25–0.33 diameter.

Head wider than long (L:W = 1:1.8) Antennal club compact, oval, mostly symmetrical with terminal antennomere subequal to 9–10 combined. Antennomeres 6–8 compact, 7–8 disc-like. Antennal scape broadly asymmetrical, hemispherical, 2.1X length of pedicel. Pedicel subcylindrical to barrel-shaped. Antennal segment 3 subequal to pedicel, narrowed proximally. Antennal club somewhat large, 0.55 length of segments 1–8 combined. Elevated region of mentum with anterior angles obsolete, anterior margin broadly rounded, overall hemispherical, lateral margins nearly perpendicular, flat in lateral view.

Pronotum widest near posterior angles (L:W = 1:2), anterior margin broadly trapezoidal to moderately concave, lateral margins more or less evenly arcuate to posterior angles. Scutellum large, obtusely triangular, apex rounded. Prosternal process in lateral view convex posterior-medially; posterior face slightly oblique. Mesoventrite extending to 0.75 mesocoxae, evenly broadly concave for reception of metaventrite. Metaventrite wider than long (W:L = 2.25:1). Metepisternum with slight medial constriction, oblique line dividing anterior 0.18. First abdominal sternite with broadly rounded process between metacoxae. First sternite 1.8X longer than sternite 2. Sternites 2–3 subequal, 4 slightly larger than 2 or 3. Hypopygidium 0.88 length of sternite 1.

Protibia with apical tooth slightly prominent, subequal to 0.5 tarsomere 1. Outer apical notch with 130° angle, notch depth moderately deep, equal to tarsomere 1 and part of 2 combined. Inner apical spine subequal to tarsomere 1 and part of 2 combined. Mesotibia more heavily armed than protibia with dense stiff setae and slender spines along lateral edge. Outer apical process moderately elongate, larger than protibial process, apical margin with flat teeth. Inner apical spine equal to tarsomeres 1–2 combined. Metatibia similar to mesotibia.

Male genitalia well-sclerotized. Anal sclerite with apex fimbriate (Fig. 19). Spiculum gastrale with wide broadly convex lateral flanges, medial margins narrowly concave, short stiff setae originating from apex and anteapically (Fig. 60). Tegmen evenly rounded apically (Fig. 103), much longer than wide (w:l = 1.0:2.25), lateral row of setae visible from median fossa around apex, small shallow concavity in apical 0.33. Median lobe large robust, 0.5 length of tegmen, apex acuminate, lateral margins nearly perpendicular, apical opening well-developed (Fig. 146). Ejaculatory rods not fused to basal piece or each other, straight with slight outward expansion apically. Basal pieces consisting of two lunate shaped pieces with sharp apical point (Fig. 188).

Female genitalia moderately sclerotized. Paraprocts large with sclerotization along median line. Gonocoxite with two basal lateral prominences and baculi extending medially from gonocoxites base, 0.5 length gonocoxal invagination. Gonocoxal apices with recurved “tooth” present. Short setae originating from small grooves along side of gonocoxal apices (Fig. 226).

Variation. Specimen length variable, females typically larger than males.

Seasonality/Habitat. Typical occurrence from May–October in forested regions.

Distribution. Broadest distribution of any Pocadius ; known from Scandinavia south through the Iberian peninsula, west through Turkey parts of the Middle East and Central Asia, and as far east and north as Kamchatka in northeastern Russia ( Jelínek and Audisio 2007). Kirejtshuk (1992) proposed occurrence in Malaysia, however, this record was not confirmed and no specimens of this species were recorded from any country in southeast Asia.

Notes. Broad fungal larval diet of Lycoperdaceae genera, including Lycoperdon (i.e. L. esculentum ), Calvatia , Bovista , Langermannia Rostkovius , and Scleroderma Persoon , but adults also have been found on non- Gasteromycetes taxa such as Lepiota (Persoon) Gray (i.e. L. procera (Scop.) Gray ) and others (Audisio 1993). Kniephoff (1913) stated that his daughter reared some specimens from “dust fungi”. Geus (1969), interestingly, found a species of the protozoan Gregarina in the intestine of a specimen.