Harpalus (Ophonus) pallidus Dejean, 1829: 234

Serrano, José, 2022, Designation of types of European Harpalini (Coleoptera: Carabidae) described by Dejean and deposited in the MNHN, Paris, Zootaxa 5141 (5), pp. 484-500 : 496

Harpalus (Ophonus) pallidus Dejean, 1829: 234 .

The specimen here designated as lectotype is a male bearing labels “ pallidus m. in Hispania”, “ex-Museo Chaudoir” and “ Lectotype, and a red card stating Harpalus (Ophonus) pallidus Dejean, 1829 desig. by J. Serrano ” .

Dejean (1829) stated in the description that: Je possède trois individus de cette espèce: j’ai trouvé les deux premiers en Espagne, près de Palencia.... The lectotype shows a cordiform pronotum with side notably sinuate before the posterior angle, which is well-marked and protruding backward. The elytra show a dark spot well-marked, that is paler in the female from the same locality (paralectotype). Likewise, it also shows strong punctures in the prosternum, a diagnostic character not mentioned by Dejean. For keys to identify the species see Fuente (1927), Jeannel (1942) and Antoine (1959).

Its distribution is somewhat disjunct, as it is recorded from the western Mediterranean (the record from Morocco needs corroboration), Algeria, the Levant, Armenia and southern Russia ( Jaeger & Kataev, 2017).