Harpalus kaznakovi Kataev & Wrase, 1997

Kataev, Boris M. & Liang, Hongbin, 2007, Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Harpalus in China, with description of new taxa (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Harpalini), Zootaxa 1604, pp. 1-20 : 12

Harpalus kaznakovi Kataev & Wrase, 1997

Remarks. H. kaznakovi was described from the series collected at several localities of northwestern Sichuan (mainly the district of Sertar). This species belongs to the vittatus species group ( Kataev 1990) which is characterized by the antennae clearly infuscate from first or second antennomere, the male protibia with prominent ventroapical tubercle bearing one spine at apex, the abdominal sternites usually glabrous, the last abdominal sternite without pronounced sexual dimorphism and the internal sac of the aedeagus with one to three small and narrow median spiny patches and without separate large teeth. H. kaznakovi may easily be distinguished from other related species by the short metepisterna and usually the metallic tinge on dorsum. The study of additional material from Sichuan and Tibet showed that the species is very variable and like many other apterous species consists of several morphologically more or less distinct geographical forms. Although some of these forms at first glance are rather markedly distinguished from each other, they all have very similar male genitalia and most of the distinctive characters appear to demonstrate a clinal variation. On the other hand, the specimens examined from eastern and central Tibet are isolated geographically and differ notably from all other material in shape of metepisterna and some other characters. In our opinion, these specimens represent a taxon which warrants at least a subspecific status. Further investigation of the geographical and intrapopulational variation of H. kaznakovi is much needed.