Hycleus fraudulentus Bologna, 2007

Bologna, Marco A. & Turco, Federica, 2007, The Meloidae (Coleoptera) of the United Arab Emirates with an updated Arabian checklist, Zootaxa 1625 (1), pp. 1-33 : 26-27

Hycleus fraudulentus Bologna n.sp.

Type specimens. Holotype female and 3 females Paratypes: Saudi Arabia, Lodar , 800 m, 16.v.1967, K. Guichardt coll.; BMNH E 1997-213 (Holotype and 2 Paratypes: BMNH; 1 Paratype, CB) .

One Paratype lacks two hind right tarsomeres; one lacks four left fore tarsomeres, the entire left leg, and the metasternum is greatly damaged by dermestids.

Diagnosis. One Hycleus belonging to the Mesoscutatus- type lineage. It is characterized by the reduced number of antennomeres (9), the bicoloured antennae and legs, and by the elytral black pattern very similar to that of H. nigriplantis ( Klug, 1845) , a species belonging to another group of species.

Description. Body uniformly black, but tibiae orange and antennomeres II–V dark reddish; elytra subopaque brown-orange with one vanished small humeral spot, anteriorly reddish, two anterior black spots, disposed in a row, one middle narrow and sinuate black fascia, zig-zag shaped, one posterior fascia similar to the middle one, but more or less fragmented or reduced to an extended half-moon spot; subapical suture and apical margin more or less infuscate ( Fig. 20 ). Head, pronotum and ventral side of body with elongate and dense, argentate setae; elytral setation short, recumbent, argentate, that of tibiae and tarsi shorter; setae at apex of elytra dark. Maximal body length: 10.6 mm.

Head capsule transverse, with the maximum width at the level of eye; punctures scarcely deep, fine, small and relatively dense, intermediate surface unpuncturate, shiny, particularly on the middle of frons where punctures are more scarce; frons convex, anteriorly slightly bulged; temples very short, less than 1/3 the longitudinal length of the eye; eye globose, laterally extended on the entire gena, with the antero-dorsal margin only slightly sinuate. Clypeus and labrum with punctures similar to those of head, evidently narrower than the interocular width, slightly rounded on sides, convex, positioned almost on the same level of frons, frontoclypeal suture well visible; labrum slightly shorter and narrower than clypeus, the fore margin almost straight. Maxillary palpomeres subcylindrical and stout, IV flattened and slightly enlarged anteriorly, with black setae on the external side of the apex of each palpomere (except IV), particularly on III; labial palpi with long and dense setae, particularly on the penultimate palpomere. Mandibles short and evidently curved. Antennae with 9 visible antennomeres: antennomere I subequal in length to II–III together; II subglobose; III–VI slender and subcylindrical, III 1.5 as long as IV; IV–VI similar in length, cylindrical, progressively increasing in width; VII–VIII trapezoidal, evidently wider than VI, VIII wider than VII, IX as long as V–VIII together, deriving by the fusion of three antennomeres (IX–XI), as evidenced by the vanished suture visible on ventral side, beanshaped, on the anterior third conical but apically stout.

Pronotum elongate, slightly longer than wide and slightly narrower than head, scarcely sinuate on sides before the middle and then slightly narrowing anteriad; anterior third slightly depressed; a narrow middle longitudinal depression extended in the middle, base depressed just in front of mesonotum; puncturation similar to that on head, but wider, more scattered posteriad. Elytra parallel, dorsally convex, subopaque with dense but superficial, punctures, wider than on pronotum; elytral pattern as in Fig. 20 . Mesosternum of the Mesoscutatus - type ( Fig. 21 ); fore margins of mesepisterna well defined, narrow, evidently depressed, at the same level of the sclerite; fore portion of mesosternum modified to form a short and small “scutum”. Legs slender, both tibial spurs on all legs slender, those of metatibiae rounded at apex.

Protarsi with elongate black setae on external side, emerging from the basal setation; protibiae with external apex not evidently protruded.

Etymology. The name of this new species refers to its similarity with H. nigriplantis , which caused a misinterpretation on the first examination of the specimens.

Relationships. Relationships of this species are not clear, and it is not referred to any defined group, also because the Mesoscutatus- lineage is very speciose and scarcely studied.

The new species is characterized by the reduction of the antennomeres, one condition evolved separately in several Afrotropical, North African and Middle East species. It is phenetically similar to H. nigriplantis (Klug) , which belongs to a Palaeotropical H. pallipes (Olivier, 1811) group, discussed above, but it is easily distinguishable because of the tibial and antennal colouration and the fusion of the last antennomeres, which form a slender clava. Also the shape of the metatibial external spur, stick-like and not spatulate, as well as the shape of mandibles not so slender, distinguish H. fraudulentus from H. nigriplantis . The new species also differs from H. fimbriatus (Marseul, 1870) , previously discussed, which has a similar elytral pattern, at least because of the mesosternum with modified fore portion and the antennomeres reduction and shape.

Figures

FIGURES 16–21. Hycleus dunalis n. sp. (16–17) 16. right elytron; 17. mesosternal sclerites. Hycleus pseudobrunnipes (Kaszab) (18–19) 18. mesosternal sclerites; 19. male genitalia, lateral view. Hycleus fraudulentus n.sp. (20–21). 20. right elytron; 21. mesosternal sclerites. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.