Apalochrus notatus (Zoubkoff, 1833)

Tshernyshev, Sergei E., 2015, A review of species of the genus Apalochrus Erichson (Coleoptera, Malachiidae), Zootaxa 3941 (3), pp. 358-374 : 370-372

Apalochrus notatus (Zoubkoff, 1833)

( Fig. 9–10 , 34–37, 38 (square))

Malachius notatus Zoubkoff, 1833: 349 , type locality: “côte orientale de la mer Caspienne”—East coast of Caspian sea: Russia: Astrachanskaya Oblast’, Dagestan; Kazakhstan: Atyrau Oblast’.

Paratinus notatus: Abeille de Perrin, 1891: 214, 224–225.

Apalochrus notatus: Evers, 1968: 124 .

Paratinus notatus: Evers, 1987: 59 , 61.

Apalochrus notatus: Mayor, 2003: 90 ; 2007: 416.

= Apalochrus notaticollis Solsky, 1882: 38 ; synonymized by Abeille de Perrin, 1891: 224.

= Apalochrus notatus mongolicus Evers, 1968: 124 , syn. n.

Description. Male. Head black without metallic lustre; a thin external margin of clypeus, palpi, 1st–5th antennomeres, tibiae (except the black apices of posterior tibiae), tarsi and bases of trochanters yellow. Pronotum orange-yellow with a usually narrow black spot widened anteriorly and not reaching basal fifth (but sometimes the spot can be considerably extended, leaving only thin yellow margins on pronotal sides and near anterior angles). Elytra black with green-blue metallic lustre. Scutellum black with the same metallic lustre as elytra, femora dark brown, lacking metallic lustre. Ventral side of thorax, coxae and abdomen black; wide borders of sternites, middle of prosternum and vesicles yellow, thoracic mesepimera dark-brown.

Head slightly narrower than pronotum, not elongate, slightly impressed before clypeus, with raised margins near antennal insertion, a thin longitudinal carina in middle; surface evenly covered with thin, short, semi-erect and light brown pubescence, with a row of long, black, erect setae on the temples behind the eyes; surface sparsely and finely punctate, no visible microsculpture, bright; labrum transverse, covered with long, white and semi-erect setae; genae short and straight; eyes slightly protruding, round. Maxillary palpi short, 1st segment large, triangular, 1.5 times shorter than 3rd, 2nd small, transverse, 2.5 times shorter than 3rd, apical segment wide, securiform, truncate at apex; its surface dull, covered with short, pale, semi-erect pubescence and several long and erect setae. Antennae long, reaching basal fifth of elytra; 2nd segment very small, rounded, almost completely hidden by scape, 1st and 3rd antennomeres cylindrical, longer than the followings, 3rd just a little shorter (than?) scape, 4th–6th rectangular, 4th 1.5 times shorter than previous and longer than subsequent, 5th–6th 1.2 times shorter than 4th, 7th–10th subtriangular, apical segment almost oval shaped, with evenly rounded apex. All segments covered with thin, pale, very short, sparse and semi-erect pubescence.

Pronotum transverse, slightly sinuate before the middle, anterior margin slightly arcuate, posterior straight, all angles rounded: anterior angles almost right, disc of the pronotum slightly depressed at basal fifth; discal surface smooth, bright, sparsely punctate (lacking microsculpture); pronotum on sides and near hind angles densely punctured, with distinct microsculpture; surface covered with double pubescence: uniform, pale, short and depressed plus a row of sparse, long, black and erect setae along anterior margin and near anterior angles.

Scutellum transverse-rectangular, small, almost completely hidden by pronotum, with straight anterior side; surface dull, densely punctate and microsculptured, covered with thin, brown and depressed pubescence.

Elytra parallel, narrow, only slightly widened posteriorly; shoulders distinct; apices evenly rounded, simple (lacking impressions or appendages); surface dull, densely punctured basally and shagreened elsewhere, evenly covered with fine, short, pale and depressed pubescence and sparsely fitted with erect, dark and long setae.

Legs not long, thin, posterior femora reaching the apical forth of elytra, covered with very short, light, depressed pubescence and with long, sparse, black-brown setae. Tibiae thin, evenly expanded posteriorly, rounded. All tarsi narrow; claw segment depressed dorsally, larger than all previous ones, as long as 1st and 2nd together, and just longer than 3rd and 4th together. Claws narrow, slightly curved, sharp, with a small, smooth, nearly indistinct tooth basally.

Apical sternite ( Fig. 35 ) transverse, divided in two lobes, emarginated apically and with a cluster of black, strong bristles; yellow, with brown apical-lateral parts; apical tergite ( Fig. 34 ) approximately semicircle to rectangular shaped, transverse, 1.6 times longer than wide, evenly roundly emarginated on anterior side, covered with sparse, black, long bristles and a row of short setae on anterior margin; yellow with brown apical-lateral parts. Median lobe ( Figs. 37 ) simple, almost completely straight with thin, stretched and very ventrally curved apex; massive rounded and sinuate lamella; internal sac distinct, showing a number of small denticles. Tegmen wide, enlarged on sides, 1.2 times longer than wide, moderately emarginated apically, with very short thin appendages ( Fig. 36 ).

Length (male) 5.2–5.4 mm, width (at elytral base) 1.4 mm.

Female. Similar to male but: antennae narrower and 1.3 times shorter;palpi narrower; elytra more strongly widened behind the middle; abdomen expanding behind elytral tips; tarsal claw segment shorter.

Length (female) 5.2–5.6 mm, width (at elytral base) 1.5–1.6 mm.

Material. Mongolia: Uvurkhangai Aimak: near East bank of Tatsyn-Tsagan-Nur Lake, 45°84N, 101°30’E, 4.VIII.1969, I. Kerzhner—1 ♀ ( ZIN); Khovd Aimak: Bulgan-Gol River valley, 45 km N somon Bulgan, h~ 1300m, 46°30’N, 91°20’E, 12.VII.2007, E.V. Guskova, R.V. Yakovlev leg.—1 ♀ (SCH); 50 km SSW Uench, Utien-Mod mountain, 46°33’N, 92°20’E, 27.VI.1980, G.S. Medvedev leg.— 1 ♂ ( ZIN); Gobi-Altai Aimak: Haichi-Bulak spring, 60 km SE somon Bugat, 45°33’N, 94°21’E, 19.VII.1970, I.M. Kerzhner leg.—1 ♀ ( ZIN); Bayan-Khongor Aimak: 20 km S somon Shine-Dzhinst, 44°20’N, 99°20’E, 3.VIII.1982, A.G. Kireitshuk leg.—1 ♀ (SCH); Kazakhstan: Vostochno-Kazakhstanskaya oblast’: Prizaisanie, 20 km NE Karatal, Bozaigyrkumy sands, 47°46’N, 85°21’E; 12–13.VI.1997, R.Yu. Dudko, V.K. Zinchenko leg.— 1 ♂ (SCH); idem, 14.VI.1997 — 1 ♂ (SCH).

Distribution. Kazakhstan, Mongolia.

Notes. Evers described his subspecies mongolicus mainly based on differences in pronotal color: orangeyellow with a narrow black spot: anteriorly widened and not reaching the basal fifth ( Fig. 9 ); in the nominotypical subspecies the spot is larger, expanded to the pronotal base and close to lateral sides, so only leaving a thin yellow margin on both sides and near anterior angles ( Fig. 10 ). In this species, pronotum colour is rather variable and, apparently, is not linked to localities. Males of both forms, mingled, have been indeed observed at one locality, Prizaisanie (in Kazakhstan); for this reason the synonymy of Apalochrus notatus ssp. mongolicus Evers with Apalochrus notatus ssp. notatus (Zoubkoff) is here proposed. However, if desired, the name mongolicus might be kept with infrasubspecific value (as a morpha), to designate the chromatic variation described above.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 10. Habiti of Apalochrus Er. species. A. femoralis femoralis (Erichson, 1840), male, dorsal (1), ventral (2); A. femoralis pallipes Motschulsky, 1860 stat. nov., male, dorsal (3), ventral (4); A. turkestanicus (Pic, 1907), female (5); A. flavicollis (Schaufuss, 1870), male (6); A. notatithorax (Pic, 1936), male (7); A. fulvicollis (Gebler, 1845), male (8); A. notatus (Zoubkoff, 1833), male (9, 10); A. notatus (pronotal colour as in morpha mongolicus), male (10). Scale bar 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 30 – 38. Apalochrus notatithorax (Pic, 1936), male, (30 – 33, 38 (circle )), and A. notatus (Zoubkoff, 1833), male (34 – 37, 38 (square )); apical tergite (30, 34); apical sternite (31, 35); median lobe, dorsal (33) and lateral (37); tegmen (32, 26); distribution map (38). Scale bar 1.0 mm.