Graphipterus peletieri Laporte de Castelnau, 1840: 58, stat. rest.

Renan, Ittai, Assmann, Thorsten & Freidberg, Amnon, 2018, Taxonomic revision of the Graphipterusserrator (Forskal) group (Coleoptera, Carabidae): an increase from five to 15 valid species, ZooKeys 753, pp. 23-82 : 47

Graphipterus peletieri Laporte de Castelnau, 1840: 58, stat. rest. Figs 3e, 9i, 17, 24b

Graphipterus lepeletieri Alluaud, 1926: 17 (Tissaf)

Graphipterus discipennis Chevrolat [Unpublished name]

Types.

Holotype: ♂ (Blue label, black handwritten): <Pletieri. Chevrolat./Oran. D.S Fargeau>. (White label, black typewritten): <P. Bedel/Visit 1905>. (White label with brown margin, brown typewritten): <EX Musaeo/Chaudoir>. (Red label, black typewritten): <TYPE>. Deposited in NHMB, Chaudoir collection [examined].

Diagnosis.

Predominantly dark, medium-sized species with 18-24 small, mostly rounded white spots on elytra, four usually short marginal extensions. Median lobe of aedeagus with ventral, short, unbent tip.

Comparisons.

Graphipterus peletieri resembles G. luctuosus (see comparisons in G. luctuosus ).

Description.

BL male: 13.9-14.8 mm, average 14.3 ± 0.4 mm; BL female: 11.5-16.1 mm, average 13.6 ± 1.8 mm.

Head medium; HW/PW: 0.76; EYL: 1-1.5 mm; EYL/EL: 0.17. Mentum with usually three teeth (Fig. 3d). Frontal ridge absent. In male, apical white frons stripes slenderer than exposed frons (cf. Fig. 4a).

Pronotum strongly cordiform, PL/PW: 0.63; BPW/PW: 0.6; posteromedially concave and without white margin; white lateral margin as wide as antennomere I long.

Elytra oval, humeri rounded; EL: 7.4-9.1 mm, average 8; EW: 5.7-7.9 mm, average 7.0 mm; EL/EW: 1.15. Elytra with brown scales, disc of elytra visible between scales (cf. Fig. 6b). White lateral margin wide as half antennomere I long and with four extensions; extensions often constricted; extension I elongated, shorter than extension II; sutural gap of white posterior margin wider than lateral margin. Disc usually with 18-24 mostly rounded spots; anterior pair of spots slightly elongate, as wide as extension I, lateral spots rounded, adjacent or sometimes fused to extension II, posterior pair of spots rounded, slightly larger than others, located toward suture. Lateral cross section quite flat. Apical sinuation developed, apex slightly protruded, strongly rounded (cf. Fig. 7b). Suture inconspicuous.

Legs long; MTIL: 3.8-5.3 mm, average 4.8 mm; El/MTIL: 1.7. Metatibial secondary spur brown. MTAL: 2.8-4.0 mm, average 3.5 mm; MTAL/MTIL: 0.7 (all other species of the G. serrator group El/MTIL: 0.8). Claws of hind legs brown at base.

Median lobe of aedeagus with ventrally short, not bent tip (Fig. 9i).

Habitat.

Unknown.

Co-occurring species.

Graphipterus peletieri lives in sympatry with five other species in north-west Algeria: G. luctuosus , G. rotundatus , G. valdanii , G. stagonopsis sp. n., and G. piniamitaii sp. n.

Distribution.

North-west Algeria and north Morocco (Fig. 17).

Conservation.

The species does not seem to be threatened as it has a wide distribution range that appears to be mostly not strongly affected by human activities.

Comments.

Alluaud (1926) initially erroneously named this species Graphopterus lepeletieri and since then this spelling has commonly been used by many authors (e.g., Basilewsky 1977). Graphipterus luctuosus was ranked as a subspecies of G. peletieri by Basilewsky (1977), but as a “good” species by Lorenz (2005) and Huber and Marggi (2017).