Eleodes (Eleodes) obscurus (Say, 1823)

Johnston, M. Andrew, Fleming, David, Franz, Nico M. & Smith, Aaron D., 2015, Amphidorini Leconte (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of Arizona: Keys and Species Accounts, The Coleopterists Bulletin (mo 14) 69, pp. 27-54 : 48-49

Eleodes (Eleodes) obscurus (Say, 1823)

( Fig. 12C–D )

Eleodes obscurus dispersus LeConte, 1858 ( Fig. 12D ) Eleodes obscurus sulcipennis Mannerheim, 1843

( Fig. 12C )

Diagnosis. Body elongate, large (> 25 mm). Pronotum strongly arcuate laterally, narrowing posteriorly, anterior angles slightly produced, rounded. Prosternum extending posteriorly of procoxae, without distinct process. Profemora spined in males, unspined in females, probasitarsis thickened beneath, with bulbous lobe projecting anteriorly from plantar surface. Elytra parallel-sided to slightly inflated posteriorly in females, noticeably sculptured with either muricate to bluntly tuberclate or with deeply sulcate striae.

Distribution. Coconino, Navajo, Apache, Yavapai, Gila, Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise Counties, Arizona. Broadly distributed from Texas north to New Brunswick, Canada, west to British Columbia, Canada, and south to Durango, Mexico.

Remarks. This large species is easily recognizable by its size and gestalt, though there are two subspecies present in the state with quite different elytral sculpturing. Eleodes obscurus dispersus can be found in northeastern Arizona and has the elytra muricate to bluntly tuberculate. Eleodes obscurus sulcipennis is broadly distributed in Arizona and can be separated by its sulcate elytra.

Figures

Fig. 12. Eleodes species, dorsal habitus. A) E. dissimilis, female, B) E. nigrinus, male, C) E. obscurus sulcipennis, female, D) E. obscurus dispersus, male. Scale bars = 1 cm.