Microhoria depressa (LaFerté-Sénectère, 1849) Kejval & Chandler, 2020

Kejval, Zbyněk & Chandler, Donald S., 2020, Generic revision of the Microhoriini with new species and synonymies from the Palaearctic Region (Coleoptera: Anthicidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 60 (1), pp. 95-154 : 133

Microhoria depressa (LaFerté-Sénectère, 1849) comb. nov.

( Figs 96 , 162 )

Anthicus depressus LaFerté-Sénectère, 1849b: 156.

Anthicus depressus: LAFERTÉ- SÉNECTÈRE (1849c): 255 (repeated description); PIC (1911b): 43 (catalogue); WINKLER (1927): 845 (catalogue). Tenuicollis depressus: CHANDLER et al. (2008): 448 (catalogue, distribution); TELNOV & GHAHARI (2018): 484 (note).

Anthicus mollis Desbrochers des Loges, 1875: 46 , syn. nov.

Anthicus mollis : PIC (1911b): 61 (catalogue).

Anthicus (Immicrohoria) mollis : WINKLER (1927): 849 (catalogue).

Microhoria mollis : CHANDLER et al. (2008): 441 (catalogue, distribution); TELNOV & GHAHARI (2018): 483 (note); TELNOV (2018a): 271 (record Russia).

Type locality. Anthicus depressus – Caucasus Mountains (‘Caucasus’);

A. mollis – Southern Russia (‘ Russie mérid.’).

Type material. Anthicus depressus – LECTOTYPE (herewith designated):, ‘Depressus mihi Caucasus. [h; pinned separately]’ ( MNHN).

Anthicus mollis – SYNTYPES (see Remarks): 1 ♀, ‘Sarepta [h] // TYPE [p; red label]’; 1 ♀, ‘Sarepta Desbr [h] // TYPE [p; red label]’ (both NHMW). Additional material. ARMENIA: 8 6 ♀♀, Kotayk prov., 4 km S of Hatsavan, 23.vi.2004, Putckhov lgt. ( ADBC, ZKDC); 1 ♀, Yerevan, 17.vi.–4.vii.1988, O. Hovorka lgt. ( ZKDC). AZERBAIJAN: 1 2 ♀♀, 90 km N of Baku, Zarat env., 15.vi.1983, V. Kubáň lgt. ( ZKDC); 1, Georgia, Tbilisi, Lisie Lake, vi.1957, Dlabola lgt. ( NMPC). RUSSIA: 1, Volgograd [‘Sarepta’ no date], Becker lgt. ( NHMW).

Diagnosis. Microhoria terminata species-group; small, brownish, subparallel species. Male sternum VII simple; sternum VIII forming paired subtriangular sclerites that are evenly rounded and setose apically; tergum VII and VIII simple; aedeagus ( Fig. 96 ). Female sternum VII simple; tergum VII with deep apical notch ( Fig. 162 ).

Variation. Body length (♀) 2.3–2.7 mm.

Distribution. Azerbaijan, Armenia (new record), Georgia (new record), Southern Russia, Iran.

Remarks. LAFERTÉ- SÉNECTÈRE (1849b) described Anthicus depressus from two specimens provided by M. de Chaudoir. There is a single syntype deposited in his collection (MNHN), as is indicated by the handwritten inventory on the inner side of the respective box, and is selected as the Lectotype. Jules Desbrochers des Loges was an insect dealer whose Coleoptera collection is scattered ( HORN et al. 1990), and type specimens of his Anthicidae species are difficult to recognize. He described Anthicus mollis from an unstated number of specimens collected by Alexander Becker in southern Russia ( DESBROCHERS DES LOGES 1875). The two syntypes examined appear to be newly labelled; at least their ‘TYPE’ labels are not original, being identical to those used by H. von Krekich-Strassoldo. For these reasons, we refrained from designation of a lectotype. Neverthless, the specimens originate from southern Russia and agree with the original description in the following important characters: head and pronotum distinctly punctate, head widely rounded to subtruncate posteriorly, elytra flattened, their lateral margins straight and apices subtruncate, and female tergum VII deeply notched apically (‘pygidium sillonné longitudinalement’). These are, moreover, distinguishing characters of M. mollis that are useful for separation from the externally similar M. caspia; the latter was described from material collected by A. Becker at the locality ‘Sarepta’ (= presently Krasnoarmeyskiy Rayon (district) of Volgograd) in the same region, and it is a well-known species, being represented by numerous topotypic specimens in MNHN (coll. Pic) and NHMW.

The examined specimens of Anthicus mollis were found to be identical with those of A. depressus, and consequently these species names are newly treated as synonyms.

Figures

Figs 96–99. 96–98 – Aedeagus: 96 – M. depressa (LaFerté-Sénectère, 1849), Azerbaijan, Zarat (ZKDC), lateral view; 97 – M. edmondi (Pic, 1893), syntype, lateral view; 98 – M. fergana sp. nov., lateral view. 99 – M. fergana sp. nov., male abdominal segment VIII in ventral view. Scale bars:A – (Fig. 99), B (Figs 96, 97), C (Fig. 98).

Figs 151–163. 151–155 – Habitus: 151 – Microhoria bacillisternum sp. nov.; 152 – M. garavuti sp. nov.; 153 – M. gibbipennis sp. nov.; 154 – M. heracleana sp. nov., paratype, Stomio (ZKDC); 155 – M. truncatipennis (Pic, 1897) comb. nov. 156–161 – pronotum and base of head and elytra: 156 – M. angelinii (Degiovanni, 2012) comb. nov.; 157 – M. persica sp. nov., paratype (ZKDC); 158 – M. gibbipennis sp. nov.; 159 – M. truncatipennis; 160 – M. vosseleri (Pic, 1894); 161 – Microhoria sp., Spain, Jarama River env., near Madrid (ZFMK). 162 – M. depressa (LaFerté-Sénectère, 1849), Azerbaijan, Zarat (ZKDC), apex of female tergum VII; 163 – M. gibbipennis sp. nov., apex of female tergum VII.