Dima orientalis Mertlik, Németh & Kundrata, 2017, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Mertlik, Josef
name: Németh, Tamás
name: Kundrata, Robin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Elateridae
Dima
Dima orientalis

description: Dima orientalis sp. nov.
Figs 77–79, 148, 203, 235, 244.
Type material. Holotype: BULGARIA: distr. Petrich, Belasitsa Mts., Leshniska river, beechwood, 1060 m (41°21'0.64"N, 23°10'45.92"E), 6.VI.2013, ♂, J. Mertlik leg. (PCJM). Paratypes: BULGARIA: the same data as for holotype; 6 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ (PCJM); dtto, 2 ♂♂ (PCRK); dtto, 10 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, V. Dušánek leg. (PCVD); dtto, 7 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, P. Brůha leg. (PCPB); distr. Petrich, Belasica Mts., 7 km SW Petrich, beechwood, 7.VI.2006, 1 ♂, 1 ♀, J. Mertlik leg. (PCJM); distr. Petrich, Belasica Mts., Belasica Chalet env., 6.–8. V.2009, 1 ♂, T. Kopecký leg. (PCTK); distr. Petrich, Belasitsa Mts., chestnut project, plot No. 4, 600 m, N 41.36560567, E 23.20410224, soil traps, 27.III.–7. V.2010, 1 ♂, B. Guéorguiev & C. Deltshev leg. (PCJM).
Diagnosis. This species is like D. lebenbaueri and D. kozufensis sp. nov. in the body shape and coloration, and in the shape of antennae. Dima orientalis sp. nov. differs from the above mentioned species in having pubescence of the pronotal sides almost decumbent, with longer semi-erect hairs only at hind angles, and scutellum subpentagonal (Fig. 148). Dima lebenbaueri has long semi-erect to erect setae at the pronotal sides and the scutellum distinctly wider (Figs 139–140). Dima kozufensis sp. nov. has longer semi-erect pubescence at the posterior third of the pronotal sides and a basally emarginate and more coarsely punctate scutellum (Fig. 138). Dima bruhai sp. nov. is more matt, has shorter antennomeres II and III, a wider scutellum, semi-erect pubescence at pronotal sides, much denser and longer pubescence of elytra, and longer apical lobe of paramera (Figs 10–13, 121, 178). Dima schimmeli, which occurs near to D. orientalis sp. nov. (Fig. 244), differs in having long, straight, dense, semi-erect pubescence on pronotum and elytra (Fig. 156).
Description. Holotype, male. Body medium-sized, 12.0 mm long, 4.8 mm wide, moderately shiny. Body brown, with paler, reddish-brown legs, antennae and elytral sutura and margins, elytral apices slightly paler; pubescence yellowish (Fig. 77).
Head including eyes 0.5 times as wide as pronotum, frons shallowly depressed in the middle; punctation dense and coarse, intervals between punctures shiny; pubescence on head semi-erect, more erect in anterior part of frons, directed forwards. Supraantennal carina weakly defined, short. Antennae moderately long, surpassing the posterior angles of pronotum of about three segments; antennomeres II and III short, more than 1.5 times longer than wide, antennomere II slightly longer than antennomere III, together about 1.4 times longer than antennomere IV, length ratio of antennomeres II–IV 1.1: 1.0: 1.6, antennomeres IV to X gradually widened apically, less than 2 times longer than wide, apical antennomere longest, subacute apically; surface of antennomeres covered with moderately long, semi-erect setae.
Pronotum 1.4 times wider than long, widest just behind middle, moderately convex dorsally; sides convex, gradually narrowed towards anterior margin, more steeply narrowed towards posterior margin; straight in lateral view; anterior angles obtuse; posterior angles prominent, sharp, slightly produced outward; punctation sparse, coarse, moderately deep, punctures denser and coarser towards anterior margin and sparser and finer towards posterior margin; of about the same size; intervals between punctures flattened, moderately shiny. Pubescence on pronotal disc short, decumbent; that on pronotal sides decumbent at anterior two thirds and semi-erect at posterior third, long semi-erect to erect setae at posterior angles (Fig. 148). Prosternum finely, sparsely punctate, with short decumbent to semi-erect setae; prosternal lobe coarsely punctate, with long, dense semi-erect pubescence.
Scutellum sub-pentagonal, sides subparallel-sided, flattened, in lateral view in the plane of elytra; frontal margin rounded, gradually declined; apex narrowed, rounded, punctation fine, sparse; pubescence sparse, fine, moderately long, decumbent. Elytra slightly elongate, sub-parallel, 3.3 times longer than pronotum, moderately convex, widest behind middle; striae well developed along the whole elytral length; surface of interstices flattened, shiny, moderately densely and finely punctate; punctures suboval, equally distributed, of the same size; pubescence sparse, short.
Aedeagus elongate; paramera long, narrow, its apical lobe short, subapical tooth moderately long, subacute (Fig. 203).
Female (Figs 78–79). Like male, but darker, blackish-brown, suboval (elytra less then 3.2 times longer than pronotum), with shorter antennae (surpassing the posterior angles of pronotum about two segments), distinctly wider pronotum (1.5 times wider than long), widest at middle, with sides evenly convex, scutellum wider, with posterior margin widely rounded. The sclerotized spines of bursa copulatrix as in Fig. 235.
Intraspecific variability. Body length: 11.5–13.4 mm. One male specimen is paler, chestnut brown, with habitus resembling female specimens in e.g. suboval body shape, wider pronotum with evenly convex sides, and wider scutellum.
Distribution. Bulgaria (Belasica Mts.; Fig. 244).
Etymology. The species name " orientalis " refers to the distribution of this species (eastern part of the Balkan Dima distribution; Fig. 244).
Remark. There are two female specimens of Dima sp. collected near Stavroupoli in Xanthi district, Greece, with the following data: " Greece: distr. Xanthi, road Stavroupoli–Xanthi, ca. 10 km E Stavroupoli, 360 m (41°12'27.45"N, 24°47'44.43"E), 25.IV.2007, broadleaved forest, stream, Jan Schneider leg." (PCBZ) (Fig. 80). These specimens represent the easternmost European Dima records except D. elateroides (Fig. 244) and display a mixture of characters present in D. orientalis sp. nov. and D. bruhai sp. nov. (Figs 10–13, 77–79). They share with D. orientalis sp. nov. the sparse, short, decumbent pubescence of elytra (denser and longer in D. bruhai sp. nov.), shape of sides of pronotum (more evenly rounded in females of D. bruhai sp. nov., Fig. 11), shape of scutellum (distinctly wider in D. bruhai sp. nov.; Figs 10–13), and shape and size of the antennomeres II and III, which are subequal and more elongate (antennomere III apparently shorter than antennomere II in D. bruhai sp. nov.). The punctation of the pronotum is within the limits of intraspecific variability for both species, but it is denser and coarser than in most specimens of D. orientalis sp. nov. The surface of the pronotum and elytra is more matt than in D. orientalis sp. nov., similar as in D. bruhai sp. nov. (Figs 10–13, 77–80). The anterior part of the head is rather coarsely punctate and rugose, which is similar as in D. bruhai sp. nov. The sclerotized spines of bursa copulatrix are relatively longer and thinner in D. orientalis sp. nov. than in the Dima sp. from Xanthi and D. bruhai sp. nov. (Figs 223, 235–236). These specimens were collected at the river bank in the low elevation area. Similarly, D. orientalis can also be found in wet places near rivers in the gorges of Belasica Mts. The specimens from Xanthi are probably closely related to D. orientalis sp. nov. but more material of both sexes is needed for any reliable taxonomic conclusions.
description: Published as part of Mertlik, Josef, Németh, Tamás & Kundrata, Robin, 2017, Revision of the flightless click-beetle genus Dima Charpentier, 1825 (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Dimini) in the Balkan Peninsula, pp. 1-63 in Zootaxa 4220 (1) on pages 24-26, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4220.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4670787