Microdera uzbekistanica N. Bekchanov et Nabozhenko 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bekchanov, Norbek Kh.
name: Nabozhenko, Maxim V.
name: Bekchanov, Khudaybergan U.
name: Bekchanova, Mokhira Kh.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Tenebrionidae
Microdera
Microdera uzbekistanica

description: Microdera uzbekistanica N. Bekchanov et Nabozhenko, sp. nov.
(Figs 19, 20)
Type material (ZIN). Holotype, ♂: «АЯкгужумдЫ Кульджуктау Г. Медведев 1.IV.966» (Uzbekistan, Bukhara / Navoi regions, Kuldzhuktau Mts, Ayakguzhumdy, 40°45ʹ1ʺN / 63°45ʹ45ʺE, 1.iv.1966, leg. G.S. Medvedev). Paratypes. 20 specimens (unsexed): the same locality and collector, dates from 1 to 5.iii.1966; 4 specimens: Navoi / Bukhara regions, Kuldzhuktau, Mts., 15.03.1961 (leg. B. Mamaev); 4 specimens: the same locality and collector, but 17.03.1961; 1 specimen: the same locality, 12.v.1966 (leg. Pastukhov); 1♂, 2 specimens (unsexed): Navoi Region, Kudzhuktau Mts, Sultanbibi draw-well, 24.iii.1961 (leg. B. Mamaev, collection of N. Skopin); Bukhara Region, Zhamansay natural boundary, 140 km NW Shafirkan (20–25 km NE Ayakguzhumdy), 27.x.1969 (leg. M. Falkovitsh).
Description. Male. Body moderately slender, convex, opaque, black or dark-brown, legs brown to black. Measurements: PH w —1.38, P 1 P w —1.13, E l E w —1.5–1.52, EH w —1.8–1.83, EP w —1.34–1.36, EP l —2.24–2.25. Body length 7.5–10 mm, width 2.5 mm
Head (Fig. 19D) dorsally widest at eye level, where 1.03 times as wide as at genal level and 1.35 times as wide as interocular space. Eyes comparatively large (in length dorsally), moderately convex. Temple not protruding and not forms angle with posterior edge of eye (lateral edge of head not angular at level of temple and eye), visual area of eye lateral. Supraorbital keels slightly sinuous, long. Prong of anterior margin of epistome slightly asymmetric and slightly projected, apex narrowly rounded; margins of epistome on sides of prong emarginated (left weak, right stronger) (Fig. 20A). Head with regular fine and sparse puncturation of round punctures, interpuncture space 1.5–2 times as long as puncture diameter. Puncturation of head ventrally very sparse and very fine, epicranium at middle almost without punctures. Antennae moderately long, reaching base of pronotum.Antennomere 3 longest, 1.7 times as long as 2nd antennomere and 1.5 times as long as 4th antennomere; antennomeres 1 and 9 widest (1.2 times as long as wide for the latter). Five proximal antennomeres coarser and denser punctured that rest.
Prothorax (Fig. 19D–F). Pronotum slightly transverse, widest slightly ahead of middle. Anterior margin almost straight, lateral margins slightly rounded in basal half and strongly rounded in apical half. Base strongly evenly rounded. Anterior margin with widely interrupted in middle sulcus, lateral margins finally margined, base widely margined. Antero-lateral corners widely rounded; postero-lateral corners obtuse. Disc of pronotum strongly convex, flattened along base in middle (Fig. 19 A–B), so disc outline in lateral view emarginate in the basal portion (Fig. 19F). Puncturation of disc fine and sparse, often finer and sparser than on head; puncturation in basal portion coarser than on other surface. Prosternum very finely and sparsely punctured, smoothly wrinkled on sides. Prothoracic hypomera sparsely punctured only near procoxae, other surface without punctures, only with very small and short setae (Fig. 19E). Prosternal process declivious rounded.
Pterothorax (Fig. 19A–C). Elytra oval, not elongated apically. Surface of elytra slightly shiny in middle and opaque at apex and on lateral sides. Puncturation very fine and sparse (finer and sparser than on pronotum), disappearing apically. Anterior half of mesoventrite with transverse bracket-like foveae on sides and transverse oval punctures in middle; posterior half with thin long transverse grooves; intercoxal process of mesoventrite convex (evenly rounded in lateral view), widely longitudinally depressed in middle, finely and sparsely punctured, sides wrinkled. Mesepisterna, mesepimera and metepisterna sparsely and finely punctured; metepimera not punctured. Metaventrite with sparse rasp-like larger punctures along mesocoxal cavities and very sparse and almost invisible punctures on rest surface.
Abdomen (Fig. 19C, 20B, C). Abdominal ventrites very sparsely and finely punctured. Intercoxal process of abdominal ventrite 1 not bordered at the apex. Abdominal ventrite 5 with rectangular emargination at apex, without small but distinct vertical plate in middle; this plate with small emargination in middle. Male aedeagus (Fig. 20D–F) almost the same as in M. abdullohi sp. nov. and M. minax, with bisinuate lateral margins; basal piece 1.13 times as short as apical piece, widest at basal third. Spiculum gastrale with slightly oval blades, without lateral processes (Fig. 20G).
Legs moderately long. Femora setated with short setae, additionally with sparse and short reddish spines. Metatibiae straight, opaque on extensor side, with very coarse and dense merged puncturation, look rough (Fig. 19G).
Female usually with slightly more robust body and slightly wider pronotum (Fig. 19B). Body length 8–10.5 mm, width 2.7–4 mm. Small males and females are almost indistinguishable.
Etymology. The name is derived from the country Uzbekistan.
Comparative diagnosis. The new species is externally very similar to M. convexa by the body shape, the opaque elytra with disappearing puncturation apically and laterally and coarsely rough metatibiae on the extensor side but differs from the latter in the very fine and sparse puncturation of the head and pronotum, the non-punctured prohypomera and presence of the vertical plate at rectangularly emarginated apex of the abdominal ventrite 5 (Fig. 20C). The new species differs from all known Microdera spp. by the flattened pronotal base in middle (the outline of the disc appears as emarginated basally in lateral view) (Fig. 19A, B, F).
description: Published as part of Bekchanov, Norbek Kh., Nabozhenko, Maxim V., Bekchanov, Khudaybergan U. & Bekchanova, Mokhira Kh., 2025, A review of the genus Microdera Eschscholtz, 1831 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of Uzbekistan, pp. 451-480 in Zootaxa 5590 (4) on pages 475-476, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5590.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14953401