Pholioxenus phoenix
Creators: name: Lackner, Tomáš
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Histeridae
Pholioxenus
Pholioxenus phoenix

description: Pholioxenus phoenix (Reichardt, 1930)
(Figs. 26, 66, 100, 131, 577–592)
Hypocacculus phoenix Reichardt, 1930: 291.
Pholioxenus phoenix: REICHARDT (1932): 28, 95, t. III, Fig. 29 (partim); REICHARDT (1941): 276, 277; KRYZHANOVSKIJ & REICHARDT (1976): 197, 198, Figs. 396, 397; MAZUR (1984): 82; MAZUR (1997): 248; MAZUR (2004): 96.
Type locality. Kazakhstan, Dzhulek.
Material examined. KAZAKHSTAN: Akzher, Jambol, 10.v.1979, 3 spec., A. Olexa lgt. UZBEKISTAN: Khiva, Karakum, 1.v.1980, 1 ♀, A. Olexa lgt.; Buchara, Shafrikan, 29.iv.1980, 1 ♀, A. Olexa lgt.; Buchara, Kyzylkum, 27.iv.1980, 1 ♁, A. Olexa lgt. (TLAN).
Redescription. Body length: PEL: 2.15–2.50 mm; APW: 0.675 –0.875 mm; PPW: 1.65–1.90 mm; EL: 1.375 –1.625 mm; EW: 1.75–2.15 mm.
Body (Figs. 577–578) shortly oval, moderately convex; cuticle shining, castaneous brown with greenish hue; elytra often somewhat translucent; ventral surface slightly lighter-colored with hazy metallic luster; legs, antennae and mouthparts rufopiceous.
Antennal scape (Fig. 581) not particularly dilated; with two short setae; club (Fig. 579) without visible articulation, apical two-thirds with thick short yellow sensilla intermingled with sparse erect longer sensilla, basal third imbricate, without sensilla; sensory structures of antennal club (Fig. 26) in form of stipe-shaped vesicle situated under circular sensory area on internal distal margin of the ventral side of antennal club.
Mouthparts. Mandibles (Fig. 100) with slightly curved outer margin, mandibular apex acute; sub-apical tooth on left mandible moderately large, almost perpendicular; labrum (Figs. 66, 580) finely punctate, somewhat flattened; with two weakly impressed labral pits, two thin labral setae arising from each one; terminal labial palpomere elongated, about one-fourth its length; mentum sub-trapezoid, anterior margin shallowly emarginate medially, with tiny median notch (Fig. 131), surrounded with several long setae; lateral margins with one row of shorter ramose setae; disc of mentum imbricate, with sparse short ramose setae; cardo of maxilla on outer margin with several short setae; stipes triangular, with three much longer setae; terminal maxillary palpomere truncate apically, elongated, its width about one-fourth its length, approximately 2.5 times as long as penultimate.
Clypeus (Fig. 580) flat, rounded laterally, imbricate-punctate; frontal stria complete, curved outwardly (occasionally weakened anteriorly), supraorbital stria well developed, slightly carinate; frontal disc (Fig. 581) with fine regular punctation, punctures separated by 1–3 times their diameter; eyes convex, well visible from above.
Pronotal sides (Fig. 577) moderately convergent anteriorly; apical angles inconspicuous; disc with sparse microscopic punctures, antero-laterally a band of coarser and denser punctures appears; pronotal base with a row of moderate punctures; marginal pronotal stria well impressed, complete, carinate; pronotal hypomeron glabrous.
Elytral epipleura almost smooth, only with scattered punctures; marginal epipleural stria complete, weakly impressed; marginal elytral stria deeply impressed, in round punctures; its apical end attaining elytral apex; apical elytral stria present only as a short fragment, next evanescent. Humeral elytral stria well impressed on basal third, occasionally doubled; inner subhumeral stria present as rather long median fragment. Elytra with four thin dorsal striae 1–4; first the longest, almost reaching elytral apex; second and third dorsal elytral striae about the same length, surpassing three-fourths of elytral length apically; fourth dorsal elytral stria only slightly shorter, basally vaguely connected with sutural elytral stria (at times interrupted); sutural elytral stria on apical half slightly elevated, costiform, in large round punctures, reaching about four-fifths of elytral length apically. Elytral disc imbricate-punctate, punctures becoming coarser and denser on apical third; between sutural elytral stria and elytral suture a row of fine punctures present.
Propygidium transverse, partially covered by elytra, coarsely and densely punctate, interspaces imbricate; pygidium with similar, but (especially medially) much sparser punctation, interspaces imbricate.
Anterior margin of median portion of prosternum (Fig. 582) evenly rounded, marginal prosternal stria present laterally and as a short anterior fragment; pre-apical foveae small, inconspicuous; prosternal process almost flat, surface between carinal prosternal striae with scattered microscopic punctures; laterally imbricate-punctate; carinal prosternal striae convergent anteriorly, vaguely connected apically; lateral prosternal striae carinate, attaining near apices of carinal striae, not united apically. Anterior margin of mesoventrite (Fig. 583) slightly emarginate medially; discal marginal mesoventral stria (Fig. 583) well impressed, carinate; disc with scattered microscopic punctation; meso-metaventral sutural stria well impressed, slightly sinuate, distanced from actual meso-metaventral suture, carinate and undulate.
Intercoxal disc of metaventrite convex, with scattered microscopic punctures, along apical margin and in the area near hind coxa punctation becoming coarser; lateral metaventral stria (Fig. 584) well-impressed, bisinuate, carinate, almost reaching hind coxa; lateral disc of metaventrite (Fig. 584) with coarser and denser punctures separated by about their own diameter, interspaces finely imbricate; metepisternum + fused metepimeron (Fig. 584) with similar punctation, punctures becoming finer and sparser on fused metepimeron; metepisternal stria present on apical half of metepisternum as well as on fused metepimeron, intermittent.
Intercoxal disc of the first abdominal sternite completely striate laterally, with scattered fine punctures, along apical margin row of fine punctures present.
Protibia (Fig. 585) flattened and dilated, outer margin apically with two approximate low teeth topped with short denticle followed by two low triangular teeth of which the first one is conspicuously larger than the second one, both teeth topped with moderately long thin denticle, followed by 4 short denticles becoming progressively shorter in proximal direction; setae of outer row sparse, short; setae of median row inconspicuous; protarsal groove moderately deep; anterior protibial stria inconspicuous; two rather short tarsal denticles present apically; protibial spur tiny, bent, growing out from apical protibial margin; apical margin of protibia posteriorly with two tiny apical denticles; outer part of posterior surface of protibia (Fig. 585) finely punctate-variolate; separated from imbricate median part of posterior surface by a vague thin stria, basally with a row of three minuscule denticles; posterior protibial stria complete, terminating in two tiny inner-posterior denticles; inner margin with single row of short setae, becoming more sclerotized and longer apically.
Mesotibia slender, outer margin with two sparse rows of thin denticles growing in size apically; setae of outer row sparse, strongly sclerotized; setae of median row regular, much shorter than those of outer row; posterior mesotibial stria shortened apically; anterior surface of mesotibia imbricate with scattered minuscule punctures with microscopic setae; anterior mesotibial stria shortened, carinate; mesotibial spur thin, moderately long; apical margin of mesotibia anteriorly with several tiny denticles; claws of apical tarsomere longer than half its length; metatibia basically similar to mesotibia, but slenderer and longer and denticles of outer margin much sparser than those of mesotibia.
Male genitalia. Eighth sternite (Figs. 586–587) longitudinally separated medially, apically with tiny inflatable membrane (velum); fringed with tiny brush of short setae; eighth tergite and eighth sternite not fused laterally (Fig. 588). Morphology of 9 th tergite (Figs. 589–590) typical for the subfamily; spiculum gastrale (Fig. 589) expanded on both ends. Basal piece of aedeagus (Figs. 591–592) rather short, ratio of its length: length of parameres 1: 3; parameres fused along their basal two-thirds; aedeagus slightly curved ventrad (Fig. 592).
description: Published as part of Lackner, Tomáš, 2010, Review of the Palaearctic genera of Saprininae (Coleoptera: Histeridae), pp. 1-254 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) (suppl.) 50 on pages 182-186, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4272127