Holconotus Schmidt-Gobel 1846
Creators: name: Fedorenko, D. N.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Holconotus

description: Holconotus Schmidt-Göbel, 1846
Schmidt-Göbel, 1846:Tab.2, Fig.6; Chaudoir, 1876: 352; Tschitschérine, 1898: 451; Darlington, 1962: 561; Will, 2020a: 162; 2020b: 139. — Fouquetius Maindron, 1906: 251; Andrewes, 1930: 167. — Abacetus: Chaudoir, 1869: 399 (part.).
Type species: Holconotus ferrugineus Schmidt-Göbel, 1846 (by monotypy).
DIAGNOSIS. With characters of Abacetina. Body (Figs 1–5) otherwise macropterous, small, pale coloured, flattened, more so at pronotal base, and glabrous; legs minutely and sparsely pilose, antennomeres 1–3 with additional setae, palps setulose. Eyes slightly flattened, gena with vertical postocular sulcus. Body setation complete, except for submentum bisetose, mentum setae and elytral discal setae missing. Pronotal basal bead distinct except medially, apical bead obliterate medially; prosternal process beaded. Elytra parallel-sided, flat, convex laterally and apically, with lateral edge serrate; striae punctate, 5th mostly reaching apex, 7th obliterate behind humerus; intervals 8 and 9 subequally wide; 5th and 3rd confluent before apex. Umbilicate seta series (USS) divided into anterior group (six umbilicate setae, US) and posterior group (eight US). Abdomen densely punctate, sternites crenate along bases. Legs rather slender, protibia not apically dilated, with 2+1 lateroapical spinules, apical one being stronger; mesotibia with two small anterolateral setae and inner setal brush consisting of many setae arranged into a row; metatibia without outer setae. Tarsi without dorsolateral sulci, dorsoapical setae (DAS) inseparable from dorsal pilosity, tarsomere 5 with dorsolateral seta, two ventral and two (additional) dorsal setae. Profemur generally trisetose at posterior face; modified in male, with 1–2 large ventral tubercles or teeth (Figs 6–10). Protarsomeres 1–3 more or less distinctly dilated and biserially squamose ventrally in male, neither dilated nor latero-apically toothed in female. Spermatheca long convoluted.
REDESCRIPTION. Unnecessary until a revision of the genus is made elsewhere.
Aedeagus (Figs 11–28): median lobe more or less abruptly geniculate, with apex lamellate. Internal sac membranous, without or with slightly sclerotized patches. Female genitalia (Figs 32–34) examined in H. ferrugineus only.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.Four Afrotropical, one Madagascan and three Oriental species are recognized within the genus; the latter include H. gigas (Andrewes, 1937) from Myanmar, H. lioderus from Indochina, and H. ferrugineus ranging in India to Indochina.
HABITATS AND HABITS. See under H. lioderus.
COMMENTS. Will [2020a, b] discussed relationships between Holconotus, Tiferonia and Melanchrous and demonstrated that the former two genera were closely related, as they shared postocular sulcus as the character unique within not only Abacetina but also Carabidae as a whole. He also transferred H. brunneus (Jedlička, 1935) from Holconotus to Tiferonia, and my comparison between examined species of the two genera has revealed that H. crassimargo Tschitschérine, 1898 and an undescribed species need erection of a new genus for themselves.
The examined species of Holconotus are very similar in both appearance and many external characters. However, four of them have been found to have the profemur modified in a particular manner in male. Also, I consider it advisable to describe in passing a new African species from ZISP collection, as well as aedeagi and body ratios in the species at my hand, including the holotype of H. sinuatus Tschitschérine, 1898.
description: Published as part of Fedorenko, D. N., 2022, Notes on some Abacetina (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Pterostichini), with descriptions of a new genus and new species, pp. 15-26 in Russian Entomological Journal 31 (1) on page 16, DOI: 10.15298/rusentj.31.1.03, http://zenodo.org/record/10920167