Protapalochrus (Protapalochrus) fedtschenkoi Solsky 1882
Creators: name: Tshernyshev, Sergei E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Melyridae
Protapalochrus
Protapalochrus fedtschenkoi

description: Protapalochrus (Protapalochrus) fedtschenkoi (Solsky, 1882)
(Figs 9, 15–18, 19 (triangle))
Apalochrus Fedtschenkoi Solsky, 1882: 39 –41— Uzbekistan: Tashkent environce, Serashan valley: near Aikul Lake and Chalek Town.
Hapalochrous Fedtschenkoi (Solsky, 1882): Abeille de Perrin 1891: 214, 219 Protapalochrus fedtschenkoi (Solsky, 1882): Evers 1987: 60, 61.
Material examined. Turkmenistan: Transcaspian, Iolatan’, (N37o18′, E62 o 21′), IX.1926, V. Kizernitsky— 1 female (ZISP); idem, Balkan region, Akaila, (N37o15′, E68 o30′), 23.VII, 1931— 1 male, 1 female (ZISP); Tajikistan: Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, bank of Hilka-Nul’ Lake, (N37o15′, E68 o30′), 13.5.1986, V. Yanushev— 1 male, 1 female (SCH).
Personal data by I.S. Plonski: Turkmenistan: "Turkm. SSR 5-9.5. \ Aschabad bor. V. \ leg. S. Bečvář 1989" (N37o57′, E58o23′)— 1 male (ISP).
Description. Male (Fig. 9). Body black with blue-green metallic luster, head, medial macula on pronotum, base and apical half of elytra, apical half of femora and underside black with metallic lustre, 4–11th and dorsal side of the 3rd antennomeres dark brown, median part of elytra, basal half of femora and tibiae and tarsi, mouthpart area, palpi, labrum, clypeus and mandibles, 1–3 antennal segments yellow, pronotum yellow-orange. Thoracic mesepimera brown with yellow base, vesicles yellow.
Head elongate, narrower than pronotum at base, slightly impressed in the middle, lacking longitudinal carina; surface densely punctured, microsculpture indistinct, shining, sparsely covered with thin, short adpressed light pubescence, with several elongate black erect bristles on the temple behind the eyes; clypeus and labrum short, transverse, bearing semi-erect gold hairs; genae short, straight; eyes small, protruding, round. Maxillary palpi short, 1st segment elongate, subtriangular, twice shorter than the 3rd, the 2nd segment short, subtriangular, transverse, apical segment dolabriform, wide, 1.5 times as long as 1st and twice as long as 2nd segments, straight cut at apex; surface shining with short light semi-erect hairs. Antennae long, reaching basal fifth of elytra; 2nd segment very small, rounded, almost completely hidden by the scape, 3nd segment subcylindrical, not swollen, of the same length as the 1st and 1.5 times longer than the 4th, the 1st segment slightly swollen and clavate-shaped, the 4–10th subtriangular, almost of the same length than the previous, slightly narrowed at base, apical segment almost completely cylindrical with evenly narrowed and rounded tip. All segments covered with very short thin gold and sparse semi-erect pubescence.
Pronotum longitudinal, elongate and distinctly narrowed at base, with anterior margin almost completely straight, posterior slightly archly emarginate near scutellum, all angles rounded, anterior almost completely right, disc of the pronotum slightly depressed transversally at basal fourth, distinctly marginate; surface smooth, shining, sparsely punctured with indistinct microsculpture in a middle and densely and roughly on sides; sparsely covered with short adpressed goldish pubescence.
Scutellum elongate and rectangular, small, with straight distal margin slightly depressed transversally in middle; surface dull, densely punctured and pubescent with the same hairs as pronotum.
Elytra parallel, elongate, very slightly widened posteriorly; shoulders distinct; apices evenly rounded, simple, lacking impressions or appendages; surface semi-shining, shagreen, densely and coarsely punctured, with smoothed microsculpture, evenly covered with fine, short light semi-erect pubescence and sparsely with erect dark elongate setae. Margination of epipleurae and suture distinct, slightly elevated.
Hind wings normal.
Legs long, posterior femora reaching the apices of the elytra, thin, femora slightly flattened, covered with very short light adpressed hairs. Tibiae thin, evenly and slightly expanded posteriorly, rounded. All tarsi 5-segmented, narrow and slightly compressed; anterior tarsi with transverse semi-round tarsal comb on second segment; claw segment depressed dorsally, longer than 1st tarsomere or general length of 3rd and 4th. Claws narrow, sharp, almost completely straight, with a small widened base with a denticle and several long setae in between.
Ventral body surface densely punctured, slightly wrinkled, semi-shining, evenly and sparsely covered with fine, adpressed light pubescence; metathorax simple. Pygidium elongate, rectangular, evenly narrowed and straight cut distally, with simple not emarginate apex bearing row of strong erect hairs distally and laterally (Fig. 15), ultimate abdominal ventrite bilaciniate, twice narrower than pygidium, transverse, with simple, evenly narrowed pointed apices (Fig. 16), aedeagus simple, not curved, narrow, endophallus with a horn-like tube in a middle a row of small denticles in anterior part (Fig. 17), tegmen elongate, parallel, with short thin pointed and curved parameres distinctly emarginate between (Fig. 18).
Female. Similar to male, except for the following: antennae narrower and shorter; elytra distinctly widened behind the middle and sometimes not covering pygidium; anterior tarsi simple, lacking comb on second segment.
Length 4.3–4.4 mm, width (at elytral base) 1.0– 1.1 mm.
Distribution. Afghanistan; Mongolia; Turkey; Turkestan: Uzbekistan. This is first record for Tajikistan (Fig. 19).
Remarks. Recently, recorded from Turkey (Yildirim and Bulak, 2012), apparently showing this species penetration into Europe.
description: Published as part of Tshernyshev, Sergei E., 2016, A review of species of the genera Protapalochrus Erichson and Paratinoides L. Medvedev (Coleoptera, Malachiidae), pp. 369-390 in Zootaxa 4139 (3) on pages 376-378, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4139.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/262356