Penthicus telnovi Nabozhenko & Mofrad, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Nabozhenko, Maxim V.
name: Mofrad, Farhad Eshraghi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Tenebrionidae
Penthicus
Penthicus telnovi

description: Penthicus telnovi sp. nov.
(Figs 67, 68)
Material. Holotype, ♂ (NHML): “ IRAN [print], Esfahan [print] Kerman Bam 15.xi.60 [handwritten] E.S. Brown [print] 3465 [handwritten]”, “Brit. Mus. 1961–641.” (print) and museum label with QR-code and number NHMUK 013663794. Paratypes (NHML): 2 ♂♂ and 1 ♀ with the same labels but different numbers of museum labels: NHMUK 013663796 (♀), NHMUK 013663795 (♂), NHMUK 013663797 (♂). One paratype label without “ Esfahan ”.
Description. Male (Figs 67A, B). Body comparatively slender, convex, opaque, black, dorsally glabrous.
Head widest across genae. Lateral margins of genae straightly converging to epistoma in apical half and straight in basal half (subparallel or slightly converging anteriorly). Widest portion of genae located at level of anterior margin of eyes. Head coarsely and sparsely (puncture diameter less than interpuncture space) punctured by round punctures; puncturation of epistoma anteriorly and genae much coarser and denser, punctures circular. Eye dorsally slightly longitudinal (1.24 times as long as wide). Head ventrally with dense granulation in basal area to submentum and rasp-like punctured around mouthparts laterally and eyes.
Prothorax. Pronotum strongly transverse (1.69 times as wide as long, n = 3), widest at middle, 1.63 times as wide as head, slightly converging from widest portion to anterior edge; ratio width of pronotum at base, widest portion and anterior angles: 20.5: 22.6: 16. Anterior edge widely emarginated. Lateral edges moderately evenly rounded. Base bisinuate, rounded in middle, median portion protruded backwards. Anterior angles slightly obtuse (one male with right angles), not projected, tip narrowly rounded, posterior angles obtuse, tip narrowly rounded. Lateral edges margined, margin of anterior edge widely interrupted in middle, base entirely margined. Disc of pronotum slightly evenly convex, lateral margins slightly narrowly flattened; disc coarsely and sparsely punctured by circular punctures in middle (interpuncture space 2–4 times as long as puncture diameter), coarser and denser punctured by circular punctures on lateral sides (puncture diameter slightly longer than interpuncture spaces); with poorly visible very fine secondary micropuncturation. Lateral sides of prothoracic hypomera moderately widely flattened; flattened portion slightly converging from base to anterior portion finely punctured. Other surface with fine smooth longitudinal wrinkles and sparse small granules disappearing posteriorly; each granule bears short suberect seta. Prosternum with rasp-like sparse punctures with recumbent short setae. Prosternal process slightly convex, slightly protruded beyond procoxae.
Pterothorax. Elytra elongate, with slightly rounded lateral margins, sometimes subparallel in anterior third, widest at middle (1.44 times as long as wide), 1.7 times as wide as head, 1.03–1.04 times as wide and 2.59–2.6 times as long as pronotum. Basal margin of elytra in epipleural portion slightly oblique, humeral angles obtuse, tip pointed, lateral edge of elytra not emarginated near humeral angles. Strial punctures moderately coarse, round, dense, slightly larger than interstrial ones; interstrial puncturation comparatively coarse, sparse; interstriae flat. Epipleuron in apical portion 1.84 times as wide as metepisternum in widest portion. Ventral side of pterothorax sparsely pubescent with recumbent setae. Mesoventrite densely rugosely granulated; intercoxal process of mesoventrite rasp-like punctured and wrinkled; mes- and metepisterna with sparse granules. Metaventrite with rasp-like punctures in middle, distinct and sparse elongate granules on sides.
Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites 1–2 and partly longitudinally depressed in middle. Ventrites 1–3 sparsely and finely granulated on sides and sparsely and finely punctured with rasp-like punctures in middle; ventrites 4 and 5 with sparse simple puncturation; ventrite 5 entirely finely margined apically. Genitalia (Figs 68A–C). Inner sternite VIII deeply roundly emarginated, with widely rounded lateral angulations. Spiculum gastrale with moderately thickened, slightly S-shaped rods and strongly elongated blades, sclerotized in basal half. Parameres S-shaped, acute apically, lateral margins widely emarginated in middle and shortly slightly sinuated near apex. Basal piece near 1.8 times as long as parameres.
Legs. Pro- and mesofemora slightly extending beyond body margin metafemora extending far beyond elytral margin. Protibiae comparatively narrow, femur 1.28 times times as wide as protibiae apically. Lateral margin of protibiae simple, not obliquely truncated near apex. Protarsi with combined length of 2 proximal tarsomeres subequal to apical width of protibia.
Body length 10.5–11 mm, width 5–5.45 mm.
Female (Fig. 67C). Body the same slender as in male. Lateral margin of pronotum slightly sinusted near anterior angles. Body length 11.5 mm, width 5 mm. Ovipositor (Figs 68D, E) with moderately wide, rounded coxite lobes IV, gonostyli short, narrow, subcylindrical; valvifer long and comparatively narrow, with subparallel lateral margins, baculi of valvifer curved in middle bend inward apically. Baculi of paraproct long, curved.
Etymology. The species is named in honour of our friendly colleague Dr Dmitry Telnov (NHML, Entomological Society of Latvia), who put a lot of his work into checking this manuscript, added material from NHML and sent material with several new species after testing a key to species.
Comparative diagnosis. See for P. bam sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Nabozhenko, Maxim V. & Mofrad, Farhad Eshraghi, 2025, Progress in the knowledge of the genus Penthicus Faldermann, 1836 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Opatrini) of Iraq, Iran and Pakistan with descriptions of 17 new species, pp. 1-100 in Zootaxa 5573 (1) on pages 84-85, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5573.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14745717