Xestotrogus sagrmaticus Uliana & Khudhur 2025, new species
Creators: name: Uliana, Marco
name: Khudhur, Farhad A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Xestotrogus
Xestotrogus sagrmaticus

description: Xestotrogus sagrmaticus Uliana & Khudhur, new species
Figs. 3–5, 8–9, 13, 15, 17, 23–26, 34–36
Diagnosis. Integument reddish brown. Antennomeres 2–10 with tiny, inconspicuous setation. The longest setae of antennomeres 7–10 much shorter than the thickness of the antennomeres 3 (about 0.3x). Pronotum with a broad, shallow furrow behind the anterior margin. Anterior margin of pronotum with a medial denticle prolonging in a tiny carina across the submarginal furrow, punctures of pronotum distinctly aciculate. Elytra with intervals 3 and 5 wrinkled, not raised. Protibia 3-toothed, basal tooth poorly developed, medial tooth well developed, with a blunt dorsal carina. Paramera and endophallus diagnostic against the other known species of the genus.
Type material examined. Holotype ♂: “ Iraq, Kurdistan region, Sulaymaniyah, / Qara Dagh, Sagrma mountain range, / 4.3 Km NW Jafaran village, / 35°19’55.6”N 45°17’44.3”E, / 1020 m, 15.III.2023 leg. F.A. Khudhur ” (MUCI, currently at MSNVE). Paratypes: same data as holotype: 2 ♂♂ (MUCI). “ Iraq, Kurdistan region, Sulaymaniyah, Sharbazher, / Gmo Mt., upper Dereh village, / 35°55’28.6”N 45°33’23.8”E, 1720 m, / 19.IV.2023 leg. F.A. Khudhur ”: 1 ♂ (MUCI).
Description of the holotype. Habitus as in Figs. 3–4.
Body length 16.3 mm, from anterior margin of clypeus to apex of pygidium. Integuments rather uniformly reddish brown, head slightly darker, underside and legs lighter.
Head. Clypeus elliptic, almost semicircular, anterior angles not visible, 2.4x as wide as long at the midline, 4.7x as wide as the dorsal width of one eye; margin well reflexed all along its length, and specifically also at the posterior ends, above eyes; surface smooth, quite shining, punctures sparse and shallow on most of the surface, except in the postero-medial area where punctures are denser, smaller and more incised. Fronto-clypeal suture sinuous, well visible all along its length. Frons with strong, dense, punctures, similar to those of the postero-medial part of the clypeus and even denser on vertex. Postero medial part of head occupied by a distinct swelling, with maximal elevation on vertex and extended to the posterior part of clypeus. A tuft of rather long, thin setae at base of head and near eyes, sparser and shorter setae elsewhere. Canthus with a row of dense, long, thick setae.
Pronotum. 1.55x as wide as long, with maximum width slightly before the middle. In dorsal view, anterior margin slightly concave, posterior margin convex. Sides very slightly concave before anterior angles, straight in posterior half. Anterior angles broadly obtuse, well-marked, posterior angles comparatively more obtuse and less marked. Margins bordered all along the perimeter.Anterior border thicker than others, thinner near angles, backed by a broad and shallow submarginal furrow that also extends along sides. Submarginal furrow crenulated all along the anterior border by shallow, broad, longitudinally stretched punctures (some of them bearing a short seta) producing a series of weak carinulae, the latter not merged with anterior border. In addition, anterior border with a weak medial denticle, prolonging in a very short medial carina across the submarginal furrow. Lateral margins with some long, thick, erect yellow setae emerging from the dorsal side of the border (several others emerging from the ventral side also), and few whitish short, adpressed setae, especially near anterior angles. Dorsal surface glabrous, quite dull, microreticulate, with sparse, irregularly scattered aciculate punctures, slightly denser antero-medially and at sides. A very broad, shallow, poorly perceivable medial furrow on the distal part.
Elytra. Glabrous, except for very few short setae close to the base, for inconspicuous micro-setae emerging from punctures in the subapical area, and for setae on epipleura. Surface covered with slightly wrinkled punctures, rather weak and sparse, slightly denser towards sides. Only the first (sutural) stria is well recognizable, signs of the others are barely perceivable among the punctation. Interval 1 (close to the suture) well marked, almost completely void of punctures but covered with wrinkles. Intervals 3 and 5 barely recognisable as feebly longitudinal stripes with less dense punctation, not significantly raised. Epipleura delimited by a carina reaching the apex, bearing a row of thick setae, long and sparse in the proximal third, dense and short in the remaining part.
Scutellum. Triangular, microreticulate, glabrous, smooth, with few very sparse minute punctures. Extensively covered by a tuft of long setae inserted below the posterior margin of pronotum.
Pygidium. Microreticulate, looking overall glabrous, with very few short setae along the base and near the apex, and barely visible microsetae on the rest of the surface. Punctures round, moderately incised, irregularly sparse.
Ventral side. Thorax covered by dense and long fluffy setation, masking the integument. Abdominal ventrites with scattered setae of mixed length, from adpressed to inclined, the longest setae are on the penultimate ventrite.
Antenna. 10-segmented, antennal club 1.7x as long as antennomeres 2–7, antennomeres 4–5 non-disjointed along the posterior border.
Legs. Protibia 3-toothed, proximal tooth poorly developed but recognisable, medial tooth well developed, marked by a scarcely developed medial carina connected to the dorsal tibial carina. Femora with scattered setae long and thin, similar to those of ventral side of thorax. In addition, few thick, stiff setae on meso- and metafemora, along the posterior margin, especially in the proximal area. Meso-metatibia with internal side long setose, external side glabrous, except for long setae emerging from a carina, at about 2/3 of the length; mesotibia with traces of an additional proximal carina.
Aedeagus. As in Fig. 5 and in Figs. 23–36.
Relevant variability of paratypes. All smaller than holotype, body length 14.1–14.3 mm. Anterior angles of the clypeus can be recognizable, although very broadly rounded. The anterior margin of the clypeus may show traces of medial sinuation. The reciprocal extension of the two different punctations on the clypeus may vary, but both are observed in all specimens. Anterior border of pronotum may be shortly interrupted before anterior angles. Non-disjunction of antennomeres 4–5 variable from complete (antenna looking 9-segmented), to completely absent (1 specimen, with antennomere 4 particularly small).
Etymology. The specific name “sagrmaticus ”, is derived from the Sagrma mountain range in Qara Dagh area, where is the type locality.
Ecological notes. The collecting site at the type locality (Fig. 40) is an oak forest at the northern foothills of the Sagrma range. The density of tree coverage is variable, from spots where oaks occur in dense patches to areas where they are sparse and irregularly scattered. Among other trees and shrubs, those most common are Pistacia eurycarpa, P. khinjuk, and Crataegus azarolus, in a context of alpine and subalpine vegetation.
The other collecting site (Gmo Mountain, Fig. 41) is a grassy highland (elevation above 1700 m) with patches of trees and shrubs where the most common species are Juglans regia, Pyrus sp., Crataegus azarolus and Rubus sanctus.
All specimens were attracted by a UV light tube and collected with a light trap active from dusk to dawn.
Distribution. Presently known from two collecting sites in Sulaymaniyah governorate, in Iraqi Kurdistan (Fig. 42), at middle elevation (ca. 1000–1700 m). It is however expected in Iran, whose border lays at about 5 km from one of the collecting sites.
description: Published as part of Uliana, Marco & Khudhur, Farhad A., 2025, A revision of the taxonomic status of Xestotrogus Reitter, 1902 and related taxa, with the description of a new species from Iraqi Kurdistan (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae), pp. 477-490 in Zootaxa 5575 (3) on pages 480-482, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5575.3.8, http://zenodo.org/record/14747276