Protapalochrus (Latapalochrus) festivus Zoubkoff 1833
Creators: name: Tshernyshev, Sergei E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Melyridae
Protapalochrus
Protapalochrus festivus

description: Protapalochrus (Latapalochrus) festivus (Zoubkoff, 1833)
(Figs 7, 31–36)
Malachius festivus Zoubkoff, 1833: 348 — Turkmenistan: «côte orientale de la mer Caspienne» Apalochrus festivus (Zoubkoff, 1833): Motschulsky 1860b: 118.
Hapalochrous festivus (Zoubkoff, 1833): Abeille de Perrin 1891: 214, 21 7–218 Protapalochrus festivus (Zoubkoff, 1833): Evers 1987: 60, 61
= Apalochrus variegatus Erichson, 1840: Abeille de Perrin 1891: 217
Apalochrus festivus var. paulojunctus Pic, 1953: 1530. Mali (insertae sedis?).
Material examined. Uzbekistan, Karakalpakstan: near Nukus, Kuvansh-Dzharma, delta of Amudarya river, 16.VI.1911, (N42o27′, E59o36′), Molchanov— 1 male (ZISP); Kazakhstan: 12 km E Balkhash town, bank of Balkhash Lake, (N46o32′, E74o52′), under burden of lake drift, 18.VI.1962, G.S. Medvedev— 1 male, 1 female (ZISP); Georgia: Tsitelkaroi region, Vashlovani National Park, (N41o12′, E46 o23′), 23.V.1977, O.L. Kryzhanovskii— 1 male (ZISP); Karabah/ Azerbaijan: Shusha (N39o45′, E46o45′), 12.VI.1933, Lukianovich— 1 female (ZISP); Mongolia, South-Gobi aimak: Bulgan, bank of lake (?Durgen-Nur), (N47o42′, E93 o25′) 20.VI.1972 — 1 male (ZISP); Russia, Astrahanskaya Oblast’: near Astrahan’ (N46o20′, E48 o02′), V. Yakovlev— 1 female (ZISP); Kalmykia: Lysyi Liman salt lake bank, (N45o49′, E44 o03′), VII.1977, Fomichev— 1 female (SCH); idem, Rybachii vill., (N44o59′, E45o50′), 1978, Yu. Arzanov— 1 female (SCH); idem, Tugtun vill., (N47o24′, E45o03′), 2.VI.1976, Yu. Arzanov— 1 male (SCH); ibidem, 9.VI.1976, Fomichev— 1 female (SCH).
Description. Male (Fig. 7). Head behind the antennae and most part of pronotum, underside black with blue metallic luster, anterior angles of pronotum, clypeus, mandibles, genae and labrum, mouthparts, 1–4 antennomeres excepting brown dorsal sides, elytra excepting blue metallic longitudinal wavy stripes, sides of abdominal segments, legs with black apices of femora in intermediate and anterior legs and black-brown apical half in posterior legs and external side of anterior tibiae and apices of intermediate and posterior tibiae, yellow. Scutellum black, palpi yellow with black apical edge of the ultimate segment. Thoracic mesepimera black, vesicles yellow.
Head slightly wider than the pronotum, almost completely flat, rarely covered with thin, short adpressed light pubescence, with several elongate gold-brown erect bristles on the temple and behind the eyes; surface densely punctured with smoothed microsculpture, dull; labrum short, transverse, bearing erect long light-yellow hairs; genae short, straight; eyes small, slightly protruding, round. Maxillary palpi short, 1st segment large, elongatetriangular, 1.5 times shorter and narrower that the 3rd, and twice as long with the same width as the 2nd, the 2nd segment very small, transverse, apical segment dolabriform, slightly elongate, narrowed and straight cut at apex; surface shining with short light semi-erect and several long hairs. Antennae long, reaching basal ¼ of elytra; 2nd segment very small, rounded, almost completely hidden by the scape, 3rd segment cylindrical, not swollen, the longest, 1.8 times longer than the 1st and 1.5 longer than the 4th, the 1st segment slightly swollen and clavate-shaped, the 4th cylindrical, the 5–10th elongate, sudcylindrical, each one slightly shorter than the previous, slightly narrowed at base, apical segment almost completely oval with narrowed and rounded tip. All segments covered with yellowwhite very short thin and sparse semi-erect pubescence.
Pronotum transverse, very slightly narrowed at base, anterior margin very slightly protruding, posterior straight, very slightly emarginate near scutellum, all angles rounded, anterior almost completely right, disc of the pronotum slightly depressed laterally and with two small protuberances at base; surface with smoothed microsculpture, shining, evenly densely and finely punctured, more densely on sides and; sparsely covered with short adpressed goldish pubescence.
Scutellum transverse-rectangular, small, almost completely hidden by the pronotum, slightly depressed in middle, with straight distal margin; surface dull, densely punctured and pubescent with similar hairs as pronotum.
Elytra subparallel, evenly widened posteriorly, shoulders distinct, apices evenly rounded, simple, lacking impressions or appendages; surface semi-shining, with distinct microsculpture, densely punctured and weakly wrinkled, evenly covered with fine, short light semi-erect pubescence and sparsely with brown erect elongate setae. Suture distinctly marginate.
Hind wings normally developed.
Legs not long, thin, femora slightly flattened, tibia slightly widened posteriorly, posterior femora not reaching elytral apices, legs covered with very short goldish adpressed hairs and several erect long hairs. All tarsi 5- segmented, narrow and slightly compressed; anterior tasi with elongate semi-round tarsal comb on second segment; claw segment depressed dorsally, somewhat longer or the same in length as 1st tarsomere in intermediate and posterior legs and 1.2 times longer than the 1st tarsomere in anterior legs, equal or somewhat longer general length of 3rd and 4th. Claws narrow, sharp, almost completely straight, with a small dent basally.
Ventral body surface densely and finely punctured, semi-shining, evenly covered with fine, depressed short light pubescence; metathorax simple. Pygidium equilateral, evenly narrowed and rounded distally, with simple arcuate apex slightly cut at the tip and bearing row of fine short hairs distally (Fig. 32), ultimate abdominal ventrite bilaciniate, elongate, evenly narrowed distally, with simple, evenly narrowed rounded apices (Fig. 31), aedeagus simple, not curved, narrow, endophallus with a horn-like tube in a middle located from base to apical fifth and two rows of denticles, one disposed near base and surrounding the tube with 11 denticles from left and 11 from rite sides, and the second group surrounds apical part (Fig. 33, 34), tegmen elongate, parallel, with short thin pointed parameres (Fig. 35).
Female. Similar to male, except for the following: antennae narrower and shorter; elytra strongly widened behind the middle; anterior tarsi lacking comb on 2nd segment.
Length 5.6–6.0 mm, width (at elytral base) 1.8–1.9 mm.
Distribution. Georgia; S Russia: Caucasus, Astrahanskaya Oblast Kalmykia; Kazakhstan: Balkhash Lake Uzbekistan, Karakalpakstan; Turkmenistan Transcaspian (Fig. 36).
Notes. The species previously was known from Caucasus, S Russia and Turkmenistan, this is first record for Kazakhstan Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Astrakhanskaya Oblast’ of Russia.
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 382-384, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4139.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/262356