Penthicus achaemenus 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 achaemenus

description: Penthicus achaemenus sp. nov.
(Figs 31, 32)
Type material. Holotype, ♂ (ZM MSU): “ Persia, prov. Kerman VI.46 / Reitt.”, “ Penthicus persicus Schust. A.Bogačev det.”. Paratypes. 1 ♂ (HNHM): “Persien Sangun (Belutsch.)” (now Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Prov., Sangan, E of Kūh-e Taftan volcano, 28°35ʹ27.61ʺN, 61°18ʹ10.70ʺE), “18.V. (62) Coll. P. Aellen 1948”, “ persica Schust. det. Kaszab ”; 1 ♂ (HMIM): “Kouscheh (Taft.) 20.4.1971 Radjabi” (Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Prov., Kusheh, western slope of Taftan volcano, near 2300 m).
Description. Male. Body robust, black (holotype) or dark brown (paratype), dull, dorsally glabrous, slightly convex (Fig. 31A).
Head widest across posterior portion gena. Lateral margins of genae straightly converging to epistoma in apical half and subparallel in basal half, shortly rounded only at base. Widest portion of gena located across anterior third of eyes. Head moderately punctured by circular punctures in middle of frons (interpuncture spaces little longer than puncture diameter), by elongate, sometimes merged punctures on lateral sides of frons; coarser and denser punctured on epistoma and genae (puncture diameter subequal to interpuncture spaces); lateral margins of genae with much denser and coarser puncturation. Eye dorsally slightly longitudinal (1.09 times as long as wide). Head ventrally with dense granulation behind mouthparts.
Prothorax. Pronotum strongly transverse (2–2.1 times as wide as long), widest across base, 2–2.09 times as wide as head, strongly converging from base to apical margin, ratio width of pronotum at base, widest portion and anterior angles 29.5: 36: 19. Anterior margin widely evenly emarginated. Lateral margins slightly evenly rounded. Base widely bisinuate, median portion protruded backwards, slightly sinuated at middle. Anterior angles slightly obtuse, tip narrowly rounded, posterior angles obtuse, tip narrowly rounded. Lateral edges margined, margin of anterior edge widely interrupted at middle, base finely margined but sulcus shortly interrupted in middle. Disc of pronotum slightly convex, punctured by sparse, moderately coarse punctures at middle and along lateral edges (interpuncture spaces 2–3 times as long as puncture diameter); punctures on the sides from middle strongly elongate, fusiform, coarser and denser than on other surface; secondary micropuncturation between large punctures almost invisible. Lateral side of prothoracic hypomera widely flattened; flat portion strongly narrowed from base to anterior margin. Surface with sparse small granules and smooth longitudinal wrinkles (holotype) or coarse longitudinal wrinkles and reduced granules (paratype); each granule or non-granulated surface bears long suberected setae. Prosternum with imbricated granules (each bears short seta). Prosternal process slightly convex, slightly protruded beyond procoxae.
Pterothorax. Elytra wide but lateral margins slightly rounded, widest across middle (1.34–1.35 times as long as wide), 1.95 times as wide as head, 1.07 times as wide and 2.62–2.66 times as long as pronotum. Basal margin of elytra in epipleural portion slightly oblique, humeral angles distinct, narrowly rounded at apex, but lateral margin of elytra not shortly emarginated near angles. Puncturation of elytra sparse and fine, punctures with the same size but slightly denser in striae than in flattened interstriae. Epipleuron in apical portion 2 times as wide as metepisternum. Ventral side of pterothorax sparsely pubescent with comparatively long recumbent setae. Mesoventrite coarsely granulated, mesepisterna with flattened imbricate granules. Metaventrite with distinct round granules on sides and smooth dense puncturation at middle.
Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites 1–4 sparsely granulated on sides and punctured with rasp-like fine and sparse puncturation medially; ventrite 5 with rasp-like fine puncturation, entirely finely margined at apex. Setation of abdomen shorter than on pterothorax ventrally. Genitalia (Fig. 32). Inner sternite VIII widely evenly roundedely emarginated in middle, with widely rounded lateral angulations. Spiculum gastrale with narrow S-shaped rods and oval or sub-rhomboid blades, sparsely punctured in middle. Parameres wide, each paramera subparallel in apical half and sharply obliquely truncated at apex; lateral margins widely emarginated between basal and apical halves. Basal piece nearly two times as long as parameres.
Legs. Legs short, profemora extending lateral pronotal edge and not visible dorsally, mesofemora slightly and metafemora more extending beyond elytral margin. Protibiae wide, profemur 1.11 times as wide asapical width of protibia, 2.6 times as long as wide. Lateral margin of protibiae simple, not obliquely truncated near apex. Length of protarsomeres 1–3 together subequal to apical width of protibia. Body length 12–13 mm, width 6–6.5 mm.
Etymology. The name derives from ancient Persian Achaemenian Dynasty (559–330 BCE), whose kings ruled the Achaemenian Empire.
Comparative diagnosis. The new species differs from all representatives of the iners species-group by elongate fusiform puncturation of lateral sides of the pronotum and entirely margined abdominal ventrite 5. Externally similar to P. turcomanicus and P. fartilis by strongly trapezoidal pronotum.
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 41-44, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5573.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14745717