Euboeus (Pelorinus) kandovanensis Mofrad 2023, sp. n.
Creators: name: Mofrad, Farhad Eshraghi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Tenebrionidae
Euboeus
Euboeus kandovanensis

description: Euboeus (Pelorinus) kandovanensis sp. n.
(Figs. 1A—K)
Type material. Holotype, ♁ and Paratype, ♀ (HMIM): Iran, Alborz Prov., Central Alborz Mts., Gachsar env (Kandovan tunnel)., H= 2900–3000 m, 36°09ʹ06.4ʹʹN, 51°18ʹ45.3ʹʹE, 17.VI.2023; leg. F. Eshraghi Mofrad.
Description. Male. Body slender, black, pronotum and elytra dorsally shiny, head lesser shiny (Fig. 1A). Measurements: Y= 1.6; PH w = 1.66; P w P l = 1.29; E l E w = 1.68; EH w = 2.08; EP w = 1.25; EP l = 2.7. Body length 13.2 mm, width 5 mm.
Head (Figs. 1 E-F). Anterior margin of epistoma slightly rounded. Head widest at eye level. Eyes moderately convex with circumocular impression narrow. Lateral margins of genae evenly rounded. Puncturation of head moderately fine and sparse, interpuncture distance 1.5 times as long as puncture diameter in middle; punctures coarser and denser on genae. Ventral side of epicranium coarsely and densely punctured. Antennae comparatively short, with only two apical antennomeres, extending beyond base of pronotum, reaching less than 1/4 of elytral length.
Prothorax (Figs. 1B, E-G). Pronotum widest at middle, transverse, 1.29 times as wide as long (Fig. 1E). Lateral margins of pronotum weakly evenly rounded, slightly emarginated near base; anterior margin weakly rounded at middle and slightly emarginated near corners; base weakly rounded, almost straight, with emargination at middle. Antero-lateral corners not projected, obtuse, narrowly rounded at apex; postero-lateral corners right, pointed at apex. Lateral margins slightly beaded in anterior half; wider beaded in the basal half (Figs. 1 E-F). Disc of pronotum weakly faintly convex, not flattened along lateral margin, with large impression on each lateral side and two very small impressions at base. Puncturation of disc fine and sparse; puncture diameter 3–5 times as short as interpuncture distance, circular, coarser and denser in impressions (Figs. 1 E-F). Prosternum with scattered superficial hairy puncturation (Fig. 1B). Prothoracic hypomera flattened along margin, slightly narrower at basal half. Prohypomera with coarse and dense separate (not merged) punctures among weak wrinkles in anterior two thirds (Fig. 1G). Prosternal process smooth and shiny, with two terminal lines of punctures in basal half, with setose punctures in the anterior half, slightly convex and with a sharp bulge at apex (Figs. 1B, G).
Pterothorax (Figs. 1 A-B). Scutellar shield with straight margins, finely and sparsely punctured. Elytra elongateoval, widest at middle; punctures in striae coarse, widely spaced; punctures in interstriae tiny and sparse, slightly lined parallel (Fig. 1A). Anterior half of mesoventrite pubescent, with coarse and dense rasp-like puncturation; mesepisterna with large and dense punctures, punctures with short setae; mesepimera and metepisterna with coarse and dense puncturation, punctures with very short setae; metaventrite and intercoxal part of mesoventrite sparsely punctured and covered with short setae, punctures in medium size (Fig. 1B).
Legs (Figs. 1B, C). Trochanters with brush of short dark-reddish setae and one long seta. Basal third of femora with the same brush on reflex side; another surface of femora with coarse puncturation and short setae (Fig. 1B). Pro- and mesotibiae straight, metatibiae bent (Fig. 1C). Pro- and mesotarsomeres 1–4 strongly expanded, transverse, pro- and mesotarsomere 1 wider than apex of protibia. Metatarsi on the ventral side with dense brown to light brown setae, metatarsomere 1 with very dense light brown setae.
Abdomen (Fig. 1B). Abdominal ventrites with fine and sparse puncturation and short setation. Ventrite 5 with sparse long setae at apex.
Genitalia (Figs. 1 H-K). Apical part of the basal piece of aedeagus with longitudinal rugosity dorsally. Apical piece of aedeagus weakly rounded and emarginated before apex, apical piece dorsally with longitudinal depression in middle (Fig. 1K).
Female (Fig. 1D). Body much more robust, dull dorsally. Antennae shorter, not reaching base of pronotum. Lateral margins of pronotum widely beaded only at basal half. Postero-lateral corners of pronotum right. Metatibiae strongly bent. Elytra with keels on third and fifth interstriae, keel on third interstriae larger. Such keels can be found in large females of Pelorinus (Soldati 2012), but are not diagnostic characters. Measurements: Y= 1.4; PH w = 1.64; P w P l = 1.31; E l E w = 1.47; EH w = 2.32; EP w = 1.41; EP l = 2.74. Body length 14.8 mm, width 6.5 mm.
Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the type locality: Kandovan tunnel.
Differential diagnosis. This species is very similar to E. huedepohli (Kulzer, 1964) and to E. kasatkini Nabozhenko, 2022 from Central Alborz Mts. by the completely beaded pronotum (at least in male) and longitudinal rugosity in apical part of the basal piece of the aedeagus, but differs in the following characters from:
— E. huedepohli: prothoracic hypomera with coarse and dense separate punctures among weak wrinkles in anterior two thirds (Fig. 1G), coarse longitudinal wrinkles in E. huedepohli; lateral margins of prothoracic hypomera distinctly flattened (Fig. 1G) and widely clearly flattened in E. huedepohli; metatibiae moderately bent in male (Fig. 1C), strongly bent in E. huedepohli and strongly bent in female (Fig. 1D) while is not bent in E. huedepohli; apex of the apical piece of the aedeagus narrowed and emarginated before apex (Fig. 1K), weakly rounded and not emarginated in E. huedepohli (see photographs and description of this species in Nabozhenko (2022)).
— E. kasatkini: lateral margins of pronotum emarginated (Fig. 1E), not emarginated in E. kasatkini; lateral margins of pronotum widely beaded in basal half (Fig. 1E) and less beaded in E. kasatkini; prothoracic hypomera with coarse and dense separate punctures among weak wrinkles in anterior two thirds (Fig. 1G) while punctures often merged and poorly visible among coarse wrinkles in E. kasatkini; lateral margins of prothoracic hypomera distinctly flattened (Fig. 1G) and weakly flattened in E. kasatkini; metatibiae moderately bent in male (Fig. 1C) and very weakly bent in E. kasatkini and strongly bent in female (Fig. 1D) but not in E. kasatkini; apex of the apical piece of the aedeagus narrowed and emarginated before apex (Fig. 1K), wider and not emarginated in E. kasatkini (see photographs and description of this species in Nabozhenko (2022)).
Bionomics. Adults of this species were found under bushes and herbaceous plants during the day (Fig. 2).
description: Published as part of Mofrad, Farhad Eshraghi, 2023, A new species of the genus Euboeus Boieldieu, 1865 from Northern Iran (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Helopini), pp. 296-300 in Zootaxa 5360 (2) on pages 297-299, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5360.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/10145774