Protapalochrus (Protapalochrus) flavolimbatus Mulsant & Rey 1853
Creators: name: Tshernyshev, Sergei E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Melyridae
Protapalochrus
Protapalochrus flavolimbatus

description: Protapalochrus (Protapalochrus) flavolimbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853)
(Figs 10, 11–19, 19 (circle))
Apalochrus flavolimbatus Mulsant & Rey, 1853: 8 — France: “les environs de Montpellier”. Apalochrus flavo-limbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853): Baudi 1871: 63
Hapalochroüs flavolimbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853): Abeille de Perrin 1890
Hapalochrus flavolimbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853): Winkler 1925: 543
Hapalochrous flavolimbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853): Luigioni 1929: 625
Paratinus (Apalochrus) flavolimbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853): Portevin, 1931: 443, fig. 474 Apalochrus (Apalochrus) flavolimbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853): Negrache & Hernández 1987: 46 –50, 755, 814, colour fig. 1 Protapalochrus flavolimbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853): Evers 1987: 14, 51, 60, 61 Paratinus flavolimbatus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853): Solodovnikov 1994: 670, 671, 672, 680, figs. 44, 45 = Apalochrus tricolor Kiesenwetter 1859; Kiesenwetter 1866: 264
Hapalochrus flavolimbatus ab. tricolor Winkler 1925: 543
Hapalochrous flavolimbatus var. cretica Pic 1903: 177
Apalochrus flavolimbatus ab. latenotatus Pic 1935b: 109.
Material examined. Italy: “Romagna (RA) Sevio Anse del frazione Savio, 29.VI.1995, A. Fabbri” (N44o, E12o)— 2 males (SCH); Russia: NW Caucasus, Krasnodarskii Krai, Starotitarovskaya environce (N45o13′, E37o08′), 29.VI.1989, W. Wittmer— 1 female (SCH); idem, Taman’ vill, (N45o13′, E36o43′), 19.VI.1991, A. Solodovnikov— 1 female (SCH); idem, Anapa, (N44o53′, E37o19′), 13–18.VII.1954 — 1 female (SCH); idem, Sadki near Primorsko- Ahtarsk, (N45o56′, E38o06′), 28.VI.1990, A. Solodovnikov— 1 male (SCH); Iran: “ Persia I m Caspii / Enzeli / 15.VII.1919 B.Illi” (Bender-Enzeli, N37o28′, E49o28′)— 2 males, 2 females (ZIN, SCH); Turkey: Antalia (N36o54′, E30o41′), 2.VIII.2014, A. Jolmal— 1 male (SCH).
Personal data by I.S. Plonski: France: "Gall. mer., Camarque, Las Jas d'Arbaton, 24.7.1953 / Dr. Eckerlein leg." (N43o33′, E04o34′, pronotum is totally red. Specimen was misidentified as Cerapheles)— 1 female (NHMW); Spain, Balearic Islands: " MENORCA BAL. \ MAI 1972 \ R V Buderberg" (N39o47′, E04o24′, pronotum with an apical black macula)— 1 female (NHMW).
Description. Male (Fig. 10). Body black with blue-green metallic luster, head, medial macula on pronotum, elytra excepting narrow yellow longitudinal stripes on epipleurae, underside black with metallic lustre, 4–11th and dorsal side of the 1st and the 3rd antennomeres black-brown, basal ¾ of femora, tibiae excepting black bases, 1st segment of tarsi, mouthpart area, palpi excepting brown ultimate segment, clypeus and mandibles, 1–3 antennal segments partly and sides of sternites yellow, labrum brown, pronotum yellow-orange. Thoracic mesepimera brown with yellow base, vesicles yellow.
Head elongate, narrower than pronotum at base, slightly impressed in a middle, with thin longitudinal carina; surface densely punctured, microsculpture indistinct, shining, sparsely covered with thin, short adpressed light pubescence, several elongate black erect bristles are set on the temple behind the eyes; clypeus and labrum short, transverse, bearing short semi-erect gold hairs; genae short, straight; eyes small, protruding, round. Maxillary palpi short, 1st segment elongate, subtriangular, twice shorter than the 3rd, the 2nd segment short, subtriangular, transverse, apical segment dolabriform, wide, 1.5 times as long as 1st and twice that of 2nd segment, straight cut at apex; surface shining with short light semi-erect hairs. Antennae long, reaching basal fifth of elytra; 2nd segment very small, rounded, almost completely hidden by the scape, 3nd segment subcylindrical, not swollen, somewhat shorter than the 1st and 1.5 times and longer than the 4th, the 1st segment slightly swollen and clavate-shaped, the 4–10th subtriangular, slightly narrowed at base, apical segment almost completely oval with evenly narrowed and rounded tip. All segments covered with very short thin gold and sparse semi-erect pubescence.
Pronotum longitudinal, elongate and distinctly narrowed at base just behind the middle, anterior margin slightly arcuate, posterior slightly archly emarginate near scutellum, all angles rounded, anterior almost completely right, disc of the pronotum slightly depressed transversally near base, distinctly marginate; surface smooth, shining, sparsely punctured in a middle and more densely on sides, microsculpture smoothed; sparsely covered with short adpressed goldish pubescence.
Scutellum transverse, rectangular, small, almost completely hidden by the pronotum, with straight distal margin; surface dull, densely punctured and pubescent with the same hairs as pronotum.
Elytra parallel, elongate, not widened posteriorly; shoulders distinct; apices evenly rounded, simple, lacking impressions or appendages; surface semi-shining, densely punctured, with smoothed microsculpture, evenly covered with fine, short light semi-erect pubescence and sparsely with erect dark elongate setae. Margination of epipleurae and suture distinct, slightly elevated.
Hind wings normal.
Legs long, posterior femora reaching the apices of the elytra, thin, femora slightly flattened, covered with very short light adpressed hairs. Tibiae thin, evenly and slightly expanded posteriorly, rounded. All tarsi 5-segmented, narrow and slightly compressed; Anterior tarsi with transverse semi-round tarsal comb on second segment; claw segment depressed dorsally, the same in length as 1st tarsomere in intermediate and posterior legs and shorter in anterior legs, the same in length as general length of 3rd and 4th. Claws narrow, sharp, almost completely straight, with small round lamella at base and several long setae in between.
Ventral body surface densely punctured with smooth punctures, semi-shining, evenly and sparsely covered with fine, depressed dark pubescence; metathorax simple. Pygidium elongate, rectangulo-trapezoid, evenly narrowed and straight cut distally, with simple non-emarginate apex bearing strong erect hairs distally and laterally (Fig.12), ultimate abdominal ventrite bilaciniate, 1.5 times narrower than pygidium, transverse, with simple, evenly narrowed apices (Fig. 11), aedeagus simple, not curved, narrow, endophallus with a horn-like tube in a middle surrounded with a row of small denticles in anterior part and two strong short teeth above the internal tube at the tip (Fig. 13), tegmen elongate, subparallel, with short thin pointed parameres, distinctly emarginate in between (Fig. 14).
Female. Similar to male, except as follows: antennae narrower and shorter, not reaching base of pronotum; elytra slightly widened behind the middle and sometimes not covering pygidium; anterior tarsi simple, lacking comb on 2nd segment.
Length 4.3–5.1 mm, width (at elytral base) 1.0– 1.3 mm.
Distribution. Algeria; Balearic Islands; Corsica; Caucasus; Crete; Cyprus; France; Greece; Italy; Lésvos; Morocco; Sardinia; Sicily; Spain; Tunisia, Tajikistan, South of European part of Russia (Fig. 19).
Remarks. This is the most widespread species of the genus, ranging from Central Asia to South Europe and North Africa. This is first record in Central Asia and South 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 373-376, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4139.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/262356