Plagionotus arcuatus
Creators: name: Królik, Roman
name: Kruszelnicki, Lech
name: Lasoń, Andrzej
name: Walczak, Marcin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cerambycidae
Plagionotus
Plagionotus arcuatus

description: Key to subspecies of Plagionotus arcuatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Because of the rather small number of voucher specimens available to us, we have constructed our key mainly based on the original descriptions, stating the dominant characters in each subspecies. There are specimens, however, which deviate in appearance from most members of their subspecies. For example: P. a. lugubris with red legs and antennae, and yellowish spots and stripes or else with uninterrupted elytral stripes; P. a. kirgizicus with exceptionally prominent median stripes on the pronotum and head (see Lazarev 2010); P. a. arcuatus with very dense pubescence on the sternites (Figs. 1.A–B). In our opinion, such deviant specimens confirm the close relationship between the various subspecies, and their sporadic occurrence in no way undermine the validity of dividing P. arcuatus into subspecies. These comments should be borne in mind when using the key given below.
1. Pronotum with well developed pale stripes on the anterior margin and in its middle part, head with distinct stripe of yellow pubescence behind the eyes (Fig. 3C).................................................................... 2.
- Pronotum and head usually without or with only very slightly developed pale stripes (Fig. 3D)....................... 4.
2. Yellow stripes and spots on whole body well developed: first transverse elytral stripe (antemedian) large, “zigzag-like”, distance between first and second transverse stripe much smaller than width of first or second stripe (Fig. 2G); abdominal sternites almost covered by yellow, dense pubescence (Fig. 2C–D). Distribution range— Iran (Fig. 5)............................................................ P. arcuatus shirazensis Królik, Kruszelnicki, Lasoń & Walczak, new subspecies
- Yellow stripes and spots on body less developed: first transverse elytral stripe expanded horizontally, in presutural area not prolonged to spots behind scutellum, distance between first and second transverse stripe much greater than width of first or second stripe (Fig. 2H); yellow pubescence covering, at most, half of abdominal sternites........................... 3.
3. Antemedian transverse stripes on elytra extended horizontally, sometimes split into two spots, stripes behind middle of elytra regularly arching forwards (Figs. 1.A–B). Distribution range—Europe, North Africa & Asia Minor ......................................................................................... P. arcuatus arcuatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Antemedian transverse stripes on elytra always divided into a strongly inclined outer stripe, well separated from the inner spot, stripes behind middle of elytra strongly arched forwards (Figs. 1.C–D). Distribution range— Crete (Greece).......................................................................... P. arcuatus ghidottii Pesarini & Sabbadini, 2011
4. Transverse stripes of elytra usually well developed, complete (Figs. 1.I–J); antemedian stripes sometimes split into two spots. Distribution range— Kyrgyzstan ............................................. P. arcuatus kirgizicus Lazarev, 2010
- Transverse stripes of elytra not so obvious, mostly reduced to small spots. Distribution range—Transcaucasia............ 5
5. Legs and antennae completely black, body pubescence usually white (Figs. 1.G–H). Distribution range— Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan .................................................. P. arcuatus lugubris (Ménétriés, 1832)
- Legs and antennae partly red; body pubescence yellow (Figs. 1.K–L). Distribution range— Armenia, Azerbaijan and NE Turkey ................................................................. P. arcuatus multiinterruptus Pic, 1933.
description: Published as part of Królik, Roman, Kruszelnicki, Lech, Lasoń, Andrzej & Walczak, Marcin, 2021, Notes on the subspecies of Plagionotus arcuatus (Linnaeus, 1758) with description of a new subspecies from Iran (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), pp. 558-568 in Zootaxa 4942 (4) on page 566, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4942.4.4, http://zenodo.org/record/4612718