Melanotus kurdestanicus Nasserzadeh 2021, sp. n.
Creators: name: Nasserzadeh, Hiva
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Elateridae
Melanotus
Melanotus kurdestanicus

description: Melanotus kurdestanicus sp. n.   
(Fig. 5, Map 6)  
 Type material. Holotype Ƌ (HMIM): 1 ex.: IRAN, Kordestan province prov., Marivan, Zarivar Wildlife Sanctuary, Tefli valley to Sardush rd., ca. 1 km E Sardush village, N35°32’33.3”, E46°05’01.5”, 1400 m, 22.VIII.2017, leg. H. Nasserzadeh (Light trap).   
 Paratype Ƌ (CGP): 1 ex.: IRAN, Kordestan province prov., Oramanat region, July 2015, leg. Nasserzadeh (certain locality unknown).   
 Differential diagnosis. The species is very similar to Melanotus borumandi sp. n., M. fusciceps and M. zagrosensis. It can be separated from M. fusciceps and M. zagrosensis by the longer antennae that exceed posterior angles by 1.5 antennomeres. The antennae exceed the posterior angles by one antennomere or less than one antennomere in M. fusciceps and M. zagrosensis respectively. The third antennomere in M. kurdestanicus is approximately half the length of the fourth or slightly longer, but in M. borumandi it is clearly shorter than half the length of the fourth (0.3–0.4 ×).The aedeagus and median lobe in M. kurdestanicus is rather elongated and slimmer than other three species, and the posterior angles of the apical portion of the parameres is curved contrary to other three species which is rather sharp.   
 Description. Male. Body and legs unicolor, rufous, covered with testaceous pubescence; blackened along marginal edges of contours and striae.   
Body length 13.4–13.5 mm, width 4.0– 4.1 mm.  
Head as wide as anterior margin of pronotum near outer margin of eyes; covered with dense, umbilicate punctures with interspaces mainly narrower than their own diameter; frons declining anteriorly, flat between eyes without a distinct depression, anterior margin thickened and slightly sinuate or straight at middle and protruding sub-horizontally above clypeus; antennae exceeding apicis of posterior angles of pronotum by one and a half antennomeres, antennomeres serrated from fourth to tenth; second and third moderately subconical, the latter 1.5 × longer than the second (second antennomere 0.6 × as long as third one), third antennomere about half the length of fourth (or slightly longer) (Figure 8c).  
Pronotum slightly (1.1–1.2 ×) broader than long, moderately and regularly convex, covered with coarse punctures, rather uniformly distributed, umbilicate, with interspaces mainly narrower than their own diameter or sometimes equal, sides arcuate on posterior third, posterior angles slightly divergent with lateral side subparallel, angles with raised carinae (Figure 8b), carina longer than the angles, reaching to posterior third of lateral sides of pronotum.  
Scutellum shield-shaped, almost 1.5 × longer than wide, flat, punctures coarse and pubescent.  
Elytra 3.0–3.2 × longer than pronotum and as wide as or slightly (1.1 times) wider in their widest size, moderately convex; sides subparallel in anterior third, moderately narrowing to apex, striae regularly punctured, interstriae moderately and finely punctured.  
Last abdominal sternite entire and with rounded apical margin.  
Tarsomeres simple, first to fourth gradually decreasing in length, apical tarsomere slightly longer than the first one and two times longer than penultimate tarsomere.  
Aedeagus as in figure 8d, distinctly elongated, length 2.4 mm, median lobe slim, 1.25 times the length of parameres (which is exposed between parameres), narrowing from the midlength and sharply pointed at apex.  
Female. Unknown.  
 Etymology. The name of the species refers to the geographical distribution in Kurdestan province in Iran.   
 Habitat. Mountainous region with typical flora of central Zagross region like Oak, Almond and Salix trees and barberry shrubs.   
 Climate types. Sub-humid to semi-arid, cool to cold winters and warm summers.
description: Published as part of Nasserzadeh, Hiva, 2021, A study of the click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae) of northwestern Iran with three new species Reitterelater prosternalis sp. n., Melanotus borumandi sp. n. and M. kurdestanicus sp. n., pp. 338-368 in Zootaxa 4941 (3) on pages 352-353, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4941.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/4595227