Laemostenus (Pristonychus) asiaeminoris CASALE 1988

Casale, A., D. W & P, Antalya, 2012, New or little known Laemostenus species from the Near and Middle East (Coleoptera, Carabidae: Sphodrini), Linzer biologische Beiträge 44 (2), pp. 1111-1127 : 1121-1122

Laemostenus (Pristonychus) asiaeminoris CASALE 1988

This taxon was described from a long series of individuals sampled in different mountain massifs of North Western Anatolia (W Turkey), with the type locality "Masukiye (Sapança), Goek Dag (=Kel Tepé)" ( CASALE 1988).

As stressed in the original description, individuals of different populations, spread from S Istanbul (Bursa, Uludağ, and Usak, Simav Dağları) to E Istanbul (Bolu; a reported locality near Tokat merits verification), show some morphological differences to each other. Nevertheless, so far no morphological, constant character allows the separation of distinct subspecies within this species.

Therefore, we believe that a few specimens distributed in some collections (Casale, Heinz, Schnitter, Staven, and Wrase collections) with the name in litteris " L. (P.) walterheinzi CASALE & STAVEN, new species " (nomen nudum), coming from " Turkey, Bolu, Bolu /Kaynasli Bolu Dağ 900 m " (different dates and collectors), collected in a Fagus and Rhododendron forest locality close to the Black Sea and characterised by very wet climate, with frequent rains and clouds, have to be attributed to Laemostenus (Pristonychus) asiaeminoris CASALE 1988 .

Further investigation should allow the identification, within this taxon, of distinct subspecies or sibling species; however, after a careful, further re-examination of specimens from all localities known so far, this seems to be not possible at the moment on available character states of both external and genitalia morphological features.