Pharaonus (Tamerlanius) lederi ( Reitter, 1888 )

Keith, Denis, Sabatinelli, Guido & Uliana, Marco, 2015, Synopsis of the genus Pharaonus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae), with descriptions of new taxa, Zootaxa 4012 (1), pp. 167-180 : 178

Pharaonus (Tamerlanius) lederi ( Reitter, 1888)

( Figs. 11 , 22 )

= Pharaonus lederi turcmenius Ohaus, 1941 (new synonymy)

Examined material. type specimens: Phyllopertha lederi Reitter : Turkmenia, Askabat [= Ashgabat], Leder: 1 ♂ (holotype); same data of holotype: 2 ♂, 2 ♀ (paratypes); Turkmenia, Leder: 1 ♂ (paratype). All from HNHM, ex coll. Reitter. Pharaonus lederi turcmenius Ohaus : Turkmen, Merw, 1 ♂, holotype (MNB).

Other specimens: Uzbekistan, Buchara, Koron 15 Km Ekoc. Dzejran, 23.V.92, Snizek leg., 16 specimens ( DKCC, MUCC); Buchara, 1 specimen ( MNHN); Buchara, Repetek, 5.1900, Coll. Hauser, 3 ex ( MUCC), Bucharia, Repetek ( MSNM, ex. coll. Turati): 1 ♂; [ Turkmenistan] Transcaspien, Tedschen [=Tejen]: 1 ♂ ( MSNM).

Distribution. Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Remarks. The subspecies P. lederi turcmenius (cited with the incorrect spelling P. lederi turcmenicus in Zorn 2006) was described by Ohaus (1941) based on a single male from Merw ( Turkmenistan). The status of this subspecies was never reassessed: it was apparently overlooked in the comprehensive works by Medvedev (1949) and Nikolajev (1987), and remained unknown to Král (2012). After the examination of both the type series and of additional specimens, we could not find significant differences between P. lederi turcmenius and the nominotypical subspecies P. lederi lederi : therefore, we consider them synonyms. The differences mentioned by Ohaus (1941) can be confidently referred either to the poor condition of the specimen (almost complete absence of setae from the pronotum of P. lederi turcmenius ), or to intraspecific variation (density of punctures on the pronotum, color of the legs). With reference to the latter character, we could verify that the color of the legs varies among specimens coming from the same area. Within the type series of P. l e de r i, one female from Ashgabat has dark femora but reddish-brown tibiae and tarsi, while the legs of the remaining specimens are uniformly dark brown. We also observed that the legs (including femora) are blackish brown to reddish brown (including femora, see Fig. 11 ) among the specimens from the Buchara area.

Figures

FIGURES 11 – 12. Habitus of Pharaonus (Tamerlanius) species. 11: P. l e de r i, male (Koron 15 km Ekoc. Dzejran, Bukhara, Uzbekistan). 12: P. semenowi, male (Katta-kum, Turkmenkuduk, Uzbekistan).

FIGURES 15 – 23. Genitalia of Pharaonus. 15 – 19: aedeagus in dorsal, ventral, and lateral view of Pharaonus (Pharaonus): 15: P. adelphus, paratype (a-c) and holotype (d) (Kerman, Iran); 16: P. caucasicus (Gorovan, Armenia); 17: P. fasciculatus (Egypt); 18: P. farsensis, holotype (Darab, Iran); 19: P. saharicus, paratype (Tamrit, Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria); 20: P. varicoloreus (Halfeti, Birecik, Adiyaman, Turkey). 21: female genital sclerites of P. adelphus (Kerman, Bakram-djord [= Bahramjerd], Iran). 22 – 23: aedeagus in dorsal, ventral, and lateral view of Pharaonus (Tamerlanius): 22: P. lederi (Koron 15 km Ekoc. Dzejran, Buckara, Uzbekistan); 23: P. semenowi (Kul'dzhuktau, Kizilkum desert, Uzbekistan).