Merizomena Chaudoir, 1873

Muilwijk, Jan, Felix, Ron & Anichtchenko, Alexander, 2022, A taxonomic revision of the genus Merizomena Chaudoir, 1873 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Lebiini), Baltic Journal of Coleopterology 22 (1), pp. 1-54 : 4-5

Genus Merizomena Chaudoir, 1873

genus Merizomena Chaudoir, 1873: 100 , type species Cymindis basalis Chaudoir, 1852 (designated by Bedel, 1907).

genus Calleida Maindron, 1905: 331 .

genus Merizomena : Bedel, 1907: 266.

genus Glycia Chaudoir, 1842 , subgenus Merizomena : Jakobson, 1908: 402.

genus Glycia Chaudoir, 1842 , subgenus Merizomena : Winkler, 1924: 204 (Callidini).

genus Glycia Chaudoir, 1842 , subgenus Merizomena : Csiki, 1932: 1437 (Subtribe Calleidina Chaudoir, 1873 : Callidini).

genus Agatus Motschulsky, 1845 , subgenus Merizomena : Kryzhanovskij, 1965: 103.

genus Merizomena : Emetz, 1973: 1413 (Subtribe Cymindidina Laporte, 1834 : Cymindina ).

genus Merizomena : Kryzhanovskij, 1983: 281, 284.

genus Glycia Chaudoir, 1842 , subgenus Merizomena : Kirschenhofer, 1994: 1002.

genus Merizomena : Kryzhanovskij et al., 1995: 169 (Subtribe Cymindidina Laporte, 1834 : Cymindina ). genus Merizomena : Lorenz, 1998: 465 (Subtribe Agrina Kirby, 1837 ).

genus Merizomena : Kabak, 2003: 409 (Subtribe Agrina Kirby, 1837 ).

genus Merizomena : Lorenz, 2005: 491 (Subtribe Agrina Kirby, 1837 ).

genus Merizomena : Mikhailov, 2013: 21 (Subtribe Cymindidina Laporte, 1834 : Cymindina ).

genus Merizomena : Azadbakhsh & Nozari, 2015: 98 (Subtribe Agrina Kirby, 1837 ).

genus Merizomena : Kabak, 2017: 581 (Subtribe Calleidina Chaudoir, 1873 ).

Redescription. Recognizable by the combination of the following characters: small to medium sized Lebiini (BL: 5–8.5 mm); elytra bicolored, base yellowish or red and distal part dark brown, black or violet. Dorsal and ventral side of body covered with punctures and hairs. Ventral sides of tarsomeres covered with bristles, dorsal side with scarce pubescence. Hind wings fully developed.

Head. Mostly with prominent eyes. Labrum flat, transverse; its anterior margin almost straight, with three pairs of setae. Clypeus flat, with one pair of antero­lateral setiferous pores. Frontoclypeal suture superficially, shortened laterally. Frons flat, with elongate wrinkles along the sides, smooth in the middle. Supraorbital furrow short, deepened. Mandibles short, with a clear scrobe. Two pairs of supraorbital setiferous pores located along upper margin of eye; anterior pore located close to front margin of eye in the supraorbital furrow and posterior one just behind the eye. Suborbital setae absent. Several additional setae located on sides of vertex, posterior of the eyes. Frons and vertex sparsely punctate and with short pubescence. Maxillary palpi with ultimate segment fusiform, penultimate palpomere shorter than both basal and ultimate palpomeres. Ultimate labial palpomere securiform, with or without pubescence. Mentum and submentum not fused. Mentum with acute lateral lobes and with rounded median tooth; with two setiferous pores at anterior margin laterally of median tooth. Submentum with two setae. Ligular sclerite wide, anterior margin concave in middle, with a pair of apical setae.Antennae pubescent beginning with antennomere 4; antennomere 1–3 with apical setae and some additional hairs.

Thorax. Pronotum cordiform, base lobed, subrectilinear medially, oblique and slightly incised laterally toward hind angles; not marginated in middle; sparsely punctured and pubescent. Scutellum smooth. Prosternum, meso­ and metasternum, pro­, mes­ and metepisterna and epipleura with scattered punctures and pubescence.

Abdomen. Elytra truncate, widest at apical quarter; shoulders are subrectangular, though rounded, with some scattered short hairs. Sutural apical angle nearly at a right angle, with or without a small dent. Basal border complete or interrupted at level of the 3 th or 4 th stria. Parascutellar striole and parascutellar setiferous pore present. Interstriae with punctures and pubescence, the punctures arranged mostly in one–two irregular rows. Umbilicate series continuous, consisting of 13– 18 pores, penultimate puncture not laterally displaced and one pore located at apex of striae 3. Epipleura of elytra not reaching external apical angle and not visible from above. Dorsal surface of elytra pubescent. Anal ventrite with 2–5 pairs of setae along apical margin.

Legs. Apical spines of tibiae shorter than half of tarsomere 1. Protibiae with an apical bundle of bristles. Tarsi with some hairs on dorsal side; tarsomere 4 without distinct anterolateral lobes. Male pro­ and mesotarsi dilated and clothed beneath with whitish ventral adhesive hairs. Claws denticulate on inner side.

Median lobe. Flattened, straight for most of its length, its ventral margin bisinuate, apical orifice displaced to the left; apical lamella short, wide, rounded apically. Endophallus with 1 or 2 copulatory pieces.Left paramere short, broadly rounded at apex, right paramere with an incision on apical margin.

Female genitalia. Gonocoxite 1 glabrous, gonocoxite 2 with numerous short apical and preapical spinae and setae; with a hyaline apex. Spermatheca elongate, ductus like, with long basal ductus. The spermathecal gland is delicate and ends with a long thin duct in the spermatheca.

Comparative notes. The related genera Glycia Chaudoir, 1842 , Paraglycia Bedel, 1904 and Lipostratia Chaudoir, 1872 differ from Merizomena by form of copulatory pieces of endophallus; absence of punctures and pubescence on pronotum, elytra and supplementary setae on vertex; absence of pubescence on dorsal side of tarsomeres and by more distinctly distinct anterolateral tarsomere 4.

Distribution. N.W. Africa to middle Asia.