Malthodes aliger Kazantsev, 2021

Kazantsev, S. V., 2021, New species of Baltic amber soldier beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Cantharidae), Russian Entomological Journal 30 (2), pp. 153-158 : 155-158

Malthodes aliger Kazantsev sp.n.

Figs 5–10 .

MATERIAL: Holotype, ♂, specimen No. MAIG 6670 , Baltic amber, Middle Eocene, Gdansk Gulf Baltic amber (Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia) (ex. coll. Jonas Damzen, Vilnius, JDC9136).

Syninclusions. None.

DESCRIPTION. Male. Dark brown to black; palps, antennae, pronotal sides, elytra and tarsi light brown; narrow pronotal margins light brown testaceous ( Figs 5–6 ).

Head noticeably narrowed behind eyes. Eyes relatively large, interocular dorsal distance ca. 2 times greater than eye diameter. Terminal palpomeres elongate, noticeably larger than preceding ones, distally pointed. Antennae filiform, attaining to elytral half, with antennomere 3 ca. 1.4 times longer than pedicel (antennomere 2) and ca 1.1 times shorter than antennomere 4; antennomere ratio: 1.5: 1: 1.4: 1.5: 1.5: 1.45: 1.4: 1.4: 1.3: 1.2: 1.5; pubescence erect, relatively long, with longer separate bristles ( Figs 5–7 ).

Pronotum subquadrate, almost straight at sides, margined throughout, with almost straight sides, slightly convex at anterior and posterior margins, with almost straight anterior and posterior angles ( Figs 5–7 ). Scutellum triangular, round- ed at apex.

Elytra elongate, not shortened, covering almost all the abdomen, almost parallel-sided, separately rounded at apices, with longitudinal rows of small punctures ( Figs 5–6 ).

Legs slender and long, femurs and tibiae straight, tibiae and femurs subequal in length; tarsomeres 1–3 narrow, tarsomere 4 conspicuously widened and incised to base ( Figs 5– 6 , 8 ); hind tarsus claw with distinct tooth at base ( Fig. 8 ).

Terminalia with produced medially ultimate ventrite, with long, almost straight, slightly widened distally lateral lobes, and unmodified ultimate tergites, ultimate tergite ca. 0.5 times shorter than penultimate ( Figs 8 , 10 ).

Length (from anterior head margin to end of abdomen): ca. 4.3 mm. Width (humeral): ca. 1.0 mm.

Female. Unknown.

ETYMOLOGY. The name of the new species is derived from the Latin for ‘winged’, alluding to its developed hind wings and the length of its elytra.

DIAGNOSIS. Malthodes aliger sp.n. is quite unlike all amber congeners and, being somewhat similar to the extant M. spretus Kiesenwetter, 1852 in the structure of the terminalia, is easily separable by the long, almost straight, slightly widened distally lateral lobes of the produced medially ultimate ventrite and unmodified ultimate tergites ( Figs 8 , 10 ). Another character of the new species, a tooth at the base of hind claws ( Fig. 8 ), has not been previously reported in Malthodes .

REMARKS. The inclusion is preserved in a relatively large, but thin, 17×14× 2 mm, and clear amber piece; however, its location in the piece prevents observing it at a right angle from above and below.

Acknowledgements. It is my pleasant duty to express gratitude to Dr. El bieta Sontag (Museum of Amber Inclusions, Gdañsk, Poland) for the possibility to study the Baltic amber inclusions under her care and to Mr. Aleksej Damzen (Vilnius, Lithuania) for the photos of the new taxa.

Figures

Figs 5–6. General view of Malthodes aliger sp.n., holotype male: 5 — lateral view from the left; 6 — lateral view from the right. Рис. 5–6. ОбЩий вид Malthodes aliger sp.n., голотип, самец: 5 — сбоку слева; 6 — сбоку справа.

Figs 7–8. Details of Malthodes aliger sp.n., holotype male: 7 — anterior half of the body, lateral view from the left; 8 — posterior half of the body, lateral view from the right. Рис. 7–8. Детали Malthodes aliger sp.n., голотип, самец: 7 — переднЯЯ половина тела, сбоку слева; 8 — ЗаднЯЯ половина тела, сбоку справа.

Fig. 9–10. Terminal abdominal segments of Malthodes aliger sp.n., holotype male, ventro-lateral view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm. Рис. 9–10. Вершинные сегменты брюшка Malthodes aliger sp.n., голотип, самец, вид сниЗу и сбоку. Масштабные линейки: 0.5 мм.