Chlaenius (Chlaeniellus) laeviplaga gambronicus, Azadbakhsh & Kirschenhofer, 2016

Azadbakhsh, Saeed & Kirschenhofer, Erich, 2016, A new subspecies of Chlaenius (Chlaeniellus) laeviplaga Chaudoir, 1876 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Licininae) from South Iran, Zootaxa 4084 (1), pp. 143-146 : 144-145

Chlaenius (Chlaeniellus) laeviplaga gambronicus ssp. n.

Type material: Holotype, male, Iran, Hormozgan province, Roodan env., Roodan river , (27°28’14”N, 56°15’13”E), 189 m, 23.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., ( ZMUT ). Paratypes, 2 males, Iran, Hormozgan province, Mand river, (27°41’58”N, 56°14’29”E), 497 m, 19.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (SAc); 4 males and 2 females, same locality as holotype, 23.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (SAc); 1 female, Iran, Sistan va Baluchestan province, NikShahr C., (26°13’7”N, 60°12’57”E), 416 m, 17.IV.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (SAc); 3 males and 3 females, Iran, Hormozgan province, Roodan env., Deh-Gelkan, (27°19’19”N, 57°11’57”E), 150 m, 23.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (SAc); 3 females, Iran, Hormozgan province, Minab river, (27°9’ 33”N, 57° 5’13”E), 23.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (SAc); 1 female, Iran, Hormozgan province, Haji-Abad river, (28°29’56”N, 55°89’16”E), 13.III.2014, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (SAc); 1 Female, Iran, Hormozgan province, Rood-Khane env., (27°46’23”N, 57°09’48”E), 454 m, 20.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (SAc); 7 males and 6 females, Iran, Hormozgan province, Mand river (27°41’58”N, 56°14’29”E), 497 m, 25.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (SAc); 2 males and 1 female, Iran, Hormozgan province, Haji-Abad river, (28°9’04.5”N, 55°41’6”E), 837 m, 23.III.2007., R.F.F.L. Felix leg., (RFc); 1 male, Iran, Hormozgan province, Fin env., (27°36'15"N, 56°0' 32" E), 289 m, 12.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., ( DUBC); 1 female, Iran, Hormozgan province, Fin env., (27°36'15"N, 56°0' 32" E), 289 m, 12.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (AAc). 1 male, same locality as holotype, 23.II.2015, S. Azadbakhsh leg., (DWWc); 2 females, Iran, Hormozgan province, Geno Mt (27°20'41.8"N, 56°08'13.1"E), 240 m, 26.II.2015, P. Schnitter leg., (DWWc).

Description. BL 9.5–11.3 mm, BW 4.1–5 mm, mean HL/HW 1.9 mm, PW 2.2–3 mm and EL 6–7.1 mm. Head smooth and shiny green with little coppery luster in some individuals. Pronotum shiny green with coppery luster, in some cases just along the middle. Antennae, legs and palpi pale, yellow to light brown. Abdominal sternites dark brown to black. Antennae long and exceeding one fourth of elytra length.

Pronotum transverse, rounded lateral margins, slightly sinuate at base, mostly widest at middle but in some rare cases slightly before the middle. Base of pronotum with sparse and coarse punctures, particularly in the basal fovea and is smooth at the middle. Median longitudinal furrow just with some spars and shallow punctures along the furrow and punctures never impress and touch each other even at base ( Fig. 1 ).

Elytra dark, pubescent and coarsely punctured with parallel sides. Yellow border of elytra extended at apex and is stairlike.

Diagnosis. The new subspecies is most similar in overall appearance to C. vestitus (Paykull, 1790) , sharing its pronotum shape and elytral pattern. The two species can be diagnosed easily by the color of elytra and the aedeagus structure. In C. laeviplaga the median lobe of aedeagus is bent downward only at apex in lateral view ( Fig. 6) while in C. vestitus the median lobe is evidently bent also in the middle.

Pronotum. In new subspecies pronotum is close to nominate subspecies but differs in showing more rounded lateral margins which are widest at middle. In the nominate subspecies the pronotum is less rounded and widest before the middle ( Figs. 1, 3, 5 ). In subspecies C. laeviplaga saudiarabicus Mandl, 1980 the pronotum is wider at base, not cordiform as in nominate subspecies and not sinuate at base ( Fig. 4 ). In the nominate subspecies and C. laeviplaga saudiarabicus the base of pronotum is crossly punctuate and in rare cases punctures of the basal fovea are extended forward, reaching the anterior margin of pronotum, sometimes only at one side. Punctuation in the median longitudinal furrow is well impressed and reachs the posterior margin ( Figs. 2–5 ). Disk of the pronotum is normally impunctate, only some sparse punctures may be found ( Figs. 3, 5 ).

Elytra. Most evident differences between subspecies are found in the size and shape of the yellow apical band of elytra. In C. laeviplaga gambronicus ssp. n., this band is not normally very long when measured along the suture, but it is elongate along the side margin; the inner border of the macula is much more oblique than in the other subspecies and is mostly stair-like and never seems smooth in inner margin ( Fig. 9). In C. laeviplaga saudiarabicus the yellow apical band is larger and more extended up to the elytra disk, covering more than one third of the elytron length ( Fig. 8). In C. laeviplaga laeviplaga the yellow apical band of elytra is narrower than in C. laeviplaga saudiarabicus . In most cases the inner margin of the yellow apical band can be more smooth ( Fig. 7).

Legs. As in nominate subspecies.

Male genitalia ( Fig 6). Similar to that of the nominate subspecies. The basal lobe is slightly longer and striate, and the median lobe is bent downward in the apex.

Etymology. The specific epithet gambronicus is based on the name of Gambron, the older name of Hormozgan province where this subspecies was collected for the first time.

Distribution. The adult specimens of the subspecies Chlaenius laeviplaga gambronicus ssp. n., were collected from different parts of Hormozgan province and one point in Sistan va Baluchestan province, which shows that this subspecies is widely distributed in South Iran. Due to the similarity of climatic conditions, it can be expected that it will be found in Busher province. The new subspecies is separated from other subspecies of Chlaenius laeviplaga by the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. Pronotum of Chlaenius laeviplaga. 1. Chlaenius laeviplaga gambronicus ssp. n; 2. C. laeviplaga laeviplaga Chaudoir, 1876; 4. C. laeviplaga saudiarabicus Mandl, 1980 (Holotype, Natural History Museum, Basel; Photo: Matthias Borer); 3 and 5. C. laeviplaga laeviplaga Chaudoir, 1876 (Yemen, Socotra island; Photo: Jan Muilwijk);