Athous (Orthathous) yozgatiensis Kabalak and Sert

Kabalak, Mahmut & Sert, Osman, 2010, A New Species Of Athous Eschscholtz In The Subgenus Orthathous Reitter (Coleoptera: Elateridae) From Turkey, The Coleopterists Bulletin 64 (2), pp. 119-121 : 119-120

Athous (Orthathous) yozgatiensis Kabalak and Sert , new species

( Figs. 1, 2a, 2b, 3a)

Type Locality. Holotype: 1 male, Yozgat province, Sorgun County, Yaylalik village, Şebek picnic area, 40° 4′ 27.48″ N, 35° 14′ 41.58″ E, 1442m, 13.VII.2006, leg. M. Kabalak. Paratypes: 2 males, Yozgat province, Sorgun County, Yaylalık village, Şebek picnic area 40° 4′ 27.48″ N, 35° 14′ 41.58″ E, 1442m, 13.VII.2006, leg. M. Kabalak. Specimens are deposited in the Hacettepe University Zoology Museum ( HUZOM) at the Hacettepe University Biology Department .

Holotype. Male, length 7.5 mm; width 2.07 mm; body dark brown; anterior margin of pronotum reddish yellow; lateral and basal margins of scutellum yellow-ferrugineous, remainder of scutellum dark brown; elytra dark brown except yellow-ferrugineous base and elytral suture and basal part of elytra; antennae and legs yellow-ferrugineous; body covered with short, sparse yellowish hairs. Head, including eyes, as wide as anterior margin of pronotum and covered with umbilicate punctures, with a longitudinal impression from vertex and to frontoclypeal suture; fronto-clypeal suture slightly convex, not reaching sides of clypeus; antennae extend beyond apices of posterior angles of pronotum by about two segments, second segment subconical, slightly longer than wide, third segment subconical, 1.4 times longer than second, 1.4 times shorter than fourth and slightly narrower at apex, second and third together clearly longer than fourth, segments four to ten triangular, 1.5 times longer than wide, segments four and five resemble each other more than others, segment eleven ellipsoidal and longer than penultimate segment; pronotum 1.1 times longer than wide, slightly convex on the disk, without median carina, sides feebly arcuate, posterior angles slightly divergent, not carinate, apex rounded and directed upwards, lateral margin fully visible in dorsal view; punctuation generally deep, dense and umbilicate, sparser and smaller on medial disk; scutellum semi-circular, narrower than the interelytral space, longer than wide, strongly convex, with deep and scattered punctures; elytra 2.5 times longer than pronotum; sides sub-parallel except on distal third; striae regularly and indistinctly punctured; interstriae feebly convex, rough, with dense, simple punctures; legs with tarsal segment four small, in dorsal view as long as half of the third and as long as one-third of fifth segment. Aedeagus length 1.09 mm, typical morphology ( Fig. 3a) for the genus, parameres acutely dentate and apex broadly rounded.

Female. Unknown.

Variation. 2 paratypes, length 9.25–10.61 mm, width 2.44–3.00 mm.

Habitat. Specimens were taken from shrubs by net in a woodland consisting mainly of Quercus L. sp. and Carpinus L. sp. These woodlands are at the junction of the typical Central Anatolian and the Middle of Black Sea Coastal regions of Turkey.

Etymology. The name of the new species is derived from the locus typicus (type locality), the Yozgat Province.

1 mm), b) Antenna (scale bar = 1 mm).

Diagnosis. Reitter (1905) proposed Orthathou s as a new subgenus of Athous . It is the most diverse subgenus in Turkey (Mertlik and Platia 2008). It can be differentiated from the other subgenera of the genus by: average smaller size; anteriorly inclined, not bordered, and convex scutellum; variable fronto-clypeal suture ( Platia 1994; Laibner, 2000). The general morphologies of A. yozgatiensis , A. kovancii , and A. fragariae are very similar to each other. On the other hand, several general morphological characters and aedeagal structures can be used to differentiate them. The second antennal segment is slightly longer than wide in the new species, whereas it is as long as wide in A. kovancii and A. fragariae . The third antennal segment is 1.4 times longer than the second in A. yozgatiensis , whereas it is two times longer than the second in A. kovancii and A. fragariae . The distal teeth of the parameres are more strongly pointed in A. fragariae ( Fig. 3c) than in A. yozgatiensis ( Fig. 3a) and A. kovancii ( Fig. 3b). The apex of the parameres is angled in A. kovancii and A. fragariae , but broadly rounded in the new species. A detailed comparison of general and aedeagus morphology, collection month, and localities for A. yozgatiensis , A. kovancii and A. fragariae are given in Table 1.