Deronectes tashk, Fery & Hasanshahi & Abbasipour & W, 2014

Fery, H., Hasanshahi, G., Abbasipour, H. & W, Iran., 2014, Deronectes tashk nov. sp. from the Fars Province (Iran) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 46 (2), pp. 1255-1265 : 1256-1262

Deronectes tashk nov.sp.

T y p e l o c a l i t y: Iran,FarsProvince,NeyrizCounty, ca. 80 km E Marvdasht, 11

km WNW Abadeh-Tashk, ca. 2 km NE Tashk village, ca. 1630 m above sea level

(29.8353N 53.6142E). The pool in which the specimens have been found is called

"Emamzadeh spring"; the brooklet that drains the pool has the same name.

T y p e m a t e r i a l: H o l o t y p e:, " 1.5.2013 Iran, Fars, ca. 80 km E/ Marvdasht, 11 km WNW Abadeh-/ Tashk, ca. 2 km NE Tashk village / Emamzadeh spring, 1630 m / 29.8353N 53.6142E / G. Hasanshahi leg. [111B1-3]" [printed], " Holotype / Deronectes tashk sp.n. / Fery, Hasanshahi & Abbasipour det. 2014" [red, printed] ( NMW). P a r a t y p e s: 12, 10, same label data as holotype, except red paratype label ; one male paratype without head and pronotum; another male without both forelegs and right midleg; one female without both midlegs, right protibia, protarsus and right antenna ( CHF, CHA) .

D e s c r i p t i o n

H a b i t u s elongate oval, rather flat; sides of elytra rounded ( Fig. 1 ), maximum width behind midlength of elytra. Pronotum distinctly cordiform, thus body outline with conspicuous discontinuity at shoulders. Dorsal and ventral surfaces black to large extent, appendages brown. Upper surface silky, neither shiny nor matt.

H e a d: Largely black, behind anterior margin and on vertex brownish; entire surface distinctly reticulate, meshes polygonal; punctation double and rather sparse; smaller punctures distinctly smaller than meshes, present in intersections of meshes; larger punctures as large as meshes; punctation denser and somewhat coarser towards vertex; on vertex larger punctures lacking. Anterior margin of head weakly emarginated. Clypeal grooves very distinct and large; grooves and stripe beside inner margin of eyes with dense larger punctures and very short and indistinct setae, elsewhere setae absent.

P r o n o t u m: Maximum width before midlength; distinctly concavely sinuate before base; posterior angles more or less rectangular, but appearing acute, because of minimum width of pronotum short before these angles. Lateral margins with distinct and shiny rim, rather thin over entire length. Pronotum lacking distinct broad longitudinal sublateral impression parallel to lateral margins; slightly impressed behind anterior margin right and left of middle, strongly impressed before posterior margin; thus, disc of pronotum appearing bulged. Pronotum black, only middle of posterior margin shining through brownish; entire surface reticulate, meshes slightly less impressed than on head; near sides meshes even less distinct. Punctation double, but coarser punctures on disc very sparse, much denser near anterior and posterior margins and near sides; no distinct punctures line present behind anterior and before posterior margins. Centre of disc with one rather deep longitudinal puncture. Light yellowish setae present on entire surface, but very sparse on disc.

E l y t r a: Rounded shoulders very prominent; sides behind shoulders almost straight and slightly diverging, in posterior third rounded to apex; pre-apically elytra somewhat impressed. Margin of elytra over entire length with shiny rim, thinner than rim of pronotum. In perpendicular view on upper surface elytral margin only perceptible at shoulders and near apex, because sides of elytra projecting over margin and obscuring it. In lateral view side margin strongly ascending to shoulders; epipleuron visible until shoulders. Elytra black; entire surface densely punctate; punctures smaller than small punctures on head and pronotum; in pre-apical impressions especially dense. Two puncture lines present on disc of each elytron; diameter of these punctures more or less same as that of small punctures on pronotum; puncture lines shallowly impressed. More laterally elytra with indistinct and more irregular additional puncture lines; on disc between puncture lines with very few additional larger punctures, their diameter smaller than that of punctures in lines. Sutural puncture lines in anterior half not recognisable; behind anterior half very few punctures perceptible. Entire surface reticulate, but meshes mostly incomplete and often imperceptible because of dense punctation. Elytra covered completely with light yellowish setae, more distinct between first puncture line and sides.

V e n t r a l s u r f a c e: Predominantly black; only mouthparts, gula, small parts of prosternum, propleuron, hypomeron, prosternal process, lobes of metaventral processes, and hind margins of third to sixth abdominal ventrites brownish. Underside of head distinctly reticulate and impunctate, but gula anteriorly and laterally with a few larger punctures. Setation on large parts of ventral surface present, but rather sparse and inconspicuous, only on parts of prosternum more distinct, particularly on prosternal process. Genae without crease behind eyes; some strong wrinkles present between eyes and mouthparts. Antennomeres 3 to 11 darkened in distal half. Last labial and maxillary palpomeres also darkened distally. Prosternum anteromedially vaulted and reticulated with narrow elongate transverse meshes, more laterally coarsely sculptured; narrow stripe before hypomeron posteriorly with transverse meshes, anteriorly with longitudinal wrinkles. Hypomeron densely and coarsely punctate; propleuron in posterior two thirds and inner part of anterior third also densely and coarsely punctate, in outer part of anterior third almost smooth and shiny, with very elongate meshes of reticulation; distally propleuron with some very coarse punctures. Prosternal column (declivitous part of prosternum between its base and prosternal process; sometimes also called "file") rather weakly ascending posteriad (as viewed in beetle turned upside down), between procoxae with indistinct protuberance near anterior part of procoxae and another even weaker protuberance near posterior part of procoxae. Prosternal process only weakly inclined; elongate lanceolate, weakly carinate longitudinally; sides with shiny rim, rather broad anteriorly, narrower more posteriorly; between rim and carina strongly sculptured/punctate. Tip of process narrowly rounded, reaching between mesocoxae and contacting anteromedial process of metaventrite.

Mesepisternum and mesepimeron largely with rugose sculpture, reticulation only recognisable on sides of mesepimeron; epipleura, metaventrite and metacoxal plates very densely covered with punctures; only middle of metaventrite less densely punctate; here reticulation distinct, elsewhere very indistinct due to dense punctation. Metacoxal plates with a few shallow wrinkles. Metacoxal processes less densely punctate than metacoxal plates, thus with reticulation somewhat more distinct; lobes of processes almost impunctate, with reticulation distinct. Metacoxal lines more or less parallel, anteriad becoming indistinct before hind margin of metaventrite. Metacoxal processes incised, obliquely cut; interlaminary bridge fully exposed, gradually transformed without step into a more or less triangular (or wing-likely shaped) elevation on second ventrite.

Abdominal ventrites largely densely punctate, only on second ventrite medially and on third ventrite anteriorly punctation less dense; punctation on last ventrite especially dense. Apex with more or less triangular incision (notch). Third to fifth ventrite centrally with some coarser punctures and with setae slightly denser than elswhere. Reticulation on ventrites only perceptible in areas of less dense punctation.

L e g s: Reddish-brown; profemora in proximal two-thirds and mesofemora in proximal half somewhat darkened; metafemora darkened only in proximal third and rather indistinctly. Metafemora sparsely punctate, without punctures along imaginary longitudinal midline, but rather densely punctate before posterior margin. Legs more or less simple; protibiae not conspicuously broadened distally. Protarsomeres distinctly broadened; protarsomere 2 almost four times as broad as long; protarsomere 3 more or less as broad as long. Mesotarsomeres also broadened, but less so than protarsomeres. Pro- and mesotarsal claws simple, evenly curved over entire length.

: Median lobe in ventral and lateral view as in Figs 3-4 ; left parameres as in Fig. 9 .

: Similar to males, but maximum width of pronotum on average somewhat smaller and pro- and mesotarsomeres less broadened. Protarsal claws slightly shorter than in males. Gonocoxosternum as in Fig. 7.

M e a s u r e m e n t s: Sequence of data: holotype /males (n = 10) mean (minmax)/females (n = 8) mean (min-max): TL = 4.25 mm /4.39 (4.1-4.5) mm/4.29 (4.0-4.5) mm; TL-h = 3.8 mm /3.96 (3.8-4.0) mm/3.89 (3.65-4.1) mm; MW = 2.0 mm/2.03 (1.9- 2.1) mm/2.04 (1.9-2.15) mm; Pmax = 1.45 mm /1.50 (1.4-1.55) mm/1.46 (1.35-1.55) mm; Pmin = 1.25 mm /1.30 (1.25-1.35) mm/1.29 (1.25-1.35) mm; TL/MW = 2.13/2.16 (2.12- 2.20)/2.10 (2.05-2.15); TL-h/MW = 1.90/1.95 (1.88-2.00)/1.91 (1.88-1.95); Pmax / Pmin = 1.16/1.15 (1.12-1.18)/1.13 (1.08-1.15); MW/ Pmax = 1.38/1.35 (1.33-1.40)/1.40 (1.39- 1.43). To support the comparison with D. longipes (see below), we give already here the measurements of the male lectotype /female paralectotype of this species: TL = 4.1 mm / 4.15 mm; TL-h = 3.8 mm / 3.8 mm; MW = 2.0 mm/ 1.9 mm; Pmax = 1.5 mm / 1.4 mm; Pmin = 1.45 mm / 1.25 mm; TL/MW = 2.05/2.18; TL-h/MW = 1.90/2.00; Pmax / Pmin = 1.05/1.12; MW/ Pmax = 1.33/1.36.

V a r i a b i l i t y:Thespecimensshownoremarkablevariabilityofanyexternalmorphological feature. The tip of the anteromedial metaventral process is in some specimens rather pointed, in others slightly broader and rounded. So as not to destroy the holotype and most paratypes, we have studied the mesocoxal cavities of only one specimen – its cavities are open. We assume that the other specimens have also open cavities, because in all of them the mesocoxae are quite closely situated, no matter how the anteromedial metaventral process is shaped. The shape of the protarsomeres is in some males less broadened, more or less only slightly more than three times as broad as long. The straight distal half of the median lobe of aedeagus (in lateral view) is in some males slightly shorter than illustrated in Fig. 4.

D i s t r i b u t i o n: Known so far only from the type locality at the southern border of the Kuh-e Kum mountain range, central eastern Fars Province (Fig. 11). The Kuh-e Kum is part of the huge Zagros mountain range, but geographically isolated from the more south-western parts of the Zagros mountains by a large plane where Deronectes species with their invariable preference for mountain springs and brooks undoubtedly cannot exist. This plane (altitude ca. 1500-1600 m) spreads more or less from Marvdasht in the northwest to Neiriz in the southeast (length ca. 250 km) and includes Lake Tashk and Lake Bakhtegan (both salty; together known as the "Neyriz Lakes"). The map (Fig. 11) shows also the distribution of D. longipes . The relevant data for the collecting sites of the latter species are as follows: B u y e r A h m a d o K u h g i l u y e P r o - v i n c e: (1) ca. 15 km N Gachsaran, (2) ca. 20 km NW Yasuj, (3) ca. 10 km S Yasuj; F a r s P r o v i n c e: (4) ca. 20 km N Nurabad, (5) ca. 20 km E Farrashband, (6) Chesmeh Darrehbidi, ca. 15 km W Shiraz, (7) Bamoo National Park, ca. 20 km NE Shiraz, (8) ca. 50 km N Firuz Abad, (9) ca. 45 km W Ghir, (10) ca. 15 km W Ghir, (11) ca. 160 km W Lar, (12) ca. 40 km E Jahrom, (13) ca. 10 km S Juyom, (14) ca. 50 km S Juyom, (15) ca. 30 km E Juyom, (16) N Lar, Mahmood Abad. All records have already been provided in FERY & HOSSEINIE (1998), except the first one; this is why we give for collecting site (1) the full data set: 3, 24.3.1999, Iran, Kohkiluye & Boyer Ahmad Prov., 16 km N Gachsaran, stream, 730 m, Elmi leg. (CHF). N o t e s: Several additional records for D. longipes , situated in more northern regions of the Zagros mountains than in Fig. 11, are given in FERY & HOSSEINIE (1998, fig. 149).

E c o l o g y: All specimens of the new species have been collected in the pool. The water of the spring drains the pool at its eastern margin via the Emamzadeh brooklet ( Fig. 12 ), in which, however, no beetles have been found. The pool has an oval shape with a diameter of about 6 to 8 m and a maximum depth of about 2 m; the bottom is covered with sand and gravel. The pool and the brooklet exist only temporarily, during two to four months per year in springtime. Outside the pool, three different plants grow: the wild almond (Amygdalus scoparia), the Arjan tree (Amygdalus reuteri) and the Baneh tree (Pistacia atlantica), the residues of which were found in the water. The beetles were found near the border at a little depth on the rocks and on algae or within accumulations of algae; they were continually swimming with rather high velocity in the almost stagnant water. The water temperature was moderate (not measured). The only other beetles collected in the same pool were four Agabus biguttatus (OLIVIER, 1795) . No vegetation was present in the pool except some algae. A few frogs were observed in the

- 1 circles () 1882, HARP S(longipes Deronectes and) asterisk (.

sp.

nov tashk Deronectes of sites collecting with Iran.) southern in text the. 11: Map of explanations Fig 16;

pool. Several other springheads exist near the type locality within a radius of about 4 km, but no aquatic beetles have been found; thus, the new species seems to be present only in the type locality. In two more distant localities, however, have been found some dytiscids: (a) ca. 20 km ENE of the Emamzadeh spring, ca. 7 km NNW Khaje Jamali village, Khales river, 29.8740N 53.8178E, 2170 m: A. biguttatus , Agabus conspersus (MARSHAM, 1802) , Bidessus calabricus GUIGNOT, 1957 , Laccophilus hyalinus (DEGEER, 1774) , and Nebrioporus sagartus TOLEDO, 2009 ; (b) ca. 23 km ENE of the Emamzadeh spring, ca. 6 km N Khaje Jamali village, Chaghool brooklet, 29.8715N 53.8468E, 2260 m: A. biguttatus . Unfortunately, the type locality was not photographed when the specimens were collected in May 2013. When we tried to make such a photo in the spring of 2014, the pool was totally dry ( Fig. 12 ).

N o t e s: Indistinct, but perceptible traces of the pool and of the brooklet can be found in Google-Earth (accessed in September 2014).

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet relates to the salty Lake Tashk and two villages (Tashk and Abadeh Tashk) situated near the pool in which all type specimens have been collected. It is a noun in the nominative singular standing in apposition.

Figures

Figs 1-2: Habitus of (1) Deronectes tashk nov.sp. (holotype, male) and (2) Deronectes longipes SHARP, 1882 (lectotype, male; on original glue card with SHARP's gender symbol).

Figs 3-10: Deronectes tashk nov.sp. (male holotype and female paratype): median lobe in ventral (3) and lateral (4) view, gonocoxosternum (7), left paramere (9); Deronectes longipes (SHARP, 1882) (male lectotype and female paralectotype): median lobe in ventral (5) and lateral (6) view, gonocoxosternum (8), left paramere (10). The arrows indicate the frontal view on the parameres.

Fig. 12: Collecting site of Deronectes tashk nov.sp., Emamzadeh spring (pool) and Emamzadeh brooklet (in the background), both totally drained in April 2014; G. HASANSHAHI in the middle of the pool.