Pterostichus (Feroperis) melanodes (Chaudoir, 1878)

Sun, Xiaojie, Shi, Hongliang, Sang, Weiguo & Axmacher, Jan Christoph, 2018, Two new species of Feroperis Lafer (Carabidae, Pterostichus) from China, with a key to all known Chinese species in this subgenus, ZooKeys 799, pp. 95-114 : 95

Pterostichus (Feroperis) melanodes (Chaudoir, 1878) Fig. 14B

Feroperis melanodes Chaudoir, 1878: 69 (original: Feronia ; syntype in Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France; type locality: “Mandchourie”). Jedlička 1962: 249; Lafer 1979: 29.

Type locality.

Manchuria, without reference to the exact type locality.

Type material examined.

Syntype of Feronia melanodes Chaudoir, 1 female (MNHN), "melanoides / Chaud. / Manchourie / Bouchard"; “SYNTYPE” [red label]; "Diffimpress / thoracis basi".

Diagnosis.

Body length about 15 mm, blackish, elytra shiny without metallic lustre. Pronotum round, widest at approximately anterior 1/3; lateral margins of pronotum strongly constricted to the base; lateral margins straight before posterior angles; posterior angles obtuse, with indistinct small denticles, lateral border at the posterior denticles less widened than the lateral broder anterior to the posterior angles; basal foveae rugose and convex, without punctures; basal foveae faintly defined, outer basal foveal groove short, inner basal foveal groove invisible, carinae between basal foveae and lateral margin shallower than other species. Elytra without humeral teeth; the third interval usually with 3 setigerous pores close to the second stria. Fifth tarsomere of all legs setose on ventral side. Male genitalia unknown.

Distribution.

Only known by the type materials from “Manchuria”, referring to the northeastern Provinces of China, without specified exact locality.

Remark..

P. melanodes was described on a female specimen from “Manchuria” that refers to a large area including Provinces Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and eastern parts of Inner Mongolia of present administrative divisions in China. While the exact type locality remains unspecified, P. melanodes is one of the earliest described, but also least known species in the subgenus, because neither its male genitalia nor the exact type locality are known. Lafer (1979) included P. melanodes as a dubious species in his work on Feroperis and extensively discussed its possible distribution and taxonomical position. Compared with other species from China and Russia, the species in question appears most similar to P. sungariensis Lafer, 1979 and P. chechcirensis Lafer, 1979 for their similar pronotum shape. Further distinctions between these species remain problematic as long as the male genitalia of P. melanodes remain unknown.