Microhoria iscariotes (LaFerté­Sénectère, 1849)

Telnov, Dmitry, 2022, Revisional notes on the genus Microhoria Chevrolat, 1877 (Insecta: Coleoptera: Anthicidae) from the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey, with new descriptions, an annotated catalogue, and a key, Baltic Journal of Coleopterology 22 (2), pp. 195-312 : 244-246

Microhoria iscariotes (LaFerté­Sénectère, 1849)

( Fig. 25 )

Anthicus Iscariotes LaFerté­Sénectère, 1849b: 301 (description).

Anthicus Iscariotes – Truqui 1855: 367 (distribution – Israel); Baudi di Selve 1877: 158 (supplementary description); Baudi di Selve 1878: 20 (checklist).

Anthicus iscariotes – Gemminger & Harold 1870: 2097 (checklist); Marseul 1879: 192 & 222 (key, supplementary description); 1887: 353 (checklist); Pic 1899a: 177 (records – Israel); 1902b: 186 (record – Jordan); Alfieri 1920: 44 (record – Egypt); Bodenheimer 1937: 133 (checklist; biogeography); Koch 1937: 194 (record – Libya).

Anthicus (Bifossicollis) Iscariotes – Sahlberg 1903: 31 (records – Crete, Egypt).

Anthicus (Bifossicolles) iscariotes – Schatzmayr & Koch 1934: 207 & 213 (bibliography, key, supplementary description, distribution, records – Egypt, Libya).

Anthicus prope iscariotes – Bodenheimer 1934: 222 (record – Israel).

Anthicus (Immicrohoria) iscariotes – Pic 1911a: 56 (checklist); Winkler 1927: 849 (checklist); Hariri 1968: 206 (checklist; record – Syria).

Anthicus (Bifossicollis) Iscariotes – Sahlberg 1913b: 193 (records – Israel, Lebanon).

Immicrohoria iscariotes – Alfieri 1976: 151 (new combination, record – Egypt).

Microhoria iscariotes – Uhmann 1985: 200 (new combination, records – Cyprus, Egypt); Uhmann et al. 2005: 5 & 41 (biogeography, bibliography, bionomy, records – Israel); El­Torkey 2014: 183, 191, 193 (key, figure, map, records – Egypt); Chandler et al. 2008: 440 (checklist); Kejval & Chandler 2020: 131 (assigned to the M. terminata species group); Telnov 2020a: 610 (checklist).

Type material not studied.

New material. 2 specimens BMNH: EGYPT B.M. 1934–135. // Marsa Matrouh 17.3.33 Egitto C. Koch // coll. Museo ent. Pietro Rossi Duino // Anthicus iscariotes Laf. det. C. Koch ; 1 male 5 males & females, NHMB: Matrah. Egypt. 17.3.33 Dr. H. Priesner ; 1 male NHMW: Salloum Egypt 23.3.33 Dr. H. Priesner ; 1 female NHMB: Foka Egypt 31.3.33 Dr. H. Priesner .

Supplementary description. Belongs to the M. terminata species group. Male from Marsa Matrouh, Egypt. Total body length 2.9 mm. Dorsum and venter entirely black­brown. Antenna, palps and legs generally black­brown to black, tibiae distinctly paler yellow in contrast to brown femora. Head about 1.2× as long as wide, basal margin broadly rounded, tempora subparallel, posterior temporal angles rounded. Compound eye moderate, slightly protruding from lateral outline of head, somewhat shorter than tempus. Head dorsum moderately glossy, punctures minute, moderately deep. Intervening spaces smooth, generally twice as wide as punctures. Dorsal cranial setae whitish, inconspicuous. Antenna thickened in apical half. Terminal antennomere moderately elongate, cylindrical, apically bluntly pointed, about 2.2–2.3× as long as penultimate antennomere, slightly longer than combined length of antennomeres 9–10. Pronotum barely longer than wide, narrower than head across eyes, glossy, rounded at anterior margin. Lateral margins slightly converging in posterior half.Pronotal disc slightly convex in dorsal aspect. Latero­basal pronotal fovea broad and deep, with somewhat longer, not much denser, suberect, curved setae. Pronotal punctures similar to those on head, intervening spaces glossy, much wider than punctures. Pronotal setae whitish to yellowish, moderately long, rather sparse, appressed. Elytra about twice as long as wide, laterally subparallel, slightly widened postmedium, dorsally flattened to slightly convex. Humerus broadly rounded, not protruding.Apex of elytron modified, slightly notched at opening of gland channel, barely projected posteriad. Elytral disc glossy, punctures distinctly larger and coarser than those on pronotum. Intervening spaces generally as wide as to twice as wide as punctures, smooth, glossy. Elytral setae whitish, moderately long and dense, subdecumbent. Legs without modifications, tibial terminal spurs paired. Tergite VII truncate at posterior margin. Morphological sternite VII broadly rounded at posterior margin. Aedeagus as in Fig. 25C–D . Tegmen with rod­like, apically widened and rounded process; endophallic armature with a bunch of long, narrow, subparallel spines and numerous, variable in shape, scale­like spinules.

Sexual dimorphism. Female elytron apex shortly, inconspicuously prolonged posteriad at median apical angle. Female tergite VII broadly rounded at posterior margin.

Ecology. Unknown.

Distribution. Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria. This species was originally described from “ Syrie les environs de Jérusalem ” (now in Israel) and without any confirmed records from Syria, where it is likely to occur. Records from Cyprus and Greece are dubious and require further confirmation since confusion with M. chakouri is possible. Identification of the specimens from Egypt as in El­Torkey (2014) is doubtful and requires verification.

Chorotype. E­Mediterranean (3.03 EME).

Figures

Fig. 25. Microhoria iscariotes (LaFerté­Sénectère, 1849).A – Male from Matrah, Egypt, habitus, dorsal view; B – ditto, forebody, dorsal view; C – ditto, aedeagus, lateral view; D – ditto, endophallic armature [not to scale].