Oxythyrea abigailoides Mikšić, 1978, resurrected species

(Figs. 2A–B, 3A, 3C, 4A–C)

Oxythyrea dulcis abigailoides Mikšić, 1978: 69 (original description).

Oxythyrea dulcis abigailoides: Sabatinelli 1981: 56 (review, key, biology); Mikšić 1982a: 67 (key, distribution), 1982b: 38 (monograph, key); Baraud 1992: 820 (monograph, key); Keith 2001: 95 (distribution); Nikčević 2010: 46 (distribution, conservation); Tauzin 2015: 118 (review, distribution).

Oxythyrea abigail Reiche & Saulcy, 1856: Mikšić 1977: 41 (key, distribution, biology).

Oxythyrea abigailoides (as a junior subjective synonym to O. dulcis): Krajcik 1998: 70 (catalogue); Smetana 2006: 298 (catalogue); Bezděk 2016: 389 (catalogue); Vondráček et al. 2018: figs. 15f–h (habitat preferences); Byk et al. 2022: 13 (distribution); Vondráček et al. 2023: 2 (diversity, habitat preferences, conservation); Schoolmeesters 2023 (online catalogue).

Type locality. “Vom “ Grossen Sandstrand ” bei Ulcinj an der Küste der Crna Gora [= Montenegro, Ulcinj env., Velika Plaža beach, ca 41°53’55”N 19°17’47”E]” .

Published records. Montenegro: Mikšić (1977): “Auf dem “Grossen Sandstrand” gegen 5 km südöstlich von Ulcinj im Küstenland der Crna Gora ”; Sabatinelli (1981): “ Montenegro ”; Mikšić (1982a): “Grosser Sandstrand bei Ulcinj, Crna Gora ”; Mikšić (1982b): “Grosser Sandstrand bei Ulcinj, Crna Gora ”; Baraud (1992): “littoral de Crna Gora (Ulcinj, loc. Type)”; Keith (2001): “ Monténégro ”; Krajcik (1998): “ Crna Gora ”; Smetana (2006): “ Yugoslavia (Crna Gora)”; Tauzin (2015): “ Crna Gora (Monténégro)”; Bezděk (2016): “ Montenegro ”; Vondráček et al. (2018): “ Montenegro ”; Vondráček et al. (2023): “Ulcinj Municip., central part of Velika Plaža near Ulcinj and Doni Štoj, ca sea level”; Byk et al. (2022): “Bojana at Ulcinj”; Schoolmeesters (2023): “ Montenegro ”. Greece: Vondráček et al. (2018): “ Greece: Peloponnese, Phalasarna, Kaiafa”; Vondráček et al. (2023): “NW Zacharo, Kaiafa lake (seashore), 4 m; W of Gialova, Gialova lagoon (sea shore), 4m ”.

Type material examined. Montenegro: Holotype (♁) (CNHM) “ MONTENEGRO | ULCINJ | VELIKA PLAŽA | MIKŠIĆ 2. V.[19]77 [hw] || HOLOTYPUS [red, p] || OXYTHYREA | DULCIS RTT. | S. ABIGAILOIDES NOV. [blue, hw, Mikšić’s hand] | | Miksic det., 19 [p] 79 [blue, hw, Mikšić’s hand] | 600:ZAG;ZEC1 | 1590. | coll. Mikšić [p]” (see Fig. 5) . Allotype ♀ and 27 unsexed paratypes (CNHM), same data as in holotype .

Additional material examined. Montenegro: 5 ♁♁, 2 ♀♀ (CUPC, NMPC), Ulcinj Municipality, central part of Velika Plaza near Ulcinj and Doni Štoj, 41°53’37.53”N 19°17’36.87”E, ca. sea level, 17.–18.v.2016, J. Kadlec, P. Šípek & D. Vondráček lgt . Greece: 18 ♁♁, 8 ♀♀ (CUPC, DSCP, LHCP, NMPC, SJCP), NW of Zacharo, Kaiafa lake (seashore), 37°29’59”N 21°36’20”E, 4 m, 15.iv.2018, L. Hrůzová, D. Král & D. Sommer lgt.; 34 unsexed spec. (ZSMC, ex. coll. Hillert), the same data but O. Hillert lgt.; 3 ♁♁ (NMPC), W of Gialova, Gialova lagoon (seashore), 36°57’25”N 21°40’21”E, 10 m, 15.iv.2018, L. Hrůzová, D. Král & D. Sommer lgt .

Diagnosis. Body (Figs. 2A–B, 3A) remarkable robust, enlarged, and rounded; dorsal surface sparsely but distinctly setaceous; dorsal surface totally black without metallic lustre. Pronotum (Figs. 2A, 3A) remarkably setaceous with 4–6 (rarely only with basal pair) whitish spots in two longitudinal rows; lateral margin as a rule with three distinctly separated spots from each other on each side, rarely with interrupted white lines consisting of three semicontiguous spots. Scutellum surface (Fig. 3C) finely shallowly microsculptured. Elytra with several rounded whitish spots, more or less equal in size, not connected to each other (Figs. 2A, 3A). Pygidium with six whitish spots. Male with triangular whitish spots at middle of visible abdominal ventrite 1 and 2 and rarely with additional one whitish spot on visible abdominal ventrites 3 and 4 (Fig. 2B). These spots absent in females.Abdomen ventrally on each side with three short whitish lines and more distally with two longer whitish lines in male (Fig. 2B), one such longer line in female. Lamina exterior of parameres relatively tinny in lateral aspect (Fig. 4A–C); lamina interior relatively narrow, tip at sharper angle in dorsofrontal aspect (Fig. 4A–C).

Differential diagnosis. Based on our examination of adult beetles a morphological differential diagnosis of O. abigailoides, resurrected species, from O. dulcis is summarized below in Table 1.

Distribution. Greece (Ionian coast of Peloponnesos) and Montenegro. For details see Fig. 6.