Thysanarthria persica, Fikáček & Liu, 2019

Fikáček, Martin & Liu, Hsing-Che, 2019, A review of Thysanarthria with description of seven new species and comments on its relationship to Chaetarthria (Hydrophilidae: Chaetarthriini), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 59 (1), pp. 229-252 : 246

Thysanarthria persica sp. nov.

( Figs 1B , 10 A–E, 11 )

Thysanarthria cf. sulcata (part): FIKÁČEK et al. (2010: 139; misidentification).

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂ ( NMPC), IRAN: SISTAN AND BALUCHESTAN: Iran, Baluchistan , 16 km SE of Tange-Sarhe, 61 km, NNW of Nik-shahr, 10.iv.1973, Expedition National Museum Prague,locality 154. PARATYPES: 4 spec. ( NMPC), same data as the holotype. FARS: 1 ♂ ( NMPC): Iran, Fars,Ali-abad, 75 km NW of Djahrom,wadi of the river Shur, 10.vii.1970, Expedition National Museum Praha,locality 53. KERMAN: 1 ♂ ( NHMW): Iran, Kerman, Manujan, 110 km E Bandarabaas, at light, 2.vi.1974, lgt. Pretzmann, Exp. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vindob. [= expedition of the Natural History Museum, Vienna].

Description. Body length 1.7–1.9 mm (holotype 1.7 mm), maximum body width 1.0– 1.1 mm (holotype 1.0 mm). Head and labrum black; pronotum dark brown in centre, becoming slightly paler towards margins; elytra uniformly dark brown; legs brown. Head without microsculpture on interstices; punctation sparse, each puncture bearing pointed seta. Eyes separated by 2.5× the width of one eye in dorsal view. Pronotum with sparse setiferous punctation similar to that on head; interstices without microsculpture. Elytra with 10 striae sharply impressed except in basal fourth where neither striae nor serial punctures are visible; intervals weakly convex at midlength and near apex; interval punctation sparse, setiferous; interstices without microsculpture. Aedeagus ( Figs 10 A–E) 0.5 mm long. Phallobase slightly widened at base of parameres, c. as wide as parameres combined, slightly narrowing towards base, arcuately bent in lateral view. Parameres narrowly elongate, gradually narrowing towards apex, outer face arcuate or indistinctly sinuate. Median lobe narrow with widely rounded membranous apex nearly reaching level of parameral apices, paired subapical projections absent; gonopore transversely oval, situated in distal fourth of median lobe.

Differential diagnosis. Unlike most other Thysanarthria except T. wadicola sp. nov., T. persica has uniformly dark pronotum and elytra. Its genitalia are characteristic by rather elongate parameres with arcuate lateral face and widely rounded apex (in contrast to T. wadicola with prolonged acuminate apices of parameres). It also differs from T. wadicola in the median lobe nearly reaching the level of apices of parameres (in contrast to very short median lobe in T. wadicola ), in parameres c. one third as long as phallobase when seen in lateral view (c. as long as phallobase in T. wadicola ) and in moderately wide bases of parameres in lateral view (very wide base narrowing into a very narrow apex in lateral view in T. wadicola ).

Etymology. The name refers to Persia, the historical name of Iran this new species is described from. Adjective.

Biology. Based on HOBERLANDT (1981), the type locality was a rocky bank of a mountain torrent without vegetation at c. 900 m of altitude on stony mountains slopes; the specimens were collected from small gravel strands on the bank of the brook. The paratype from Fars was collected in a wadi with a stream with muddy and sandy banks ( HOBERLANDT 1974).

Distribution. So far only known from southern Iran.

Figures

Fig. 1. Habitus of the Thysanarthria species and related Old Word Chaetarthriini.A – Thysanarthria bengalensis Hebauer, 2001, holotype; B – T. persica sp. nov., paratype; C – T. siamensis Hebauer, 2001, holotype; D – T. hongsonensis Hebauer, 2001, holotype; E – European Chaetarthria: C. seminulum (Herbst, 1797); F – large Old World Chaetarthria: C. nigerrima (Blackburn, 1891).

Fig. 10. Male genitalia of Thysanarthria species, holotypes.A–E – T. persica sp. nov. (A–C – aedeagus in dorsal, lateral and ventral view; D–E – detail of median lobe and parameres in dorsal and ventral view). F–J – T. wadicola sp. nov. (F–H – aedeagus in dorsal, lateral and ventral view; I–J – detail of median lobe and parameres in dorsal and ventral view).

Fig. 11. Distribution of Thysanarthria and American Chaetarthria in Asia (A–B) and Near East (C), and examples of habitats of Thysanarthria (D–F). Localities: D – India, Madhya Pradesh, Bhadhua Chora stream ca. 10 km E of Matkuli Jhir, habitat of T. ceylonensis Hebauer, 2001; E – Republic of South Africa, Western Cape, 8 km NEE of Stanford, habitat of T. atriceps (Régimber, 1903), collecting spot marked by an arrow; F–G – Taiwan, Wufeng distr., 4.3 km SEE of Chaoyang University of Technology, habitat of T. chui sp. nov. (G – detail of sandy shore with one alive beetle). Photo D by M. Jäch, photo E by M. Fikáček, F–G by H.-C. Liu.