Hemisaprinus Kryzhanovskij, 1976

Lackner, Tomas, 2014, Revision of the genus Hemisaprinus Kryzhanovskij, 1976 (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Saprininae), ZooKeys 429, pp. 101-130 : 103-104

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Histeridae

Hemisaprinus Kryzhanovskij, 1976

Hemisaprinus Kryzhanovskij, 1976 in Kryzhanovskij and Reichardt (1976): 111, 182 (as a subgenus of Saprinus Erichson, 1834). Type species: Hister subvirescens Ménétriés, 1832, original designation.

Hemisaprinus (as a subgenus of Saprinus Erichson, 1834): Mazur (1984): 62; Mazur (1997): 231; Mazur (2004): 96; Lackner (2010): 63, 205.

Hemisaprinus : Mazur (2011): 188.

Diagnosis.

Although Hemisaprinus has been recently diagnosed by Lackner (2010), the published diagnosis has to be adapted with respect to the newly examined Hemisaprinus cyprius as follows: dark-brown to entirely black species usually with greenish hue to bi-colored species, with bronze metallic hue and partly reddish-brown elytra. Frons wholly punctate; frontal stria widely interrupted, can be slightly prolonged onto clypeus; mandibles punctate; pronotum punctate, pronotal depressions vaguely impressed to absent; pronotal hypomeron asetose; prosternal foveae present; carinal prosternal striae stopping short of prosternal foveae ( Hister subvirescens ) or entering them ( Hemisaprinus lutshniki , Hemisaprinus cyprius ). Lateral prosternal striae terminating in prosternal foveae ( Hister subvirescens ) or terminating near apices of carinal prosternal striae ( Hemisaprinus lutshniki , Hemisaprinus cyprius ). Elytra with vaguely to well-defined glabrous to sparsely punctate ‘mirror’; dorsal elytral striae 1-4 present, reaching approximately elytral half apically; in one species ( Hemisaprinus cyprius ) 2nd dorsal elytral stria missing.

Differential diagnosis.

By the presence of prosternal foveae Hemisaprinus can be readily differentiated from members of the genus Saprinus , which it otherwise strongly resembles, by the absence of complete frontal stria as well as general appearance. The sensory structures of the antenna (Figs 3, 15) are typically Saprinus -like as well, with four oval sensory areas on ventral side of the club with a corresponding vesicle situated under internal distal sensory area. The reader is referred to the Key to the genera of the Palaearctic Saprininae by the author ( Lackner 2010: 60) for more information.

Biology.

Hemisaprinus subvirescens is found chiefly on carcasses in arid regions while Hemisaprinus lutshniki is found in decomposing vegetable matter, and has not been found on carcasses so far ( Lackner 2010). The biology of Hemisaprinus cyprius Dahlgren, 1981 is completely unknown.

Distribution.

This genus includes three described species: Hemisaprinus subvirescens ( Ménétriés, 1832) known from Georgia, southern Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma and China ( Mazur 2011). It is herein newly reported from Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Jordan, Armenia, Cyprus and Mongolia. Hemisaprinus lutshniki (Reichardt, 1941) is known from southern Russia, western Siberia and Kazakhstan ( Mazur 2011) and Hemisaprinus cyprius Dahlgren, 1981 is only known from northern Cyprus: Kyrenia ( Dahlgren 1981).