Description of Lacon mertliki sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Agrypninae) from the Hyrcanian forest ecoregion, with a key to the Lacon species of Iran Kundrata, Robin Németh, Tamás Jarzabek-Müller, Andrea European Journal of Taxonomy 2019 2019-07-05 535 1 13 59W7 445470 Laporte 1838 [583,675,1269,1300] Insecta Elateridae Lacon Animalia Coleoptera 7 8 Arthropoda genus     1. Pronotum with sublateral carina in posterior angles ......................................................................... 2 – Pronotum without sublateral carina in posterior angles ................................................................... 3   2. Pronotum more convex, with equally rounded sides; pronotal sublateral carina close to lateral carina; oblique keel on each elytron near scutellar shield distinct ( Fig. 4C); parameral apical lobe short, equally rounded .................................................................................  L. modestus(Boisduval, 1835)  – Pronotum less convex, more elongate, with widely rounded sides; pronotal sublateral carina distinctly far from lateral carina; oblique keel on each elytron near scutellar shield obsolete ( Fig. 4D); parameral apical lobe elongate, narrowly rounded ................................  L. mekrani(Candèze, 1889)   3. Pronotum longer than wide when width measured along half ......................................................... 4 – Pronotum about as long as wide or wider when width measured along half ................................... 5   4. Body covered with wide scale-like setae; pronotal punctation dense; pronotal posterior angles short, less sharp; punctures rough, large, often contiguous ( Fig. 4B) .............  L. punctatus(Herbst, 1779)  – Body covered with thick hair-like setae; pronotal posterior angles distinct, long, sharp; pronotal punctation less dense; punctures smaller, separated by about 0.5–1 times their diameter ( Fig. 4E– G) ...........................................................................................................  L. unicolor( Candèze, 1874)   Fig. 4.Habitus images of  Laconspp., dorsal view. A.  L. lepidopterus(Panzer, 1801), ♀. B.  L. punctatus(Herbst, 1779), ♀. C.  L. modestus(Boisduval, 1835), lectotype, ♀. D.  L. mekrani(Candèze, 1889), ♀. E.  L. unicolor( Candèze, 1874), lectotype, ♀. F.  L. unicolor, ♂. G.  L. nadaii Platia & Németh, 2011, holotype, ♂. H.  L. funebris(Solsky, 1881), ♂. Scale bars = 2.0 mm.   5. Body covered with hair-like setae; pronotal punctation sparse, punctures small ( Fig. 4F) ................ ...................................................................................................................  L. funebris(Solsky, 1881)  – Body covered with scale-like setae; pronotal punctation dense, punctures rough, large ................. 6   6. Body black; pubescence black and silver/yellowish with some white setae ( Figs 1A–D, 2K); male pronotal posterior angles only slightly divergent ( Fig. 2A); scutellar shield relatively wider, 1.35 times as long as wide in male, 1.15–1.20 infemales ( Fig. 2G–H); aedeagal paramere with apical lobe larger, robust ( Fig. 3B); large sclerite of bursa copulatrix relatively wider and with shorter spines ( Fig. 3G) ....................................................................................................  L. mertliki sp. nov.  – Body reddish brown to dark brown; pubescence usually uniformly golden (sometimes yellowish) and black ( Figs 1E–H, 2L, 4A); male pronotal posterior angles more divergent ( Fig. 2C); scutellar shield relatively narrower, 1.35–1.45 times as long as wide in males, 1.25–1.30 times in females ( Fig. 2I–J); aedeagal paramere with apical lobe smaller, slender ( Fig. 3A); large sclerite of bursa copulatrix relatively narrower and with longer spines (fig. 11 in Prosvirov 2016b) .......................... ............................................................................................................  L. lepidopterus(Panzer, 1801)