Exaesiopus grossipes (Marseul, 1855)

(Figs. 19, 54, 89, 118, 339–359)

Saprinus grossipes Marseul, 1855: 718, t. XX, Fig. 153.

Saprinus grossipes: SCHMIDT (1885a): 315.

Saprinus rugicollis: SCHMIDT 1890: 19 (nomen nudum, given as synonym).

Pachylopus grossipes: SCHMIDT (1896): 296; G. MÜLLER (1931): 102.

Hypocaccus grossipes: GANGLBAUER (1899): 393.

Styphrus grossipes: JAKOBSON (1911): 651.

Exaesiopus grossipes: REICHARDT (1926): 16; REICHARDT (1941): 329, 330, Fig. 117; PEYERIMHOFF (1936): 227; KRYZHANOVSKIJ & REICHARDT (1976): 232, Figs.455–458; VIENNA (1980): 196, Fig. 69; MAZUR & KASZAB (1980): 61, Figs. 31, 34 D–F; MAZUR (1984): 101; MAZUR (1997): 263; YÉLAMOS (2002): 338, Figs. 12E, 161G, 169, 170A; MAZUR (2004): 92.

Exaesiopus grossipes berberus Peyerimhoff, 1936: 227 .

Exaesiopus grossipes berberus: KRYZHANOVSKIJ & REICHARDT (1976): 232; MAZUR (1984): 101; MAZUR (1997): 263; MAZUR (2004): 92.

Note. Sensory structures of the antennal club were studied by DE MARZO & VIENNA (1982a).

Type locality. E. grossipes grossipes: Spain, France: Bayeux, Marseille. E. grossipes berberus: Algeria.

Type material examined. Saprinus grossipes grossipes . SYNTYPE: 1 spec. ‘tiny pink square label // 153 / Saprinus / grossipes / m. / Marseul / Baron [illegible] [round label, written] // TYPE [red-printed label] // Museum Paris / Coll. / De Marseul 1890 [light-blue label]’ (MNHN).

Additional material examined. Exaesiopus grossipes grossipes: BULGARIA: Asenovgrad, vi.1963, 1♀, A. Olexa lgt. SLOVAKIA: Čenkov, 24.vi.1987, 1 ♁, Vít Kubáň lgt. ITALY: Lagnola [illegible], xi.1910, 1 ♁ 1 ♀, Sekera lgt. SERBIA: Veliko Gradište, 2.ix.1955, 1 spec., Stančić lgt. (TLAN).

Exaesiopus grossipes berberus: TUNISIA: Kairuan, 6.–8.xi.1982, 1 ♁ 1 ♀, A. Olexa lgt. (TLAN).

Redescription. Body length: PEL: 2.10–2.75 mm; APW: 0.825–1.00 mm; PPW: 1.625–2.25 mm; EL: 1.25–2.00 mm; EW: 1.875–2.50 mm.

Body (Figs. 339–340) oval, convex, cuticle dark brown to black, sometimes with feeble bronze or greenish metallic tinge; legs, mouthparts and antennae reddish-brown.

Antennal scape (Fig. 342) with few short setae; club round, without visible articulation, entire surface with thick short yellow sensilla intermingled with sparser slightly longer erect sensilla; sensory structures of antennal club (Fig. 19) in form of stipe-shaped vesicle situated under circular sensory area on internal distal margin of the ventral side of antennal club.

Mouthparts. Mandibles (Fig. 89) stout, outer margin slightly curved; mandibular apex bluntly pointed; sub-apical tooth of left mandible large, almost perpendicular; labrum (Fig. 54) sparsely punctate, shallowly depressed medially, with two labral pits, two setae arising from each; epipharynx almost completely hidden under labral fold; terminal labial palpomere elongated, its width less than half its length; mentum square-shaped, with deep antero-median emargination (Fig. 118); anterior margin with few long setae, lateral margins with single row of much shorter sparse setae; cardo of maxilla with few short setae on lateral margin; stipes triangular, with three much longer setae; terminal maxillary palpomere somewhat thickened, its width less than half its length, about twice as long as penultimate.

Clypeus (Fig. 342) rectangular, almost smooth, anterior margin slightly elevated, somewhat depressed medially; frontal stria well impressed, almost straight (occasionally somewhat curved outwardly), carinate, continued as carinate supraorbital and postorbital striae; frontal disc with several irregularly shaped carinate longitudinal rugae; eyes flattened, inconspicuous from above.

Pronotal sides (Fig. 339) slightly convergent forwards; apical angles blunt; marginal pronotal stria complete; pronotal disc convex, with dense round punctation, forming longitudinal rugae laterally, postero-median part of disc in most cases smooth, at times entire pronotal disc punctate (punctation can also be stopping short of lateral pronotal margin); pronotal base with a double row of round dense punctures; pronotal hypomeron with amber setae; scutellum small, visible.

Elytral humeri slightly prominent, elytra broad, almost as broad as long at its widest point; elytral epipleura with microscopic punctures, almost smooth; marginal epipleural stria complete; marginal elytral stria deeply impressed, continued as well impressed apical elytral stria; along elytral marginal stria a regular row of round punctures present. Humeral elytral stria weakly impressed on basal third, sometimes double; inner subhumeral stria present medially, deep and rather long, rarely joining marginal elytral stria; elytra with four dorsal elytral striae 1–4, in punctures, all striae approximately reaching elytral half apically (occasionally slightly surpassing it), fourth stria connected with sutural elytral stria; sutural stria well impressed, in deep punctures, apically joining apical elytral stria. Elytral punctation variable, often confined to apical half, along elytral suture reaching almost two-thirds of elytral length anteriorly, punctures regular and deep, separated by about half to their own diameter, occasionally covering most part of elytral disc (elytral flanks and humeri almost always smooth).

Propygidium almost completely exposed, with coarse and dense regular punctation; punctation of pygidium sparser and finer, punctures separated by about 1–3 times their diameter.

Anterior margin of median portion of prosternum (Fig. 345) regularly rounded; pre-apical foveae well impressed; prosternal process slightly concave, impunctate dorsally, laterally substrigulate-punctate, few microscopic setae present; carinal prosternal striae divergent on prosternal apophysis, subparallel, vaguely united in front; lateral prosternal striae carinate, convergent anteriorly, united in front of apices of carinal prosternal striae.

Anterior margin of mesoventrite (Fig. 347) slightly emarginate medially; discal marginal mesoventral stria deeply impressed; disc somewhat convex, almost smooth; meso-metaventral sutural stria well impressed, in several punctures; intercoxal disc of metaventrite with longitudinal depression in male, smooth, basally with irregular sparse shallow fine punctures; lateral metaventral stria well impressed, carinate, obliquely arcuate, apically almost reaching metacoxa; lateral disc of metaventrite (Fig. 346) concave, with shallow setiferous punctures of various sizes, separated approximately by their own diameter, punctures fringed with setae; metepisternum with even denser and coarser punctation and setae, on apical third + fused metepimeron punctation much finer and sparser; metepisternal stria deeply impressed, present on fused metepimeron and approximately apical third of metepisternum.

Intercoxal disc of first abdominal sternite almost completely striate laterally; disc almost smooth, with sparse punctures along apical margin; lateral disc of all visible abdominal sternites with short setae laterally.

Protibia on outer margin (Fig. 348) with three low teeth topped with rounded blunt denticle followed by another two inconspicuous rounded denticles; setae of outer row sparse, moderately long; setae of median row shorter than those of outer row, sparse; anterior protibial stria shortened apically; protibial groove shallow; protibial spur minuscule, growing out from apical margin of protibia; outer part of posterior surface of protibia (Fig. 348) with irregular rugae; vaguely separated from comparatively narrower median part; posterior protibial stria complete, terminating in two minute inner posterior denticles; inner margin of protibia with double row of short dense ramose setae.

Mesotibia (Fig. 350) moderately dilated and thickened, outer margin with two rows of sparse short denticles; setae of outer row well sclerotized, comparatively short; setae of median row shorter and sparser, covering most part of posterior surface; posterior mesotibial stria vaguely impressed, shortened apically; mesotibial spur stout prominent and long; anterior surface of mesotibia smooth; anterior mesotibial stria shortened apically; claws of last tarsomere bent, shorter than half its length.

Metatibia (Fig. 349) triangularly dilated and thickened apically, two rows of tiny sparse denticles diverge on apical third creating glabrous free space in-between them; metatibia otherwise similar to mesotibia.

Male genitalia. Eighth sternite (Figs. 351–352) on apical half longitudinally separated medially, vela of the apical part asetose (Figs. 351–352); eighth tergite and eighth sternite fused laterally (Fig. 353). Morphology of ninth tergite (Figs. 354–355) typical for the subfamily; spiculum gastrale (Fig. 358) expanded on both ends. Aedeagus (Figs. 356–357) slender; basal piece of aedeagus rather short, ratio of its length: length of parameres 1: 3.5; parameres fused along their basal two-thirds; aedeagus apically slightly curved ventrad (Fig. 357).

Remarks. This species has two described subspecies: Exaesiopus grossipes grossipes (Marseul, 1855), distributed in southern Europe and southern parts of central Europe as far north as southern Slovakia and as far east as southern Russia, reaching Morocco and Canary Islands on its south-western distributional border; and Exaesiopus grossipes berberus Peyerimhoff, 1936 found in north Africa, from Morocco to Tunisia. Subspecies E. g. berberus differs from the nominotypical subspecies largely by the elytral punctation, which covers almost the entire elytral disc. Exaesiopus grossipes grossipes exhibits some degree of variation, especially regarding dorsal and ventral punctation, two sets of prosternal striae and other characteristics.