Microhoria sabellai, Telnov & Degiovanni, 2024

Telnov, Dmitry & Degiovanni, Augusto, 2024, Notes On Some Greek Microhoria Chevrolat, 1877 (Insecta: Coleoptera: Anthicidae) With New Descriptions And Synonymy, Acta Biologica Universitatis Daugavpiliensis 24 (1), pp. 81-127 : 111-113

Microhoria sabellai sp. nov. ( Figs. 27‒28 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F6BDE7FF-3F2D-4EA4-914C-53B1E4319208

Type material designated. Holotype ♂ ADC ( Figs. 27‒28 ): GRECIA: Laconia , str. Vassaras-Sparti , Vassaras, 11.III.95, Leg. Sabella [printed]. The left antennomeres 2‒11, left middle and posterior leg, and the terminal right mesotarsomere are missing.

Etymology. Patronymic. Named for Prof. Giorgio Sabella (Catania, Italy) – well-known coleopterist and specialist on Pselaphinae, the collector of the holotype.

Description. Holotype male, total body length 2.7 mm. Head 0.6 mm long, across compound eyes 0.5 mm wide, pronotum 0.5 mm long, maximum width 0.5 mm, elytra 1.6 mm long, maximum combined width 0.9 mm. Head black, anterior part rufous black. Pronotum, elytra, ventral pterothorax and abdomen rufous to yellowish brown, lateral area of elytron black to black-brown in posterior two thirds, the dark colouration is not touching lateral margin of elytron. Mouthparts, antenna, and legs pale rufous. Head slightly longer than wide, head base and posterior temporal angle rounded. Compound eye moderate, moderately protruding from lateral outline of head, hardly shorter than converging-rounded tempus. Head dorsum moderately glossy, sparsely and rather large punctate. Intervening spaces smooth, about 2–3× as wide as punctures. Dorsal cranial setae yellowish, long, moderately dense, not fully appressed. Antenna hardly enlarged in apical third, extending slightly beyond humeral area of elytra. Antennomere three slightly longer than antennomere two. Antennomeres 8‒10 somewhat shortened and stronger cylindrical compared to antennomeres 2‒6. Penultimate antennomere longer than wide. Terminal antennomere elongate, apically rounded, about twice as long as penultimate antennomere and about as long as combined length of antennomeres 9–10. Terminal maxillary palpomere securiform. Pronotum longer than wide, narrower than head across

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Dmitry Telnov, Augusto Degiovanni eyes, broadly rounded to medially subtruncate at anterior margin, broadly rounded at anterolateral angles. Pronotal disc moderately glossy, flattened in dorsal aspect. Lateral pronotal margins converge in posterior half. Latero-basal pronotal fovea broad and deep. Pronotal punctures distinctly larger and coarser than those on head dorsum, dense (especially on posterior lobe). Intervening spaces on pronotum slightly wider than punctures, smooth. Dorsal pronotal setation similar to that on head, stronger subdecumbent. Scutellar shield small, apically broadly rounded, minutely punctate. Elytra about 1.7× as long as wide, laterally broadly rounded, rounded at apex, dorsally flattened. Humerus nearly obsolete. Apex of elytron modified, apical sutural angle produced into moderately broad, slightly upwards-curved denticle ( Fig. 28A ). Elytral surface slightly glossy, similarly punctate as on posterior pronotal lobe, punctures large and deep, circular to elliptical. Intervening spaces variable, generally as wide as punctures. Elytral setae yellowish, moderately long and dense, subdecumbent, directed posteriorly. Metathoracic wings at least partially developed as is visible from under the elytra (functional or nearly functional). Legs without modifications, tibial terminal spurs paired. Basal metatarsomere slightly shorter than combined length of remaining metatarsomeres. Tergite VII truncate at posterior margin ( Fig. 28D ). Morphological sternite VII broad, subtruncate medially at posterior margin ( Fig. 28E ). Tergite VIII rounded at posterior margin and with scattered long setae ( Fig. 28F ). Morphological sternite IX Y-shaped, lateral arms short ( Fig. 28G ). Aedeagus ( Fig. 28B–C ) elongate cylindrical, slightly sinuous laterally, apex rounded;

112 endophallic armature with pair of long, rather thick, apically acutely pointed spines, slightly curved outwards and basally interconnected by a membrane of tegmen and with lateral paired row of densely spaced robust spines; basal spines much shorter and pointed apically or slightly obliquely inwardly, subapical spines long and (some) strongly curved outwards; a group of small, apically rounded median spinules between two long spines.

Sexual dimorphism. Female is unknown.

Differential diagnosis. Microhoria sabellai sp. nov. belongs to the M. longiceps species group as defined by Kejval & Chandler (2020). It strongly resembles M. decolorata ( Pic, 1897) ( Greece including Corfu and Samos) and the aedeagus is similar but somewhat produced apically in M. decolorata without the median spinules and with the comparatively shorter, not outwardly curved paired lateral spines of the endophallic armature. Microhoria globipennis ( Pic, 1897) ( Syria, S Turkey) is somewhat similarly coloured but the aedeagus is different (sinuous in lateral view, slender), the head is pale and the dorsal forebody distinctly denser and coarser punctured. Microhoria truncata (Pic, 1895) (S Turkey) possess distinct humeri and the aedeagus is slenderer with different endophallic armature. The aedeagus of M. sabellai sp. nov. is also very similar to that of M. antalya Kejval in Kejval & Chandler, 2020 (S Turkey), but the apex is strongly produced and the lateral spines of the endophallic armature – comparatively less strongly developed and not curved in M. antalya ; no median spinules present in the endophallic armature.

Ecology. Unknown.

Chorotype. E-Mediterranean (3.03 EME).

Notes on Some Greek Microhoria Chevrolat, 1877 ( Insecta: Coleoptera : Anthicidae ) with New Descriptions and Synonymy

Figures

Figure 27. Microhoria sabellai sp. nov., holotype ♂, dorsal view. A – Habitus; B – Dorsal forebody [not to scale]. Images: A. Degiovanni & D. Telnov.

Figure 28. Microhoria sabellai sp. nov., holotype ♂. A – Elytral apices, magnified; B – Aedeagus, ventral view; C – ditto, lateral view; D – Tergite VII, dorsal view; E – Morphological sternite VII, ventral view; F – Tergite VIII; G – Morphological sternite IX [not to scale]. Images: A. Degiovanni & D. Telnov.