Penthicus pazukii, Nabozhenko & Mofrad, 2025

Nabozhenko, Maxim V. & Mofrad, Farhad Eshraghi, 2025, Progress in the knowledge of the genus Penthicus Faldermann, 1836 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Opatrini) of Iraq, Iran and Pakistan with descriptions of 17 new species, Zootaxa 5573 (1), pp. 1-100 : 79-83

Penthicus pazukii sp. nov.

( Figs 63 , 64 )

Material. Holotype, ♂ ( HMIM) and paratypes, 4 ♂♂ ( HMIM): Iran, Kerman Prov., Baft, N. Shah [= Lalehzar ] Mt., H = 3200–4170 m, 27–29.v.1977 (leg. A. Pazuki).

Description. Male ( Figs 63A, C ). Body very slender, slightly convex, dull, dorsally black, glabrous. Tarsi and apical antennomeres dark-brown

Head widest across genae. Lateral margins of genae strongly rounded and protruding, slightly sinuated in apical half. Widest portion of genae located ahead of eyes. Head dorsally moderately and sparsely punctured by round punctures, epistoma with coarse and dense round punctures; secondary micropuncturation very fine but visible between large punctures. Eyes dorsally small, slightly longitudinal, 1.2–1.4 times as long as wide. Head ventrally with dense granulation in basal area to submentum and sparse rasp-like puncturation around mouthparts laterally and eyes.

Prothorax. Pronotum strongly transverse (1.64–1.73 times as wide as long), widest across middle, 1.57 times as wide as head, slightly narrowed from widest portion to anterior margin, ratio width of pronotum at base, widest portion and anterior angles: 19.5: 22.5: 15. Anterior margin widely evenly emarginated. Lateral margins moderately evenly rounded. Base rounded at middle and straight on sides, median portion slightly protruded backwards.Anterior angles slightly obtuse, tip narrowly rounded, posterior angles obtuse, tip narrowly rounded. Lateral edges finely margined, sulcus of anterior edge widely interrupted in middle, base entirely margined. Disc of pronotum slightly convex, slightly narrowly flattened along lateral margins, sparsely and finely punctured by circular punctures (interpuncture spaces near 2–5 times as long as puncture diameter), punctures on lateral sides slightly denser and slightly elongate in anterior half; secondary micropuncturation very fine but visible between large punctures. Lateral sides of prothoracic hypomera narrowly flattened; flattened portion with the same width from base to anterior margin, finely rasp-like punctured. Other surface with sparse small granules and dense smooth longitudinal wrinkles; each granule bears short suberect seta. Prosternum with moderately dense rasp-like puncturation and recumbent short setation. Prosternal process slightly convex, slightly protruded beyond procoxae.

Pterothorax. Elytra elongate, with slightly rounded lateral margins, widest at midlength (1.44 times as long as wide), 1.65 times as wide as head, 1.04 times as wide and 2.48 times as long as pronotum; slightly converging from widest portion to humeral angles. Basal margin of elytra in epipleural area strongly oblique, humeral angles obtuse, tip widely rounded, lateral edge of elytra not emarginated near humeral angles. Surface of elytra with fine micro-wrinkles and microsetation in apical third; puncturation of elytra very fine and sparse; strial punctures fine, elongate, in apical half like sparse dotted line, slightly larger or the same in size as interstrial punctures, which only 4 times larger than punctures of the secondary micropuncturation; interstriae flat. Epipleuron in apical portion 2 times as wide as metepisternum. Ventral side of pterothorax sparsely pubescent with short recumbent setae. Mesoventrite coarsely rugose and transverse wrinkled, mesepisterna with narrow transversely elongate granules. Metaventrite with spares rasp-like punctures on all surface, punctures with short recumbent setae.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites 1–2 and partly 3 with longitudinal ellipsoidal depression in middle, with longitudinal wrinkles (especially laterally), sparsely rasp-like punctured in middle, with sparse elongated granules on sides; ventrites 3 and 4 sparsely rasp-like punctured on all surface; ventrite 5 with dense and rasp-like puncturation, entirely margined at apex; secondary rasp-like micropuncturation very fine but visible between large punctures in all abdominal ventrites. Setation of abdomen shorter than on pterothorax ventrally. Genitalia ( Fig. 64 ). Inner sternite VIII widely evenly roundely emarginated, rounded in middle, with narrowly rounded lateral angulations. Spiculum gastrale with strongly S-shaped rods and moderately elongated blades. Each paramera strongly narrowed from base to acute apex,lateral margins slightly bisibuate. Basal piece 2.28 times as long as parameres.

Legs. Legs long and slender, femora far extending beyond body margin, metafemora longest. Protibiae narrow, with 1.24 times as width at apex as widest portion of profemora. Lateral margin of protibiae simple, not obliquely truncated near apex. Protarsi long, combined length of tarsomeres 1–2 equal to apical width of protibia. Metatarsus only slightly shorter than metatibia

Body length 10.2–11.5 (holotype 10.2 mm), width 4.3–4.7 mm (holotype 4.3 mm).

Etymology. The new species is named in memory of the late Dr Ali Pazuki, collector of the new species and famous Iranian entomologist who made a great contribution to entomological research in Iran.

Comparative diagnosis. This new species is most slender among all representatives of the subgenus Stonavus and belongs to the species subgroup from Kerman Province with entirely margined abdominal ventrite 5 ( P. bam sp. nov., P. kermanicus sp. nov., P. telnovi sp. nov.). Penthicus pazukii sp. nov. differs from all mentioned species by the very slender body with long slender legs (mesofemora far extending beyond elytral margin, while in the comparative species slightly extending or only reaching elytral margin), the pronotum slightly narrowly flattened along lateral margins, the elytra with very fine and sparse puncturation, strial punctures as sparse dotted line (compared species have simple coarse round dense strial punctures). The aedeagi of all speices of the subgroup are also different.

Figures

FIGURE 63. Penthicus (Stonavus) pazukii sp. nov., male, habitus, details.A = male dorsally; B = elytral puncturation; C = male ventrally; D = head and pronotum dorsally; F = ditto, dorso-laterally; G = prohypomeron.

FIGURE 64. Penthicus (Stonavus) pazukii sp. nov., genitalia. A = aedeagus ventrally; B = male inner sternite VIII; C = spiculum gastrale.