Penthicus kasatkini, 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 : 57-59

Penthicus kasatkini sp. nov.

( Figs 45 , 46 )

Type material. Holotype, ♂ and paratypes 6♂, 4♀ ( ZIN, PCMN): Iran, Golestan Prov., Khoshyeylāq vill., 36°49ʹ31.80ʺN, 55°20ʹ31.78ʺE, 5–16.v.2016 (leg. D.G. Kasatkin).

Description. Male ( Figs 45A, B ). Body robust, moderately convex, dull, black, dorsally glabrous.

Head widest across genae. Lateral margins of genae widely rounded in basal half and straightly converging to epistoma in apical half. Widest area of genae located ahead of eyes. Head dorsally finely and sparsely punctured by circular punctures in median portion of frons and coarsely densely punctured around frons, on genae and epistoma. Eye dorsally subequal in length and width. Head ventrally with dense granulation in basal two thirds, with raduliform coarse puncturation around mouthparts and eyes and with smooth surface near cardo.

Prothorax. Pronotum strongly transverse (1.65 times as wide as long), widest across middle, 1.58–1.6 times as wide as head, more converging from widest portion to anterior margin than to base, ratio width of pronotum at base, widest portion and anterior angles: 19.1: 20.5: 14.2. Anterior margin widely evenly emarginated. Lateral edges moderately evenly rounded. Base bisinuate, rounded at middle, with median portion protruded backwards. Anterior angles slightly obtuse, not strongly projected, tip narrowly rounded, posterior angles also obtuse with tip narrowly rounded. Lateral edges finely margined, margin of anterior edge widely interrupted in middle, base margined only laterally, the protruded median portion of base not margined. Disc of pronotum slightly convex, not flattened on sides, sparsely punctured by circular, moderately coarse punctures; interpuncture spaces in median portion near 3–4 times, on lateral sides 2–3 times as long as puncture diameter, punctures smoothed; secondary micropuncturation very fine and sparse, but visible between large punctures. Prohypomera with smooth fine wrinkles only near coxae, lateral sides not flattened; surface with sparse and coarse round granules, each granule bears short suberect seta. Prosternum with smooth flattened granules and recumbent short setation. Prosternal process slightly convex, slightly protruded beyond procoxae.

Pterothorax. Elytra elongate, with very slightly rounded lateral margins (almost subparallel), widest at midlength (1.4 times as long as wide), 1.8 times as wide as head, 1.12 times as wide and 2.65 times as long as pronotum. Basal margin of elytra straight, humeral angles slightly obtuse, slightly projected, tip pointed, lateral margin of elytra shortly emarginated near humeral angles. Puncturation of elytra moderately coarse; strial punctures round, the same in size as interstrial ones, but little depressed and denser; interstriae flat. Epipleuron in apical portion 2.2 times as wide as metepisternum. Ventral side of pterothorax sparsely pubescent with short recumbent setae. Mesoventrite with raduliform sculpture, mesepisterna with large smooth raduliform foveae. Metaventrite with smooth sparse granules on sides and sparse coarse puncturation at median portion; metepisterna with the same puncturation.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites 1–4 sparsely and finely granulated on sides and punctured with fine and sparse punctures medially; ventrites 4 and 5 with simple puncturation, denser and coarser on the latter, which is not margined. Setation of abdomen the same as on pterothorax ventrally. Genitalia ( Figs 46A–C ). Inner sternite VIII widely evenly roundely emarginated, with widely rounded lateral angulations. Spiculum gastrale with thickened slightly and unevenly curved rods; blades slightly elongate, outer margin trisinuate, apex acute and pointed, sparsely punctured near outer margin. Parameres wide, each paramera subparallel in apical half and sharply obliquely truncated at apex (at angle of 50°), truncated portion of margin slightly emarginated; lateral margins widely slightly emarginated. Basal piece 1.82 times as long as parameres.

Legs. Legs short, profemora reaching prothoracic edge, mesofemora slightly extending and metafemora more extending beyond elytral margin. Protibiae moderately wide, 1.14 times as short at apex as maximal width of profemur. Lateral margin of protibiae simple, not obliquely truncated near apex. Protarsomeres short, combined length of 1–3 tarsomeres subequal to apical width of protibia.

Female ( Fig. 45C ). Body more robust, lateral margins of elytra more rounded, femora shorter, pro- and mesofemora not reaching body margin, metafemora slightly visible dorsally. Ovipositor ( Figs 46D, E ). Valvifer 1 suboval, widest at apical two thirds, apex narrowly rounded, baculi distinct, with short process on posterior margin near apex, shortly bent at apex; coxite lobes 4 wide, widely rounded at apex, gonostyli moderately short and narrow, subcylindrical, with several long setae at apex. Baculi of paraproct comparatively narrow, almost straight and subparallel after curved portion.

Body length (both sexes) 10.5–11.5, width 4.5–5 mm.

Etymology. The new species is named in honour of our friend and colleague Dr Denis Kasatkin (Rostov Branch of the Federal State Budgetary Institution All-Russian Plant Quarantine Centre, Rostov-on-Don, Russia), who collected the type series of this species and many other Tenebrionidae in Iran, including Penthicus spp.

Diagnosis. The new species belongs to the iners species-group. It is most similar to P. ardoini by not flattened margins of pronotal disc, slightly projected humeral angles with pointed tip and shortly sinuous lateral elytral margin near humeral angles. Penthicus kasatkini sp. nov. distinctly differs from P. ardoini in the following characters: the pronotum slightly less transverse (1.65–1.66 times as wide as long vs 1.7 in P. ardoini ) and widest at middle ( Fig. 45D ) (behind middle in P. ardoini ( Fig. 33E )), without groove along lateral margin ( Fig. 45E ); the lateral side of the prothoracic hypomera is not flattened, surface of the hypomera without sharp wrinkles among granules ( Fig. 45F ) (widely flattened margin and coarsely wrinkled surface in P. ardoini ( Fig. 33G )); the puncturation of the pronotum coarser; the elytra with the comparatively coarse strial and interstrial punctures (very fine and sparse interstrial puncturation and very fine stippled strial punctures in fine striae in P. ardoini ); legs shorter, the profemora not visible dorsally, and the mesofemora shortly extending beyond the elytral margin ( Figs 45A, C ) (profemora slightly, meso- and metafemora extend far beyond elytral margin in males ( Fig. 33A ) and apices of profemora well visible in females in P. ardoini ( Fig. 33B )); the parameres wider and obliquely truncated at the apex at an angle 50° ( Fig. 46A ) (parameres narrower, 62° in P. ardoini ( Fig. 34A )); the blades of the spiculum gastrale with the acute and pointed apex and trisinuate outer margin ( Fig. 46C ) (widely rounded apex and rounded outer margin in P. ardoini ( Fig. 34C )); the gonostyli comparatively small and narrow, subcylindrical ( Fig. 46E ) (gonostyli large, thickened, barrel-shaped in P. ardoini ( Fig. 34E )). Differences from similar P. iners see in the key below.

Figures

FIGURE 33. Penthicus (Stonavus) ardoini, habitus, details. A = male dorsally; B = female dorsally, paratype; C = labels of the paratype; D = border of pronotal base; E = head and pronotum dorsally; F = ditto, dorso-laterally; G = prohypomeron.

FIGURE 34. Penthicus (Stonavus) ardoini, genitalia. A = aedeagus ventrally; B = male inner sternite VIII; C = spiculum gastrale; D = ovipositor ventrally; E = ovipositor dorsally.

FIGURE 45. Penthicus (Stonavus) kasatkini sp. nov., habitus, details. A = male dorsally; B = male ventrally; C = female dorsally; D = head and pronotum dorsally; E = ditto, dorso-laterally; F = prohypomeron.

FIGURE 46. Penthicus (Stonavus) kasatkini sp. nov., genitalia. A = aedeagus ventrally; B = male inner sternite VIII; C = spiculum gastrale; D = ovipositor ventrally; E = ovipositor dorsally.