Penthicus farsistanus, 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 : 31

Penthicus farsistanus sp. nov.

( Figs 4A , 22 )

Type material ( ZIN). Holotype (♀) and paratype (♀) with Cyrillic (Russian) labels: “25 км СВ ШираЗа Баму Г.С. Медведев 25.X.74” ( Iran, Fars Province, 25 km SE Shiraz, Bamou National park , 29°42ʹN / 52°42ʹE, leg. G.S. Medvedev).

Description. Body robust, convex, dull, black, dorsally glabrous ( Figs 22A, B ).

Head widest across genae. Lateral margins of genae straightly converging to epistoma at apical half and widely rounded at basal half. Widest area of gena located ahead of eye. Head moderately and sparsely punctured by circular punctures, sparser in median portion of frons and denser on epistoma and genae. Eyes dorsally slightly transverse (1.05 times as wide as long), with at least one separate or connecting ommatidia between dorsal and ventral portions ( Fig. 4A ). Head ventrally with dense granulation in basal area and sparse fine granules around mouthparts and eyes.

Prothorax. Pronotum strongly transverse (1.85–1.86 times as wide as long), widest little behind middle, 1.7 times as wide as head, moderately converging from widest portion to apical margin, ratio width of pronotum at base, widest portion and anterior angles: 22.7: 24: 15.5. Anterior edge widely evenly emarginated. Lateral edges evenly rounded. Base bisinuate, median portion protruded backwards. Anterior angles right-angled, tip narrowly rounded, posterior angles slightly obtuse, tip narrowly rounded. Lateral edges margined, margin of anterior edge widely interrupted in middle, base finely entirely margined. Disc of pronotum convex, punctured by sparse, moderately coarse circular punctures medially and along lateral edges (interpuncture spaces near 3 times as long as puncture diameter); punctures on the sides from median portion round, slightly coarser and denser than on other surface (interpuncture spaces near 1.5–2 times as long as puncture diameter); secondary micropuncturation fine, but visible between large punctures. Lateral side of prothoracic hypomera widely flattened; flattened portion converging from base to anterior margin, punctured. Other surface of hypomera with sparse small granules and several smooth longitudinal wrinkles in middle; each granule bears long suberect seta. Prosternum with flattened separated granules (each bears short seta). Prosternal process slightly convex, slightly protruded beyond procoxae.

Pterothorax. Elytra wide, with strongly rounded lateral edges, widest at middle (1.18–1.19 times as long as wide), 1.9 times as wide as head, 1.1 times as wide and 2.54 times as long as pronotum. Basal margin of elytra in epipleural portion oblique, humeral angles obtuse, tipe widely rounded, lateral edge of elytra not emarginated near humeral angles. Strial punctures round, slightly impressed, the same in size as interstrial ones; flattened interstriae sparsely punctured by moderate in size punctures. Epipleuron in apical portion 2 times as wide as metepisternum. Ventral side of pterothorax sparsely pubescent with comparatively long recumbent setae. Mesoventrite coarsely granulated, mesepisterna with the same but sparser granules. Metaventrite with distinct round sparse granules on sides and smooth sparse puncturation at middle.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites 1–4 sparsely granulated on sides and punctured by fine and sparse punctures medially; ventrite 5 with simple fine puncturation, entirely finely margined at apex. Setation on abdomen shorter than on pterothorax ventrally. Genitalia ( Figs 22G, H ). Ovipositor with densely covered by long setae coxite lobes 2–4; valvifer widest at middle and sharply narrowed from widest portion to apex, baculi strongly curved at apex. Coxite lobes 4 comparatively narrow, widely rounded at apex. Gonostyli moderately thickened, cylindrical, with several long setae. Baculi of paraproct widened, straight, convergingfrom curved basal portion to apex. Proctiger evenly rounded apically, without baculi, only slightly more sclerotized laterally.

Legs. Legs short, pro- and mesofemora not reached body margin, metafemora slightly extending beyond elytral margin. Protibia wide, with the same apical width as widest portion of profemur. Lateral margin of protibiae simple, not obliquely truncated near apex. Length of protarsomeres 1–3 together subequal to width of protibia at apex.

Body length 10–10.5 mm, width 5–6 mm.

Etymology. The name derives from Farsistan, alternative name of Fars Province.

Comparative diagnosis. The new species belongs to the corpulentus species-group and it is similar to P. villiersi and P. persicus by the robust body, short femora, and widely flattened lateral margins of the prohypomera. It differs from both species in the entirely convex pronotum ( Figs 22D, E ) vs separated obliquely flattened lateral sides of the pronotum in P. villiersi ( Figs 29A, B ) and P. persicus ( Figs 24A–C ) and much sparser and finer granulation of the prohypomera. Both P. villiersi and P. persicus have strongly widened coxite lobes 4 of the ovipositor with barrel-shaped thickened gonostyli having rounded lateral margins ( Figs 25D, E ), while P. farsistanus sp. nov. has much narrower coxite lobes 4 with narrower subcylindrical gonostyli ( Fig. 22H ).

Figures

FIGURE 4. Eyes of Penthicus (Stonavus) spp., corpulentus species-group.A = P. farsistanus sp. nov.; B = P. persicus (Lorestan: Cham Chit); C = P. shokhini sp. nov.; D = P. villiersi (Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari: Chelgerd), right eye; E = the same specimen, left eye; F = P. villiersi (Lorestan:Azna), right eye.

FIGURE 22. Penthicus (Stonavus) farsistanus, female, habitus, details. A = habitus dorsally (holotype); B = habitus ventrally (paratype); C = border of pronotal base; D = head and pronotum dorsally; E = ditto, dorso-laterally; F = prohypomeron; G = ovipositor ventrally; H = ovipositor dorsally.

FIGURE 24. Penthicus (Stonavus) persicus, details. A = pronotum dorsally (female, paralectotype); B = ditto, dorso-laterally; C = ditto, view from base; D = male protibia.

FIGURE 25. Penthicus (Stonavus) persicus, genitalia. A = aedeagus ventrally; B = male inner sternite VIII; C = spiculum gastrale; D = ovipositor ventrally; E = ovipositor dorsally.

FIGURE 29. Penthicus (Stonavus) villiersi, habitus, details. A = Head and pronotum, dorsally (male, paratype); B = ditto, dorso-laterally; C = ditto, border of pronotal base; D = prohypomeron; E = male protibia.