Penthicus mesopotamicus, 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 : 19-21

Penthicus mesopotamicus sp. nov.

( Figs 11 , 12 )

Reichardt 1936: 150 (as Lobodera oblongopunctata from Ziaret-Seid-Hasan in “distribution”).

Type material. Holotype, ♂ and paratype, ♀ ( ZIN): “Зиарет-Сеид-Хасан, МесопотамиЯ, 1.13.IV 914 Нестеров” (Russian Cyrillic labels; Ziaret-Seid-Hasan, Mesopotamia, 1–13.iv.1914, leg. P.V. Nesterov; now Iran, Ilam Prov., tomb of Seyyed Hasan, 33°05ʹ50ʺN, 46°11ʹ31ʺ), “ L. oblongopunctata Rtt. Reiçhardt det.” . Paratype ( NHML), 1 specimen, sex unknown (abdomen is absent): “345” [handwritten], “ Lobothorax sp. [handwritten] det. K.G. Blair. [printed]”, “Mesopotamia. W.E.Evans. 1920-264” [printed; Iraq: W.E. Evans collected invertebrates near Amarah], “ Lobothorax oblongopunctatus Rtt. ” [handwritten], “det. K. G. Blair. ” [printed] .

Description. Male ( Fig. 11A, B ). Body moderately slender, elongated, moderately convex in dorsal aspect, opaque, black, dorsally glabrous.

Head widest across genae. Lateral margins of genae rounded converging from widest portion to epistoma. Widest area of gena located at basal level of eye. Head dorsally finely and sparsely punctured by rasp-like punctures, only lateral sides of frons with dense coarse puncturation, epistoma with simple circular punctures. Eyes dorsally small, subequal in width and length. Head ventrally with fine granulation; surface around cardo smooth.

Prothorax. Pronotum slightly transverse (1.51 times as wide as long), trapezoid, widest across base (but not across of posterolateral angles), 1.53 times as wide as head, slightly converging from its widest portion to anterior margin, ratio width of pronotum at base and anterior angles: 28.7: 21. Anterior margin widely emarginated near anterolateral angles and straight in middle. Lateral edges very slightly evenly rounded. Base rounded at middle and widely shortly on sides of middle and straight to posterior angles, middle portion protruded backwards. Anterior angles right-angled (90°), moderately projected, with rounded tip, posterior angles slightly obtuse (97°), tip widely rounded. Lateral edges narrowly margined, margin of anterior edge widely interrupted at middle; base very finely margined from posterior angles to protruded portion in middle, finely serrated laterally. Disc of pronotum moderately convex, not flattened on sides, but with narrow groove along lateral edge. Middle portion sparsely and finely punctured with circular punctures (interpuncture spaces near 3–4 times as long as puncture diameter), lateral sides covered with coarser and denser elongate reniform raduliform punctures; without visible secondary micropuncturation. Lateral sides of prothoracic hypomera not flattened, only slightly obliquely separated from other surface, with sparse small granules and smooth wrinkles; each granule bears short erect setae. Prosternum with dense imbricated sculpture and recumbent setation. Prosternal process moderately convex, slightly protruded beyond procoxae.

Pterothorax. Elytra elongate, widest at midlength (1.51 times as long as wide), 1.74 times as wide as head, 1.09 times as wide and 2.5 times as long as pronotum. Basal margin of elytra in epipleural portion slightly oblique laterally, humeral angles obtuse, tip narrowly rounded, lateral margins of elytra not emarginated near angles. Strial punctures large, circular and depressed from base to apex; interstriae flat, punctured by moderately coarse sparse punctures. Epipleuron in apical portion 1.57 times as wide as metepisternum. Ventral side of pterothorax sparsely pubescent with short recumbent setae. Mesoventrite with coarse imbricate sculpture, mesepisterna with smooth large foveae. Metaventrite with distinct round sparse granules on sides and sparse simple punctures at middle, all granules setose; metepisterna sparsely granulated.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites 1–3 sparsely and finely granulated on sides and coarse granulated among longitudinal wrinkles in middle; ventrite 4 with simple puncturation, ventrite 5 with sparse but finer slightly raduloform puncturation, not beaded at apex. Setation of abdomen shorter than on pterothorax ventrally. Genitalia ( Figs 12A, B ). Spiculum gastrale with asymmetrical rods, slightly curved at apical third left and S-shaped right ones; blades elongate, with separately narrowed apical portion, outer margin widely emarginate. Parameres very wide in basal half and narrow in apical half very narrowly rounded at apex; lateral margins widely emarginated. Basal piece 1.33 times as long as parameres.

Legs. Legs comparatively long, profemora slightly extended beyond prothoracic margin, mesofemora slightly extending, and metafemora far extending beyond elytral margin. Protibiae narrow, profemur 1.36 times as wide as apical width of protibia, 3.4 times as long as wide. Outer angle of protibia slightly projected and acute, lateral outer margin slightly sinuate near apex. Protarsomeres long, combined length of 1–2 equal to apical width of protibia.

Body length 11 mm, width 5 mm.

Female ( Fig. 11C ). Body slightly more robust, lateral margins of elytra more rounded; elytra 2.64 times as long as pronotum; metafemora shorter. Ovipositor ( Figs 12C, D ). Valvifer widened from base to widely rounded apical portion, baculi distinct, curved at apex; coxite lobes 4 trianglular and acute, gonostyli very small, poorly visible, granuliform; coxite lobes 3+4 covered with long sparse erected setae laterally. Apical margin of proctiger acute at apex. Baculi of paraproct narrow, strongly bent, C-shaped.

Body length 10.8 mm, width 5 mm. The paratype from NHML has length 8.8. mm.

Etymology. The name refers to the ancient region Mesopotamia (modern territory of Iraq and some bordered countries within the Tigris-Euphrates river system).

Comparative diagnosis. See for Penthicus germanni sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Penthicus (s. str.) mesopotamicus 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 12. Penthicus (s. str.) mesopotamicus sp. nov., genitalia.A = aedeagus ventrally; B = spiculum gastrale; C = ovipositor ventrally; D = ovipositor dorsally.