A new Elateridae species, Athous (Orthathous) cagatayae n. sp., is presented from Ankara, Turkey. The morphology of the new species is described. Photographs of imago and aedeagus, aedeagi drawings of the new species, and identification key are given. The new species is discussed with species of acutangulus group, with a differential diagnosis.
There have been many studies on the subgenus Orthathous Reitter 1905, which is well represented in Turkey with 46 species, and it has been recorded by various researchers (Mertlik and Platia 2008; Kabalak and Sert 2010; Platia 2010; Platia and Nemeth 2011). Athous (Orthathous) cagatayae n. sp. belongs to the Athous (Orthathous) acutangulus group of the subgenus Orthathous. Acutangulus-group (A. (O.) acutangulus Fairmaire 1866, A. (O.) freudei Platia 1989, A. (O.) frontalis Platia and Schimmel 1991, A. (O.) graecus Platia 1989, A. (O.) kabalaki Platia 2010, and A. (O.) zbuzeki Platia and Gudenzi 2007) is separated from other species by a regularly decreasing length of the second, third, and fourth tarsal segments. The new species was given erroneously as Athous (O.) carpathicus by Kabalak (2004) and Kabalak and Sert (2005). After receiving a paratype, specimens were reexamined and detected as a new species.
Materials and Methods
The body lengths of the specimens were measured along the midline, from the anterior margin of the frons to the apex of elytra. The widths of the specimens were measured across the broadest part of the elytra. Photographs of imago and aedeagus were taken.
The aedeagus of the new species was drawn in detail, and the aedeagi of other species in the group were re-drawn from literature, except for A. (O.) acutangulus, which lacks an aedeagus, and A. (O.) kabalaki, which had an asymmetrical photograph. An identification key of species in the group was prepared as an addition to the identification key of Turkish Orthathous species, which was given by Platia and Gudenzi (1996). The new species was compared with A. (O.) graecus, which is close to the new species in the identification key. All species of acutangulus-group are compared by using aedeagi morphologies, collecting months, collecting localities of Turkey, and zoogeographical distributions in Table 1, except for A. (O.) acutangulus.
Athous (Orthathous) cagatayae Kabalak and Sert, new species
(Figures 1, 2a)
Type locality: Holotype: One male from the Ankara province, Çubuk county, between Özlüce and Ovacık villages, 40° 18′ 54″ N, 32° 55′ 46″ E, 1072 m.a.s.l., 25 June 2003, leg. M. Kabalak.
Paratype: One male from the Ankara province, Çubuk County, Ömürdede, 30 June 1980, leg. Y. Özdemir. Holotype and paratype are deposited in Hacettepe University Zoology Museum (HUZOM) at Hacettepe University Biology Department, Ankara.
Holotype: Male, length 9.56 mm; width 2.57 mm; body dark-brown colored, except for reddish brown antennae, elytral suture, and legs; body covered with slightly long and dense yellowish hairs.
Head, including eyes, as wide as anterior margin of pronotum, and covered with dense umbilicate punctures, with an impression beginning at the vertex and extending to the fronto-clypeal suture; fronto-clypeal suture distinctly convex, without touching the clypeus.
Antenna exceed the apices of the posterior angles of pronotum by about four segments; second segment sub-conical, almost as long as it was wide; third segment triangular, 1.9 times longer than the second, and 1.24 times shorter than fourth; second and third taken together clearly longer than fourth; segments four through seven triangular.
Pronotum 1.13 times longer than wide, slightly convex on the disk, with weakly distinct median carina, sides feebly arcuate, posterior angles slightly divergent, not carinate, apex slightly pointed, and lateral margin fully visible in dorsal view; punctuation generally deep, dense, and umbilicate.
Scutellum narrower than the inter-elytral space, longer than wide, convex, deep, and scattered punctuated.
Elytra 2.9 times longer than pronotum, 2.5 times longer than wide, sides sub-parallel from proximal to medio-distal and then gradually narrowing towards apex; striae regularly and indistinctly punctured, interstriae feebly convex, coarsely and simple punctured, with rough surface.
Legs with second, third, and fourth tarsal segments nearly regularly decreasing in length; fourth tarsal segment small, in dorsal view as long as half of the third, and as long as one-third of fifth segment. Aedeagus length 1.15mm, typical morphology for the genus (Figures 1b and 2a), parameres acutely dentate, and apex slightly angled.
Female: Unknown.
Paratype: Length 9.41 mm, width 2.74 mm
Etymology: The new species is dedicated to emeritus entomologist Prof. Dr. Neçe Çağatay, who made invaluable contributions for development of Entomology Science in Hacettepe University and Turkey.
Habitat: The holotype was collected, using an insect net, from herbaceous plants under Salix sp. along a stream in June 2003.
Table 1.
Aedeagi morphologies, collecting months, collecting localities and Zoogeographical distribution comparisons of species of Athous (O.) acutangulus group.
Discussion
A. (O.) cagatayae n. sp. is close to A. (O.) graecus, however it could be separated by the following characters: A. (O.) cagatayae n. sp. is larger than A. (O.) graecus; elytral suture of the new species is reddish-brown, while it is not reddish-brown in A. (O.) graecus.
Aedeagi morphologies of all species were compared (Table 1). First of all, species can be examined in two groups based on length of median lobe. In the first group, the median lobe is longer than the parameres (4. (O.) frontalis and A. (O.) graecus), while the median lobe is shorter than the parameres in the second group (A. (O.) cagatayae n. sp., A. (O.) freudei, A. (O.) kabalaki, and A. (O.) zbuzeki). In the first group, A. (O.) frontalis and A. (O.) graecus can be separated based on the distal tooth of the paramere, which is short and slightly pointed in A. (O.) frontalis, while it is long and strongly pointed in A. (O.) graecus. In the second group, A. (O.) freudei is separated from A. (O.) cagatayae n. sp., A. A. (O.) kabalaki, and A. (O.) zbuzeki with a short and slightly pointed distal tooth of the paramere. The pointed apex of the median lobe and the rounded apex of the paramere distinguishes A. (O.) zbuzeki from A. (O.) cagatayae n. sp. and A. (O.) kabalaki. According to the direction of the distal tooth of the paramere, and the apex of the median lobe, A. (O.) cagatayae n. sp. could be differentiated from A. (O.) kabalaki. A. (O.) cagatayae n. sp. has a slightly backward-directed paramere tooth, and a feebly angled apex of the median lobe, while A. (O.) kabalaki has a laterally-directed paramere tooth, and an angled apex of the median lobe.
According to literature (Platia 1989; Platia and Schimmel 1991; Platia and Gudenzi 2000, 2007; Platia 2010; Platia and Nemeth 2011), collecting months, collecting localities of Turkey, and zoogeographical distributions of species of acutangulus-group are given (Table 1). Species are present in nature from May to July. Only A. (O.) frontalis was collected in two provinces (Çanakkale and Istanbul). A. (O.) freudei, which is the most common species of acutangulus-group, is distributed throughout Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, and Turkey.
Identification Key to Turkish species of the subgenus Orthathous (Platia and Gudenzi 1996) (Males) (Modified from Platia and Gudenzi 1996)
1. Fourth tarsal segment much smaller than third 2
1′. Second, third, fourth tarsal segments decreasing regularly in length 17 ( acutangulus-group)
2. Larger size on average (length 10.5–12.5 mm; width 2.9–3 mm) 3
2′. Smaller average size (length 6–10 mm; width 2–2.8 mm) 4
3. More robust and longer antennae extending about 4 segments past posterior angles of pronotum anatolicus Guglielmi and Platia 1985
3′. Slimmer and shorter antennae extending only 2.5–3 segments past posterior angles of pronotum daccordii Guglielmi and Platia 1985
4. Viewed dorsally third tarsal segment not dilated, slightly broader apically than fourth 5
4′. Viewed dorsally third tarsal segment dilated, clearly broader apically than fourth 7
5. Third antennal segment two or more times longer than second 6
5′. Third antennal segment less than two times longer than second zanettii Guglielmi and Platia 1985
6. Body larger (length 9–10 mm; width 2.4–2.5 mm); pronotal punctures on disk deeper, simple to feebly umbilicate propinquus Buysson 1889
6′. Body smaller (length 7.5–8 mm; width 2–2.1 mm); pronotal punctures on disk more superficial, clearly umbilicate senaci Buysson 1889
7. Third antennal segment two to more times longer than second 8
7′. Third antennal segment less than two times longer than second 10
8. Shorter antennae extending 2–3 segments past posterior angles of pronotum 9
8′. Longer antennae extending about 4 segments past posterior angles of pronotum wewalkai Platia 1989
9. Body stouter; elytra on the average 2.6–2.7 times longer than pronotum; third antennal segment only two times longer than second barriesi Platia and Gudenzi 1996
9. Body slimmer; elytra on the average 3 times longer than pronotum; third antennal segment more than two times longer than second margheritae Guglielmi and Platia 1985
10. Shorter antennae extending 1–1.5 segments past posterior angles of pronotum 11
10′. Longer antennae extending 2.5–3 segments past posterior angles of pronotum 12
11. Body slimmer; elytra 3 times longer than pronotum, with subparallel sides; frons with strong triangular depression giannassoi Platia and Gudenzi 1996
11′. Body stouter; elytra 2.6 times longer than pronotum, sides feebly dilated; frons with shallow depression ruffoi Guglielmi and Platia 1985
12. Head, including eyes, clearly narrower than anterior part of pronotum 13
12′. Head, including eyes, as wide as anterior margin of pronotum 15
13. Frons with deep depression from vertex 14
13′. Frons with depression only near anterior margin tribertii Guglielmi and Platia 1985
14. Longer antennae extending 3 segments past posterior angles of pronotum; elytra as wide as pronotum, with subparallel sides audisioi Guglielmi and Platia 1985
14′. Shorter antennae extending 2.5 segments past posterior angles of pronotum; elytra broader than pronotum, and feebly dilated behind the middle lassallei Platia and Gudenzi 1996
15. Elytra shorter, 2.6–2.9 times longer than pronotum 16
15′. Elytra longer, 3–3.2 times longer than pronotum sabatinettii Guglielmi and Platia 1985
16. Pronotum with a trace of a median longitudinal carina gudenzii Guglielmi and Platia 1985
16′. Pronotum with a trace of a very narrow and superficial median longitudinal depression dasycerus Buysson 1890
17. Pronotal punctures clearly umbilicate 18
17′. Pronotal punctures not or vaguely umbilicate 20
18. Frons deeply impressed frontalis Platia and Schimmel 1991
18′. Frons slightly or moderately impressed 19
19. Pronotum as long as wide, antennae extending 3 segments past posterior angles of pronotum, and third antennal segment two times longer than second zbuzeki Platia and Gudenzi 2007
19′. Pronotum 1.1 times longer than wide, antennae extending 1.5–2.5 segments past posterior angles of pronotum, and third antennal segment slightly longer than second freudei Platia 1989
20. Frons deeply impressed 21
20′. Frons shallowly impressed 22
21. Body larger (length 9.41–9.56 mm; width 2.57–2.74 mm), elytral suture reddish-brown cagatayae n. sp.
21′. Body smaller (length 7.3 mm; width 1.8 mm), elytral suture not reddish-brown graecus Platia 1989
22. Body longer (length 8–11 mm); pronotum longer than wide acutangulus Fairmaire 1866
22′. Body shorter (length 7.3 mm); pronotum as long as wide kabalaki Platia 2010
Figure 1.
(A) Athous (Orthathous) cagatayae n. sp. habitus (scale = 2 mm). (B) Aedeagus habitus (scale = 0.2 mm). High quality figures are available online.
Figure 2.
(A) Athous (Orthathous) cagatayae n. sp.. (B) Athous (Orthathous) freudei (redrawn from Platia 1989). (C) Athous (Orthathous) frontalis (redrawn from Platia and Schimmel 1991). (D) Athous (Orthathous) graecus (redrawn from Platia 1989). (E) Athous (Orthathous) kabalaki (taken from Platia 2010). (F) Athous (Orthathous)zbuzeki (redrawn from Platia and Schimmel 2007). High quality figures are available online.
Acknowledgments
This study was part of the “Systematic studies on the family Elateridae (Coleoptera) in Ankara province” MSc thesis, which was accepted by Hacettepe University Institute of Science on 29 June 2004. We would like to thank the Hacettepe University Scientific Researches Centre for supporting our research with the project ‘Systematical Studies on the Family Elateridae (Coleoptera) in Ankara province and its Counties,’ and Dr. Yasemin Özdemir for collecting the paratype of the new species. We are grateful to Dr. Giuseppe Platia for his valuable help in confirming the new species and checking the identification key.
