CC BY
24Humanity space International almanac VOL. 9, No 5, 2020: 571-576
http://zoobank.org/um:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7B92F6CD-FBB8-46A6-B64D-544BAD557867
A new species of the genus Tetrops Kirby, 1826 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Lamiinae) from Bohemia
M. Slama
U Skolske zahrady 718/3, 182 00 Praha 8 - Kobylisy e-mail: [email protected]
Key words: taxonomy, new species, Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae, Tetropini, Tetrops, Czech Republic.
Abstract: Tetrops praetermitus sp. n. similar to T.praeustus (Linnaeus, 1758) is described from southern Bohemia with his host plants. The distinguishing characters are discussed and illustrated.
Introduction
Within the framework of the family Cerambycidae, Tetrops (s. str.) belongs to the taxons, which contain species hard to be determined. These are very small and sometimes nearly indistinguishable. A majority of works have still been focused on the species from the West of Palaearctic Region, for example, Holzschuh (1981), Ozdikmen and Turgut (2008), Lazarev (2012), and many other articles dealing with partial problems, but a number of unclear facts remain to be solved. Only two species were formerly reported from West Europe: T. praeustus (Linnaeus, 1758) and T. starkii Chevrolat, 1859. All other names used in the genus for West European taxons were mostly considered to be their synonyms. T. gilvipes (Faldermann, 1837) and/or its subspecies were mentioned for West Europe later. Some taxons were frequently classed in different ways - either under T. praeustus or under T. gilvipes.
T. praetermitus sp. n., which is described below, was found by me many years ago, but that time I included such specimens into material of T. praeustus without further examination.
The bionomics, host plants and natural enemies of Central-European species are discussed in my monograph (Slama, 1998).
Material and methods
I borrowed about 130 specimens of the genus Tetrops from collections of the SMNK (Staatliches Museum furNaturkunde
Karlsruhe, Landesmuseum, Germany), which partially included my former collection. In the course of the inspection of this material, I found the newly described species, which I had obtained by rearing from a weak, dead branch of Frangula alnus. I also studied specimens in the NMPC (National Museum Prague, Czech Republic)! used a stereoscopic Wild microscope with circular lighting in my work.
Several abbreviations are used in the text:
NMPC - collection of National Museum (Prague, Czech Republic) SMNK - collection of Staatliches Museum furNaturkunde Karlsruhe, Landesmuseum
Results
Tetrops praetermitus sp. n.
Figs 1-5
Description. Whole body (dorsum as well as ventrum) black. Head punctation very dense, intervals between punctures being smaller than puncture diameter. Pubescence very dense - the whole head surface (including eye surroundings) macrosetaceous. Frons very densely, relatively longly macrosetaceous, sculpture being thus quite hidden. Lengths of macrosetae frequently longer than eye longitudinal size; antennae (particularly antennomeres 1-3) equipped with long and rather dense, erect macrosetae usually longer than maximum width of first antennomere; macrosetation of other antennomeres is of same density, but mostly decumbent, with occurrence of single long, erect macrosetae; antennae also covered with very short decumbent macrosetation; antennae obviously stronger and longer than those in T. praeustus; in males they can reach elytral apex; ultimate antennomere is 1.55-1.66 times longer than penultimate, pointed apically; in T. praeustusthe differences are less considerable: 1.22-1.53; antennae black; prothorax in males and in females about 1.251.50 longer than wide; intervals between pronotal punctures mostly wider than puncture diameter; pronotum sparsely
pubescent, macrosetae of dorsal side longer than those of head, weak and more or less erect, shorter laterally, partially dark; elytra shorter and wider than in T. praeustus; in males, elytra 2.3-2.4 times longer than basal width; in females elytral length 2.2-2.4 times longer than basal width; in T. praeustus elytral length 2.5- 2.7 times longer than basal width; humeri not prominent, straight or rounded; elytral pubescence long, obliquely erect backward, pale; black on blackened elytral apex; elytra yellow with brown tint; posterior 1/7 more or less black or black colour narrowly and shortly extended forward laterally; pubescence of tibiae less erect, macrosetae sparser and moderately shorter; anterior legs pale; meso- and metafemora darkened, meso- and metatibiae sometimes also darkened; ventral body side with sparse, relatively short, pale pubescence; abdomen with dense and long pale pubescence, length of macrosetae similar to that on elytra; body length: males 4.7- 5.1 mm, females 5.5-6.0 mm. Differential diagnosis. The principal differences are in shorter and wider elytra (elytra 2.2-2.4 times longer than basal width); elytra in T. praeustus narrower and longer (2.5-2.8 times longer than basal width); antennae stronger; ultimate antennomere considerably longer with sharp apex. A photo of the type of Leptura praeusta Linnaeus, 1758 from British Museum of Natural History was studied.
Material examined. Holotype, male, Bohemia, Lasenice, 1973, M.Slama lgt. - SMNK; 6 Paratypes; 2 males, 4 females bearing same data - SMNK.
Distribution. The species is known from southern Bohemia only, from a valley location in the Nezarka river catchment basin at the village Lasenice.
Bionomics. All specimens were obtained by rearing from dead branches of the alder buckthorn - Frangula alnus. Derivatio nominis. The Latin word praetermitus corresponds to the English word overlooked.
Discussion
West-Palaearctic species of the genus Tetrops are hard to be identified in spite of the fact that the genus has been repeatedly revised. These are relatively small Coleoptera, which are very similar to each other. T. praeustus is the most abundant species and all European taxons excepting T. starkii Chevrolat, 1859 were accepted as T. praeustus. T. gilvipes was added later. My colleague L. Skorepa found interesting specimens in southern Bohemia, indicating the existence of another new species, and informed me about his intention to publish the result in a separate paper. We inspected our extensive material and materials from collections of SMNK, NMPC and PZPC and found that the situation is actually much more complicated. I was also able to find a further new species in the material from my former collection. In general, there are differences from T. praeustus in the antennae, body pubescence, elytral shape, etc. In the original taxonomicalpublication, characters of Linnaeus types are not described. Thanks to Mr. H. Wallin, I obtained a reference to photographs published by the Linnean Society in London (photograph LINN 8415 Lepturapraeusta (ins Linn.) - Fig. 4). The different elytral pubescence indicates that T. praeustus, auct. (not Linnaeus) represents at least two different species, which are sometimes considerably different; first species with distinctly erect setae, and second species with decumbent setae of different lengths. Most probably the species have partially different areas. It is possible to suggest preliminarily that specimens with erect pubescence preferably inhabit western distributional areas and those with decumbent pubescence occur in the eastern areas (for example Eastern Slovakia, Zemplin), but both species can be sympatric. The photo of the specimen described by Linnaeus obviously shows that the type has erect pubescence.
T. praetermitus sp. n. is very different from T. praeustus. With T. praeustus there will probably not be only two forms according to hair, it seems that French and Greek imagines are also different. The two new species are similar, but T. praetermitus sp. n. has a different number of differences. Especially short elytra, ultimate antennomere is 1.55-1.66 times longer than penultimate and has a sharp end (I did not find anything similar in other Tetrops), different shape of the shield, another depression before the end of the shield and his also completelydifferent pubescence, etc.
Acknowledgement. I am obliged to Dr. A.Riedel from SMNK,
RNDr. J. Hajek for making me possible to inspect NMPC materials and
Mr. H. Wallin (Sweden) for valuable data. My thanks are extended to Ing.
M. Knizek, who took the photos, to professor M.Rakovic for translation.
REFERENCES
Holzschuh C. 1981. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Europäischen Tetrops-Arten (Cerambycidae, Col.). - Koleopterologische Rundschau. 55: 77-89.
Lazarev M.A. 2012. Revision of the taxonomic structure of Tetrops gilvipes (Faldermann, 1837) (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae). - Humanity space. International almanac. 1 (4): 944-957.
Özdikmen H., Turgut S. 2008. The genus Tetrops Stephens, 1829 with a new subspecies, Tetrops praeustus anatolicus ssp. n. fromTurkey (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae). - Munis Entomology & Zoology. 3 (2):621-631.
Slama M. 1998. Tesarikoviti - Cerambycidae Ceské republiky a Slovenské republiky (Brouci - Coleoptera). [Longhorn Beetles - Cerambycidae of the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic (Beetles - Coleoptera)], Krhanice: 383 pp. (in Czech, with German introduction).
Figs 1-4. Tetrops species, dorsal view:
1 - T. praetermitus sp. n. holotype, male; 2 - T. praetermitus sp. n. paratype, female; 3 - T. praeustus, female from Zemplin, Slovakia; 4 - holotype of Leptura praeausta L. from British Museum of Natural History; 5 - T. praetermitus sp. n., apical antennomeres.
Received: 14.09.2020 Accepted: 18.09.2020
