Description of Lacon mertliki sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Agrypninae) from the Hyrcanian forest ecoregion, with a key to the Lacon species of Iran

  • Robin Kundrata  Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc
  • Tamás Németh Hungarian Natural History Museum, Department of Zoology, Baross utca 13, H-1088 Budapest
  • Andrea Jarzabek-Müller Anton-Hilz-Straße 42, D-94566 Riedlhütte
Keywords: distribution, diversity, Elateroidea, Palearctic région, systematics

Abstract

In this study we describe a new species of the click-beetle genus Lacon Laporte, 1838 from the relict Hyrcanian forest in northern Iran. Lacon mertliki sp. nov. is morphologically similar to L. lepidopterus (Panzer, 1801) but differs from the latter in the body coloration and pubescence, the shape of pronotum and scutellar shield, and male and female genitalia. We provide brief data on its ecology as well as an identification key to all Lacon species in Iran. Additionally, we synonymize Lacon nadaii Platia & Németh, 2011 with Lacon unicolor (Candèze, 1874).

References

Candèze E.C.A. 1874. Révision de la Monographie des Élatérides. Fasc. 1. Mémoires de la Société royale des Sciences de Liége 2: 1–218. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.47120

Cate P. 2007. Elateridae Leach, 1818. In: Löbl I. & Smetana A. (eds) Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera. Vol. 4: Elateroidea - Derodontoidea - Bostrichoidea - Lymexyloidea - Cleroidea - Cucujoidea: 94–209. Apollo Books, Stenstrup.

Eckelt A., Müller J., Bense U., Brustel H. Bußler H., Chittaro Y., Cizek L., Adrienne A., Holzer E., Kadej M., Kahlen M., Köhler F., Möller G., Mühle H., Sanchez A., Schaffrath U., Schmidl J., Smolis A., Szallies A., Németh T., Wurst C., Thorn S., Haubo R., Christensen B. & Seibold S. 2018. Primeval forest relict beetles of Central Europe: a set of 168 umbrella species for the protection of primeval forest remnants. Journal of Insect Conservation 22: 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-017-0028-6

Faucheux M.J. & Kundrata R. 2017. Comparative antennal morphology of male Drilini with special reference to the sensilla (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Agrypninae). Zoologischer Anzeiger 266: 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2016.11.002

Girard C. 2017. Catalogue commenté des Coléoptères Elateridae d´Afrique subsaharienne (Cardiophorinae exclus). Mémoires de la Société entomologique de France 10: 1–404.

Hayek C.M.F. von 1973. A reclassification of the subfamily Agrypninae (Coleoptera: Elateridae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Entomology. Supplement 20: 1−309.

Hyslop J.A. 1921. Genotypes of the Elaterid beetles of the world. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 58: 621–673. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.2353.621

Jarzabek-Müller A., Morinière J., Barimani Varandi H. & Müller J. 2017. Synaptus iranicus sp. nov., a second species of the genus Synaptus Eschscholtz, 1829 from Iran (Coleoptera: Elateridae) discovered by an integrative approach. Zootaxa 4232: 568–574. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4232.4.6

Johnson P.J. 2002. Elateridae Leach 1815. In: Arnett R.H., Thomas M.C., Skelley P.E. & Frank J.H. (eds) American Beetles, Vol. 2, Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea: 160–173. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Kundrata R., Gunter N.L., Janosikova D. & Bocak L. 2018. Molecular evidence for the subfamilial status of Tetralobinae (Coleoptera: Elateridae), with comments on parallel evolution of some phenotypic characters. Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 76: 137–145.

Laporte F.L.N.C. 1838. Études entomologiques, ou descriptions d’insectes nouveaux et observations sur la synonymie. Revue Entomologique 4 [1836]: 5–60.

Mardjanyan M.A. & Barimani Varandi H. 2014. New notes on fauna of click-beetles (Coleoptera, Elateridae) of Mazandaran province (Iran). Biological Journal of Armenia 3: 81–83.

Mertlik J. & Németh T. 2014. Distributional notes on Lacon nadaii and L. unicolor (Coleoptera: Elateridae). Elateridarium 8: 61–66.

Mertlik J. & Platia G. 2008. Catalogue of the family Cebrionidae, Elateridae, Lissomidae, Melasidae and Throscidae (Coleoptera) from Turkey. Elateridarium 2: 1–40.

Nieto A. & Alexander K.N.A. 2010. European Red List of Saproxylic Beetles. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

Platia G. 2010. New species and chorological notes of click beetles from Palearctic Region, especially from the Middle East (Coleoptera, Elateridae). Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa 46: 23–49.

Platia G. & Ghahari H. 2016. An annotated checklist of click-beetles (Coleoptera, Elateridae) from Iran. Zootaxa 4137: 239–275. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4137.2.6

Platia G. & Németh T. 2011. On some Palaearctic click beetles deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum (Coleoptera: Elateridae). Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 103: 65–106.

Prosvirov A.S. 2016a. New and little-known species of the genus Lacon Laporte, 1838 (Coleoptera: Elateridae) of China. Zootaxa 4132: 373–382. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4132.3.5

Prosvirov A.S. 2016b. New and little-known species of the genus Lacon Laporte, 1838 (Coleoptera: Elateridae) of Afghanistan and adjacent countries. Zootaxa 4168: 279–296. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4168.2.3

Prosvirov A.S. 2017. New data on the fauna and systematics of Palaearctic species of the click-beetle subfamily Agrypninae Candèze, 1857 (Coleoptera, Elateridae). Entomological Review 97: 1120–1136. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0013873817080127

Sagheb Talebi K., Sajedi T. & Pourhashemi M. 2014. Forests of Iran. A treasure from the past, a hope for the future. Springer, Dordrecht/Heidelberg/New York/London.

Tohidifar M., Moser M., Zehzad B. & Ghadirian T. 2016. Biodiversity of the Hyrcanian Forests: A synthesis report. UNDP/GEF/FRWO Caspian Hyrcanian Forest Project, Iran.

Published
2019-07-05
How to Cite
Kundrata, R., Németh, T., & Jarzabek-Müller, A. (2019). Description of Lacon mertliki sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Agrypninae) from the Hyrcanian forest ecoregion, with a key to the Lacon species of Iran. European Journal of Taxonomy, (535). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2019.535