Anthrenus (Anthrenus) chikatunovi, Holloway, 2020

Anthrenus (Anthrenus) chikatunovi n. sp.

( Figs 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A)

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:64E3B3FE-2DCB-4855-8C62-25217F926143 .

Etymology: Anthrenus chikatunovi is named in honour of Professor Vladimir Chikatunov for his curatorial work on the Coleoptera collection held by the SteinhaRdt Museum of NatuRal HistoRy, Tel AViV UniVeRsity, and foR his ReseaRch into the Coleoptera of Israel.

Description: Body shoRt (BL = 2.85–3.11 mm) and naRRowly oVal (BW = 1.94– 2.05 mm) ( Fig. 1A). Cuticle daRk bRown. UppeRpaRts coVeRed in flat, bRoadly oVal, overlapping scales. Individual scales either black or very dark brown, pale cream, or orange. Orange scales on pronotum concentrated on lateral margins and central posterior margin. Few cream coloured scales on pronotum, otherwise all scales dark. Cream scales on elytra concentrated in trans-elytral band. Band broadest at lateral margin becoming narrower toward elytral suture before turning upwards towards small black scutellum. One cream coloured pre-apical spot on each elytron. Eyes emarginated on inner edge and glabrous. Abdominal ventrites I–V covered in cream (sometimes tinted pale brown) scales, ventrite I slightly more sparsely covered with pale scales than ventrites II–V. Lateral margin of ventrites II–V plus tip of ventrite V with spots of dark scales, spots at lateral margins often flanked by a few orange scales. Spot of dark scales on ventrite I small and sub-lateral ( Fig. 2A). Femora dark brown, slightly paler above, anterior face scaled. Tibiae and tarsi paler brown. Antenna with 11 antennomeres, antennomeres I–VIII reddish brown.Antennomeres IX–XI foRming bRoad, bRown, slightly asymmetRic club (AL/AW = 1.24–1.29). Length of terminal antennomere 0.4 length of antennomeres IX and X combined ( Fig. 3A).Aedeagus shoRt (PL = 384 and 410 µm) RelatiVe to BL (PL/BL = 0.131 and 0.135) ( Fig. 4A). Parameres, especially on dorsal surfaces, covered in long, spikey, inward pointing setae. Posterior halves of parameres expanded towards inward hooked tips. Inner halves of each of expanded parts of parameres membranous forming pale windows. Median lobe narrows from base ending in parallel-sided, finger-like terminal point which falls short of tips of parameres. Posterior stem of sternite IX with relatively narrow neck expanding to bulbous end ( Fig. 5A). Terminal margin of posterior stem flat to shallow convex. Lateral margins carry

A many sharp setae except for flat end of setae-free stem. Setae are longest on lateral margins of terminal bulb.

Differential diagnosis: Anthrenus chikatunovi is narrow (BW/BL~0.7). The other species within the A. pimpinellae complex that are similarly narrow include A. amandae Holloway, 2019 and A. p. pimpinellae ( Holloway & Bakaloudis 2020) . Anthrenus amandae is VeRy daRk, cuRRently only known fRom MalloRca ( Holloway 2019) and unlikely to be confused with A. chikatunovi . Anthrenus p. pimpinellae is, however, very similar in external appearance ( Fig. 1B). Three specimens of A. chikatunovi are known offering limited information about colour pattern variation within the species, although one of the few papers considering A. pimpinellae patteRns found VeRy little intRa­specific colouR patteRn VaRiation ( Holloway & Bakaloudis 2020). All three specimens have more orange scales on the dorsal surface than are found on most A. p. pimpinellae , particularly on the disk of each elytron behind the tRansVeRse pale band ( Fig. 1A) ( Holloway & Bakaloudis 2020). Typical A. p. pimpinellae have only a few scattered orange scales in this region of the elytra. On A. chikatunovi , the spots of black scales at the lateral margins of each ventrite are smaller than in A. p. pimpinellae . In particular, the spot of black scales at the lateral margin of ventrite I is small and sub-marginal in A. chikatunovi ( Fig. 2A); in A. p. pimpinellae this spot of black scales is much larger, sits at the lateral margin and is not surrounded by white scales on its anterior side ( Fig. 2B). The two paratypes were discovered through initial inspection of ventrite pattern.

Male genital structure differs most obviously between A. chikatunovi ( Fig. 4A) and A. p. pimpinellae ( Fig. 4B). The clearest differences in the parameres are as follows (1) the expanded ‘paddles’ of A. p. pimpinellae parameres are broader than A. chikatunovi with obvious sigmoid internal margins; (2) the membranous windows on A. p. pimpinellae parameres are small and restricted to the tip of the hook whereas in A. chikatunovi they extend along the length of the inner half of the expanded portion of each paramere; (3) the expanded parts of the paramere in A. p. pimpinellae are extensively covered in long, backward facing shaggy hairs whereas in A. chikatunovi the hairs on the parameres are shorter, less extensive and point inwards. The median lobe in A. p. pimpinellae is very broad at its base and tapers gradually inwards to a slightly bulbous tip. The median lobe in A. chikatunovi is naRRoweR, Reaching its naRRowest point about ⅘ the way along and continues as an almost parallel-sided finger to a blunt tip with no expansion. There is much less difference between the narrowest and widest point on the posterior stem in A. p. pimpinellae sternite IX ( Fig. 5B) than A. chikatunovi ; in A. pimpinellae the stem is broad throughout. The lateral margins of sternite IX in A. p. pimpinellae carry long hairs, particularly the very long, slightly drooping hairs on the lateral margins of the bulbous tip. The lateral margin hairs on A. chikatunovi sternite IX are shorter throughout.

Another possible confusion species is A. delicatus Kiesenwetter, 1851 . Anthrenus delicatus has even more orange scales on the elytra ( Fig. 1C) loosely arranged in stripes, a character used as an identification feature by Kadej (2005). The pattern of scales on the ventrites resembles A. chikatunovi ( Fig. 2C), although the scales tend to be white rather than cream as in the three specimens of A. chikatunovi described here. Antennal structure in A. delicatus ( Fig. 3B) is obviously different from A. chikatunovi being flat-topped and vase shaped. The aedeagus in A. delicatus differs in many obvious ways from A. chikatunovi ( Fig. 4C).

Holotype: ♂ France: labelled ‘ Tarascon sur Ariège , PyreneeV SoutheRn FRance (42°84'57" N, 1°60'21" E), 21 st May to 6 th June 1950, altitude 490m asl, K. JoRdan’ (white handwRitten) ( NHM) . Paratypes: ♀ same data as holotype ; ♂ labelled ‘S. FRance, 99’ ( NHM) .