Mycetochara ( Ernocharis ) ruthenica Nabozhenko, 2025

Mycetochara ( Ernocharis) ruthenica Nabozhenko , sp. nov.

( Fig. 10 View FIGURE 10 )

Material. Holotype, ♂ ( ZMSFU): Russia, Rostov Region, Myasnikovsky District, environs of educational and experimental farm “Nedvigovka” of Southern Federal University , 47.272952˚N, 39.318149˚E, 29.iv.2024 ( E.A. Khachikov); paratype, ♂ ( ZMSFU), the same locality and collector, but 12.v.2025.

Description. Holotype ( Fig. 10A View FIGURE 10 ). Body slender, narrow, unicolour, dark-brown, legs ochre-reddish, antennae with brown 5–8 antennomeres and ochre-reddish rest ones. Body covered with dense suberected brown setae, yellowish on head and pronotum.

Head.Anterior margin of epistoma straight, lateral margin of genae slightly evenly rounded, strongly converging from eyes to anterior margin of epistome. Dorsal side with sparse smooth (edges are not distinct) puncturation (interpuncture distance near twice as long as puncture diameter), each puncture bears yellowish long suberected setae. Head ventrally and laterally with long smooth wrinkles along posterior edge of eyes, with fine and sparse puncturation. OI = 41.6. Antennae long, reaching basal third of elytral length when directed backward.

Prothorax. Pronotum ( Fig. 10B View FIGURE 10 ) transverse (1.34 times as wide as long), widest at anterior third, 1.25 times as wide as head; PI = 74.38. Lateral margins slightly rounded, converging from widest portion to base. Anterior margin straight, base slightly bisinuate. Disc slightly convex only laterally, slightly depressed in basal half of middle and stronger depressed at basal portions on sides from middle. Puncturation of disc coarse and sparse, punctures round, interpuncture distance 2–3 times as long as puncture diameter; each puncture bears long subrecumbent yellowish seta. Anterior angles not expressed, pronotum widely rounded antero-laterally; posterior angles slightly obtuse. Edges of pronotum not margined. Prothoracic hypomera and prosternum smooth and shiny, without setation.

Pterothorax. Elytra elongate, subparallel when completely closed, 1.28 times wider at base (immediately behind humeral angles) than base of pronotum. Humeral angles widely rounded. Striae consist of round slightly raduliform dense punctures, interstriae 1 and 2 slightly convex, rest ones flattened, each interstria contains one irregular row of raduliform punctures; each puncture bears long subrecumbent light-brown setae; elytral setation dense. Mesoventrite and metepimera with dense and coarse puncturation; mesepisterna and mesepimera with sparse irregular puncturation; metaventrite convex, sparsely punctured at anterior portion and smooth at basal half.

Legs slender, long, reddish-ochre; profemora shortest, metafemora longest; tibiae straight; each protarsal claw with 7 teeth on inner side.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites punctured by sparse and fine raduliform punctures and covered with recumbent setae, shorter than on dorsal surface. Aedeagus ( Fig. 10D, E View FIGURE 10 ) with basal piece 2.85 times longer than parameres. Parameres dorsally with slightly rounded lateral margins converging to apex and narrowly rounded tip, slightly Cshaped laterally, with directed backward strong spines on sides. Penis with cone-like sculpture apically.

Variability. The second male ( paratype) differs from the holotype in the darker body with brown antennomeres 4–10 (both 4 and 10 antennomeres are bicolour, with reddish base and brown rest surface), shape of the pronotum with lateral margins straight in the basal half and right posterior angles ( Fig. 10C View FIGURE 10 ).

Etymology. The name translated from Latin as pertaining to Rus. Feminine adjective.

Comparative diagnosis. The species is externally and in small size very similar to the coastal and foothill specimens of M. zolotareffi , but differs from the latter by larger eyes (OI = 40.81–41.6 vs 49.4–51.7 in M. zolotareffi ). From both similar taxa, M. zolotareffi and M. maura , the new species differs in the structure of the aedeagus (compare Figs 8C, D, E View FIGURE 8 , 10D, E View FIGURE 10 , 13C, D View FIGURE 13 and 15F, G View FIGURE 15 ) and penis with cone-like sculpture. The species differs from the similar M. ingushetica in the shape of the pronotum (lateral margins of the pronotum are not emarginated vs emarginated and pronotal shape trapezoidal in M. ingushetica ); aedeagus is also different in M. ingushetica (compare Figs 7C, D View FIGURE 7 and 10D, E View FIGURE 10 )

Bionomics. Both specimens flew to specially moistened dry firewood (information from the collector, E.A. Khachikov). The type locality contains several old oak trees among steppe landscape and a small planted oak grove of middle-aged trees. The species probably lives on these oak trees.