New and Little Known Species of Lichenophagous Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of the Tribe Helopini from Iran

Abstract

Four new species of tenebrionid beetles of the tribe Helopini are described and figured: Nalassus (s. str.) kadleci {bsp. n.}, N. (s. str.) kataevi {bsp. n.}, Eustenomacidius (Caucasohelops) glebi {bsp. n.} (all the three species are from Loristan Province) and Odocnemis (s. str.) denisi {bsp. n.} from Zanjan and Gilan provinces. The new species of Nalassus Mulsant, 1854 belong to the Iranian medvedevi species group with pubescent head and pronotum; both new species differ from N. medvedevi Nabozhenko, 2006 in the epipleura not reaching elytral suturai angle, the 8th interstria convex at apex and connected there with elytral margin. Odocnemis denisi sp. n belongs to the recticollis species group and is most similar to O. merkli Nabozhenko et Keskin, 2016 in the cordiform pronotum with multiple impressions on disc, but differs from the latter in the unicolorous body, convex interstriae with distinct tubercles, elytral striai punctures connected by furrows, absence of granules on the inner face of male tibiae, and the structure of male genitalia. Eustenomacidius glebi sp. n. differs from all the congeners in the thickened antennomeres 3–8, bicolored (reddish pronotum and head, and brown elytra) body and hair brush in the middle of male abdominal ventrite 1. A key to species of Nalassus (s. str.) of Iran is given. New localities for rare species Eustenomacidius (s. str.) turcmenicus (G. Medvedev, 1964) (first record for Iran) and Euboeus (Pelorinus) chorasanicus (G. Medvedev, 1976) are reported.