Monocladum aegyptiacum granulipenne (original) (raw)

Monocladum aegyptiacum (Guérin-Méneville, 1844)
ssp. granulipenne Holzschuh, 1993
[= Prionus unipectinatus arabicus Fuchs, 1969]

Subfamilia: PRIONINAE / Tribus: PRIONINI

[Photo © David Navrátil]
[Click on the specfic beetle picture for its separate displaying in the 4K resolution]
[Display the picture of all 5 specimens in the 4K resolution]

Monocladum aegyptiacum, a interesting desert nocturnal species occuring in Near East and Arabian Peninsula, has been described as Polyarthron ægyptiacum from Egypt by Félix Edouard Guérin-Méneville in 1844 [▽]. Its subspecies Monocladum aegyptiacum granulipenne, endemic to Arabian peninsula, has been firstly described from Yemen as Prionus unipectinatus arabicus by Ernst Fuchs in 1969 [✮] (P. unipectinatus is synonym of M. aegyptiacum). But thanks to momenclatural rules valid name is_Monocladum aegyptiacum granulipenne_, used for the first time (as a nomen novum) by Carolus Holzschuh in 1993 [❖].

Monocladum aegyptiacum granulipenne is highly variable both in the size of the adults and in their coloration (dark and light brown forms) or in granulation of the elytra, as presented in our photographs of beetles caught using a light trap during a single night at one location. The actual taxonomic status of both subspecies of M. aegyptiacum occurring on the Arabian Peninsula (arabicum Villiers, 1961 / granulipenne Holzschuh, 1993) remains a question. The biology of M. aegyptiacum granulipenne is not described but is likely to be similar to that of the nominate subspecies. Adults, active from March to November, are noctural and can be attracted to light.

Body length:	14 - 42 mm
Life cycle:	at least 3 years [?]
Adults in:	March - November
Host plant:	unknown
Distribution:	Saudi Arabia, Yemen

The depicted beetles was collected using a light trap 7 km SW of Umm ar Rakah (أم الراكة) settlement (N21°06′36″ E39°56′58″, 306 m a.s.l, Mecca/Makkah province, Saudi Arabia) in November 6, 2023.

Collected by our friend Walter Grosser

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[▽]
Guérin-Méneville F.E.:
Iconographie du Règne Animal de G. Cuvier, ou représentation d'après nature de l'une des espèces les plus remarquables et souvent non encore figurées, de chaque genre d'animaux. Avec un texte descriptif mis au courant de la Science.
Insectes 7, i-iv + 5-576, J. B. Baillère, Paris, 1844. [download ]

[✮]
Fuchs E.:
Missioni 1962 e 1965 del Prof. Giuseppe Scortecci nell' Arabia meridionale (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae: Prioninae e Cerambycinae).
Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Milano 109 (4): 380-382, 1969. [download ]

[❖]
Holzschuh C.:
Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) of Saudi Arabia: Part II, Prioninae and Cerambycinae.
Fauna of Saudi Arabia 13: 110-129, 1993. [download ]

Monocladum aegyptiacum granulipenne ♂ [Photo © Walter Grosser]

Monocladum aegyptiacum granulipenne ♀ [Photo © Walter Grosser]