Pseudolathra villiersi (CAMERON, 1950) (Figs 25-28)

Lathrobium villiersi Cameron, 1950: 213 f.

Type material examined:

Paratype ♀: “Paratype / Agadez, Aïr Sud, 525 m, 8.VIII / IFAN 1947, L. Chopard, A. Villiers / Lathrobium villiersi Cam. P. Type / M. Cameron Bequest B.M. 1955-147. / Pseudolathra villiersi (Cameron), det. V. Assing 2012” (BMNH) .

Comment:

The original description of Lathrobium villiersi is based on a “Type à l’Ifan” from “Monts Tarraouaji (900 m.)” (Cameron 1950) in the Air range in Niger. The aedeagus of the holotype was figured by Coiffait (1982b).

Additional material examined:

Pakistan: 2 ♂♂ [1 slightly teneral], Baluchistan, Zhob valley, sand desert, 24.-25.VIII.2009, leg. Gurko (cSch, cAss) ; 4 ♀♀, Tribal Area, Sulaiman mts., Drazinda tribal agency, 1700 m, 17.-21.VIII.2008, leg. Gurko (cSch, cAss) .

Yemen: 1 ♀, Tihama, 3 km N Bayt al Faqih, 14°30'N, 43°13'E, 4.XI.1996, leg. Hacker (cAss) .

Diagnosis:

In external characters highly similar to P. unicolor and P. himalayana; reliably distinguished only by the male primary and secondary sexual characters:

♂: sternite VII without distinctly modified pubescence, posterior margin almost truncate (Fig. 25); sternite VIII of similar shape and chaetotaxy as in P. unicolor (Fig. 26); aedeagus approximately 1.0 mm long, dorsal plate with slender and apically acute (ventral view) apical portion of distinctive shape (Figs 27-28).

Distribution and natural history:

Pseudolathra villiersi was previously known from the Sahara and Saudi Arabia (Coiffait 1982a, 1982b). The above specimens from Pakistan represent a new country record and considerably expand the known distribution eastwards. The female-based record from Yemen is tentative and requires confirmation. The species appears to be adapted to arid habitats. One specimen collected in August is slightly teneral.