Kazantsev S.V. 2024. New species of Malthodes Kiesenwetter, 1852 (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) from the Greater Caucasus, with notes on distribution of the genus in the area // Russian Entomol. J. Vol.33. No.1: 79–96 [in English].
Insect Centre, Donetskaya 13–326, Moscow 109651, Russia. E-mail: kazantss@mail.ru ; https://orcid. org/0000-0001-6982-3337
doi: 10.15298/rusentj.33.1.08
ABSTRACT. Two new species of soldier beetles of the genus Malthodes Kiesenwetter, 1852, M. nabozhenkorum sp.n. and M. sukkoensis sp.n., are described from South Ossetia, Georgia and the vicinity of Anapa. Two species, M. lederi Pic, 1912 and M. lozovoyi Kazantsev, 2021, are recorded from South Ossetia for the first time. Three species, M. debilis Kiesenwetter, 1852, M. quadristilus Wittmer, 1992 and M. tordi Wittmer, 1970, are excluded from the list of the genus of the Greater Caucasus. The total number of Malthodes species registered in the area thus becomes 25. Provided is an annotated checklist and an identification key to Malthodes species of the Greater Caucasus, their distribution is discussed and illustrated by maps.
KEY WORDS: Coleoptera, Cantharidae, Malthininae, Malthodes, new species, key to species, distribution maps, Palaearctic region.