Polyarthron pectinicorne, a beautiful Sahelo-saharan Prionini tribe member known from Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Chad, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal,
has been described from Senegal as Prionus pectinicornis by Johann Christian Fabricius in 1793 [❖]. P. pectinicorne is a very variable
desert species which was divided into several taxa, regarded in different way (distinct species, subspecies or individual variations) by different authors.
One of its subspecies, P. pectinicorne jolyi, occurs in deserts of Algeria and Morocco. P. pectinicorne jolyi has been originally
described as Polyarthron Jolyi by Maurice Pic in 1895 [✱]. Larvae of this interesting beetle feeding underground on living roots of many plants (e.g. Vachelia, Agave,
Tamarix, Euphorbia), but the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is the most observed host. Adults, active from July to September, are nocturnal and males are often attracted to light [✮].
| Body length: | 18 – 50 mm |
| Life cycle: | several years |
| Adults in: | July – September |
| Host plant: | Phoenix dactylifera, Vachelia, Agave, Tamarix, Euphorbia |
| Distribution: | Algeria, Morocco |
Depicted male beetle was collected in Ouled Driss village environs (N29°53′06″ W05°38′14″; 580 m a.s.l.,
Zagora province, Drâa-Tafilalet region, Morocco) on September 24, 2022.
Collected by Petr Kabátek
[❖]
Fabricius J.Ch.:
Entomologia systematica emendata et aucta. Secundum classes ordines, genera, species adjectis synonymis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus.
Hafniae, C. G. Proft 1 (2): xx + 538pp [page 251], 1793.
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[✱]
Pic M.:
Séance du 11 décembre 1895. Communications. – Notes sur divers Polyarthron d'Afrique et description d'une espèce nouvelle (Col.).
Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, Paris 64: ccclxxxiv-ccclxxxv, 1895.
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[✮]
Sama G., Ringenbach, J.-C. and Rejzek M.:
A preliminary survey of the Cerambycidae of Lybia (Coleoptera).
Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 110 (4/5): 439-454, 2005.
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Villiers A.:
Coléoptères Cérambycides de l'Afrique du Nord.
Faune de l'Empire Français, ORSC Paris, 5: 1-152 [pages 30-31], 1946.
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Trócoli S.:
Actualización del catálogo de Longicornios de Marruecos Actualisation du catalogue des Longicornes du Maroc (Parte I / Partie I : Prioninae, Aseminae, Saphaninae).
Revue de l'Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie 27 (3): 130-140, 2018.
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