(Fig. 10)
Harpalus viridanus Motschulsky, 1844: 218. Type locality: "Baical dans les Steppes vers Nertchinsk", Transbaicalia, Russia.
Harpalus unicolor Motschulsky, 1844: 217. Type locality: "environs de Kiakhta", Buryatia, Russia.
Harpalus planatus Motschulsky, 1844: 212. Type locality: Siberia "sur la frontiere de la Mongolie ", Russia.
Harpalus cyaneus Tschitschérine, 1893: 374 (non Stephens, 1828; non Ballion, 1878). Type locality: "Gornyj Zerentuj", Chita Province, Russia.
Harpalus Przewalskyi Tschitschérine, 1894: 260. Type locality: restricted here as area between Dulan and Barun, Qinghai, China.
Harpalus fuscipalpis var. versicolor Reitter, 1900: 105. Type locality: restricted here as "Quellgebiet des Irkut”, Irkutsk Province, Russia.
Harpalus viridanus ab. fuscipalpoides Schauberger, 1926: 28, unavailable. Type locality: "Beresowka", Transbaikalia, Russia.
Harpalus csikii Jedliċka, 1967: 40. Type locality: Somon Mörön, Chentey aimak, Mongolia.
Type material. Lectotype of H. viridanus (designated by Kataev, 1989: 223): Ψ, labelled " Ooistus viridanus mihi, Transbaic.", " 5 ", "Transbaic." (ZMM). Paralectotypes: 1 ɗ, 1 Ψ, from Transbaicalia (ZMM).
Lectotype of H. unicolor (designated by Kataev, 1989: 223): ɗ, labelled "Kiachta" (ZMM). Paralectotypes: 1 Ψ (without head and pronotum), labelled " Ooistus unicolor mihi, B. Kiachta", "Kiachta" (ZMM); 1 Ψ, "Kiachta" (ZMM).
Lectotype of H. planatus (designated by Kataev, 1989: 223): Ψ (damaged), labelled " Ooistus planatus mihi, Mongolia ", "Mongol" (ZMM).
Holotype of H. cyanellus: ɗ, labelled "Siberia or., G. Zerentui, J. Wagner", " fuscipalpis St., v. cyaneus m., Typ., Tschitscherin det." (ZISP).
Lectotype of H. Przewalskyi (present designation: see remarks below): ɗ, labelled "Amdo [area between Dulan and Barun, Qinghai, China], 18.IV.– 11.V. 1884, Przevalsky", " Harpalus Przewalskyi T. Tsch., n. sp., 1894, Typ!", " v. viridanus Motsch., Tschitscherin det." (ZISP). Paralectotypes: 1 Ψ, same data (ZISP); also apparently from the type series: 1 ɗ, labelled "Amdo. 1884, Przevalsky / 18.IV – 11.V ", " v. versicolor Reitt., Tschitscherin det." (ZISP); 1 ɗ, "Amdo. 1884, Przevalsky / 18.IV.– 11.V ", "v. viridanus Motsch., Tschitscherin det." (ZISP); 1 ɗ, labelled "Amdo. 1884, Przevalsky / 18.IV.– 11.V ", " Fuscipalpis Sturm, Tschitscherin det." (ZISP); 1 ɗ, labelled "Amdo [“Dzun-Zasak–Barun-Zasak” (= Barun env., Qinghai)], 1884, Przevalsky / 2– 10.V.", " v. cyaneus m. Tschitscherin det." (ZISP).
Lectotype of H. fuscipalpis var. versicolor (present designation): ɗ, labelled "Quellgebiet des Irkut, Leder", " v. versicolor m., i. l. (viridanus Motsch.)", "coll. Reitter", " Holotypus, 1899, Harpalus fuscipalpis var. versicolor Reitter ", "vidi, 1970, Dr. Z. Mlyná ř det. " (TMB).
Holotype of H. csikii: ɗ, " Mongolia, Chentey aimak, Somon Mörön, 1200 m, Exp. Dr. Z. Kaszab, 1965 ", "nr 318, 28.VII. 1965 ", " Holotypus, 1966, Harpalus csikii Jedli ċ ka", " Holotypus ", " Harpalus csikii sp. n. ", " Harpalus viridanus Mot., Dr. Z. Mlynář det., 1970 " (TMB).
Description. Comparatively small: body length 7.6–9.8 mm (usually under 9.5 mm). Head relatively small (WHmax/WPmax = 0.61–0.69; WHmin/WPmax = 0.53–0.58). Pronotum (Fig. 10) with comparatively wide base (WPmax/WPmin = 1.03–1.09) and with sides more or less parallel basally, at most only slightly converging posteriad. Pronotal basal angle right-angled or slightly obtuse, usually with somewhat sharp apex. Elytral striae deepened or almost superficial. Elytral intervals more or less convex, occasionally nearly flat. Dorsal microsculpture consisting of more or less isodiametric meshes, either distinct throughout on head, pronotum and elytra or slightly obliterate. Median lobe of aedeagus relatively small (LB/LML = 3.40–4.02), its terminal lamella usually rather short, with sides parallel or slightly converging apicad; more rarely sides slightly sinuate (mainly in specimens from China and Kyrgyzstan).
Distribution. Widely distributed over Mongolia and southern Siberia from Altai Mountains to the Amur River, also in central Yakutia, central Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan) and northern China from eastern Tien Shan (Xinjiang) to Songhua River (Heilongjiang). In China, the southern boundary runs across northeastern Qinghai (probably to north of Burhan Buda Shan), southern Gansu (to north of Minxian), northern Shanxi (Wutai Shan) and then to Heilongjiang.
Remarks. Although the nominotypical subspecies is rather variable, it may be recognized by the pronotum with sides more or less parallel and the body comparatively small.
According to the original description (Tschitschérine 1894), H. przewalskyi has been described from many specimens collected by N. Przewalsky in China in 1884–1885 which were labelled "Amdo, 18.IV.– 11.V. 1884, N. Przewalsky” (= area between Dulan and Barun, Qinghai) and "Turkestan oriental: Tschertschen [= Qarqan], 11.IV.– 22.V. 1885, N. Przewalsky” (= Quemo, Xinjiang). Consequently, designation of the male labelled "Amdo [Njam-tzu environs, Dy Qu, source of Yangtze River], 10–18.VI. 1884, Przevalsky” [= Zhi Qu (= Tongtian He), area SE of Qumarleb] and " Harpalus Przewalskyi T. Tsch., n. sp., 1894, Typ!" as the lectotype of H. przewalskyi (Kataev 1989: 223) is invalid since Tschitscherine did not list this specimen among syntypes of H. przewalskyi although labelled it as one of the types of this species (Article 74.2, The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Fourth Edition 1999). It should be recorded that this specimen is the single one of all series housed in ZISP and labelled by Tschitschérine as H. przewalskyi, which belongs to the subspecies angustibasis ssp. n. (this specimen is included in the type series of this new subspecies, see below). All other specimens with Tschitschérine’s determinational label " Harpalus Przewalskyi T. Tsch., n. sp., 1894, Typ!", including all real syntypes, are members of the nominotypical subspecies with the pronotal sides more or less parallel basally and the elytral intervals convex apically. Their body length is 8.2–8.5 mm. Here we designate the lectotype of H. przewalskyi from the specimens collected by Przewalsky in 1884 during the period from April 18 till May 11 in the area between Dulan and Barun, Qinghai (see Type material). Interestingly, Tschitschérine (1894) in the original description compared H. przewalskyi only with H. smaragdinus (Duftschmid) but later, according to his additional determination labels on the syntypes, treated his taxon as conspecific with H. fuscipalpis Sturm sensu lato (including H. viridanus as one of its varieties).
Harpalus fuscipalpis var. versicolor was described from "Ostsibirien” and “ Mongolei ". According to the original description (Reitter 1900), this form is characterized by reddish legs combined with black, blue, green or bronze dorsum. Although this taxon was for a long time correctly regarded as a synonym of H. viridanus, a lectotype was not yet designated. Here we designate the male from "Quellgebiet des Irkut, Leder" as the lectotype of Harpalus fuscipalpis var. versicolor (see Type material).