Holotype ♂ (Fig. 1a). Overall aspect. Length 16 mm. Body elongate and parallel, with slight metallic sheen prevailing on pronotum. Head. Finely granulose, yellow-ochre, bordered with dark brown. Clypeus emarginated at apex with a dark brown clypeal carina. Frontal carina dark brown, slightly curved and interrupted medially by a tubercle. Vertex sinuated backwards. Antenna brown with dark brown bristles, club black. Pronotum. Yellow-ochre with irregular black callosities approximately set symetrically and sparing lateral borders; disc with interspersed, coarse and deep punctures, becoming less deep and more scattered on posterior angles, each point with a granule. Basal impressions deep and curved. Scutellar shield. Triangulate, acute, smooth. Elytra. Elongate, raised basally; the dorsal surface sinuated laterally past the humeral umbone, striations finely punctuated, elytral intervals almost imperceptibly punctuated, yellow-ochre matte, each displaying an irregular row of black shiny tubercles. Lateral carina weak on first half and vanishing thereafter. Underside (Fig. 1c). Dark brown with lighter sides on fresh specimens, with dark brown bristles. Prosternal protrusion straight and slightly forked apically. Mesoventrite with short tubercle. Metaventrite granulate and pubescent laterally, with a slight medial groove along mid-line. Pygidium. Shagreened, aciculate, with brown patches (Fig. 1d). Legs. Outer surface of femora and tibiae yellow ochre; inner surface dark brown. Profemora display a short tooth at the antero-inferior edge proximally (Fig. 1e). Protibiae straight and not curved inwardly before middle. Distance between basal and second tooth shorter than between remaining teeth; anteroventral edge with four teeth, the proximal and distal ones short, the median one longer. Metafemora elongate, posterior edge with strong outwardly curved tooth medially. Mesofemora, meso- and metatibiae normal. Aedeagus. Phallobase as long as parameres. Parameres notched at proximal third; ventral border straight to the distal edge (Fig. 1f - h).

Figure 1.  

Cheironitis petraensis sp. n. a habitus male holotype dorsal view b habitus female paratype, dorsal view b' detail of female yellow-ochre gena (arrow) c male holotype, ventral view d details of pygidium e right fore leg, slightly oblique ventral view; arrow shows sub-apical tooth on upper edge of profemur f aedeagus, left lateral view g parameres, dorsal view h parameres, ventral view.

Variation. Measurements (3 ♂, 3 ♀). Length: male 13.0 - 16.0 mm (15.0 ± 2.1), female 15.0 - 18.0 mm (16.3 ± 1.2). Female (Fig. 1b). Larger. Head black, except for a patch of yellow-ochre on posterior surface of gena (Fig 1 - b'); clypeal surface coarsely granulose. Tubercle of the frontal carina stout. Metaventral groove less pronounced. Pygidium punctuated. Pronotum and elytra as in the male. Legs black. Femora unarmed. Protibiae unmodified.

Etymology. This new species is named after the place where it was collected, i.e. Petra historical site.

Distribution. To date, this species is only known from Petra historical site, Jordan.