The Porphyronota Burmeister, 1842 of Cameroon, with description of a new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae, Diplognathini)

Abstract

Recent collections from Cameroon have revealed the occurrence of a new species of Porphyronota Burmeister, 1842 from Adamaoua and the Centre regions, P. antoinei sp. nov. This is described herein, along with a review of the known species of the country. The rehabilitation of the specific status of P. maculipennis Moser, 1916 is confirmed, as this species is clearly separated from P. hebraea (Olivier, 1789) by a number of diagnostic characters already highlighted by other authors and is also known mainly from Cameroon thus far. The occurrence of P. cinnamomea (Afzelius, 1817) in northern Cameroon is reported for the first time, and it is proposed that P. cinnamomea angolensis Holm, 1990 be upgraded to species level, P. angolensis stat. nov., as it is sufficiently different from the nominal form in the shape of its parameral apex and other key characters. The bioecology of the genus Porphyronota is discussed in the context of the prevailing habitat characteristics, the feeding and breeding patterns of the various taxa currently included in it. One group of species, previously constituting the obsolete genus Poecilophila Kolbe, 1893, lives in forest and open savanna habitats and its members breed within the soil or in rotten wood and feed on fruits, sap or flowers at the adult stage. A second group, probably composed of most if not all the other known species, lives in mountainous grassland habitats, undergoes period of dormancy underground and appears to depend on specific herbivore dung for larval growth.