Updates on the little-known Firminus maltensis, with revisited classification based on the anatomy of everted endophallus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13133/2284-4880/718Keywords:
Maltese Archipelago, Rhizotrogus, Rhizotrogus maltensis, taxonomy, morphology, ecology, endophallusAbstract
New information on the almost unknown rhizotrogine Firminus maltensis Rössner & Zorn, 2013, endemic to the Maltese Archipelago, is provided, based on new specimens recently collected. The species is transferred to the genus Rhizotrogus, introducing Rhizotrogus maltensis (Rössner & Zorn, 2013) as comb. nov., based on new evidence provided by the morphology of the endophallus, whose everted structure is addressed for the first time in the genera Firminus and Rhizotrogus. A comparative diagnostic characterization for the endophalli of the two genera is proposed. Some morphological traits are also discussed, and the first behavioural and ecological observations are provided.
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Copyright (c) 2022 Marco Uliana, Valerio Gallerati
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