Fragmenta entomologica

The Ceratocanthinae of Madagascar and Comoro Islands: a revision of the genera Synarmostes and Goudotostes, and of the flightless Philharmostes, with description of 64 new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Hybosoridae)

Alberto Ballerio — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

The Ceratocanthinae (Coleoptera Scarabaeoidea Hybosoridae) genera Synarmostes Germar, 1843 Goudotostes Paulian, 1979, and Philharmostes Kolbe, 1895 (partim) are revised. The genera Synarmostes and Goudotostes, endemic to Madagascar and Comoro Islands, score respectively 24 species, 18 occurring in Madagascar and six in the Comoro Islands (20 of them new to science: Synarmostes aes sp. nov., Synarmostes annamariae sp. nov., Synarmostes beankae sp. nov., Synarmostes benaraensis sp. nov., Synarmostes bekaraokae sp. nov., Synarmostes caterinae sp. nov., Synarmostes chonguimontis sp. nov., Synarmostes compactus sp. nov., Synarmostes dapaniensis sp. nov., Synarmostes eugenii sp. nov., Synarmostes fortis sp. nov., Synarmostes grinteri sp. nov., Synarmostes karthalaensis sp. nov., Synarmostes lavasoae sp. nov., Synarmostes makirovanae sp. nov., Synarmostes monoculus sp. nov., Synarmostes occidentalis sp. nov., Synarmostes parrilloi sp. nov., Synarmostes separatus sp. nov., and Synarmostes zahamenae sp. nov.) and 33 species, two of them occurring in the Comoro Islands and the remaining in Madagascar (32 of them new to science: Goudotostes andohahelae sp. nov., Goudotostes andreonei sp. nov., Goudotostes angelii sp. nov., Goudotostes antsahabensis sp. nov., Goudotostes electrimontis sp. nov., Goudotostes elegans sp. nov., Goudotostes fisheri sp. nov., Goudotostes hirtellus sp. nov., Goudotostes insularis sp. nov., Goudotostes laevis sp. nov., Goudotostes lapidisilvae sp. nov., Goudotostes litoralis sp. nov., Goudotostes lokobensis sp. nov., Goudotostes mayottensis sp. nov., Goudotostes masoalae sp. nov., Goudotostes montanellus sp. nov., Goudotostes orangeanus sp. nov., Goudotostes parvus sp. nov., Goudotostes phantasticus sp. nov., Goudotostes pittinoi sp. nov., Goudotostes rafanomezantsoai sp. nov., Goudotostes rajemisonae sp. nov., Goudotostes rakotonirinai sp. nov., Goudotostes ramamonjisoae sp. nov., Goudotostes ranaivoi sp. nov., Goudotostes randrianirinai sp. nov., Goudotostes rasoamananae sp. nov., Goudotostes rugatulus sp. nov., Goudotostes siccaesilvae sp. nov., Goudotostes similis sp. nov., Goudotostes simplicipennis sp. nov., and Goudotostes trapeticollis sp. nov.). Finally, the genus Philharmostes, shared with Continental Africa but absent from Comoro Islands, is here revised only partly. Only the 12 flightless species occurring in Madagascar are revised, all them endemic and new to science (Philharmostes acutus sp. nov., Philharmostes apterus sp. nov., Philharmostes centralis sp. nov., Philharmostes fereocellatus sp. nov., Philharmostes indri sp. nov., Philharmostes manomboensis sp. nov., Philharmostes metallicus sp. nov., Philharmostes nelsoni sp. nov., Philharmostes ornatulus sp. nov., Philharmostes rotundatus sp. nov., Philharmostes scapulatus sp. nov., and Philharmostes schweikerti sp. nov.). The volant species of Philharmostes will be the subject of a future paper. With the new species here described Madagascar scores a total of 81 species of Ceratocanthinae, all them endemic, becoming the richest country in the world with respect to Ceratocanthinae diversity. The majority of the Ceratocanthinae species dealt with this paper are flightless (65 on a total of 69). All species have been found in forested habitats, the majority of them (53 species) in rainforests and 17 species in dry deciduous forests. Three species have been found in nests of Nasutitermes sp. (Isoptera). Some remarks on eye development are provided. In some species of all the genera it is hypothesized the presence of a vestigial dorsal ocular area. A key to all species, distribution maps and photos of the habitus and the male genitalia of all species are provided.

Phylogenetic placement of a new paleoendemic pill scarab (Coleoptera: Hybosoridae: Ceratocanthinae) from the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania, triggers biogeographic interpretations

Vasily Grebennikov — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A new pill scarab with peculiar carinate apical halves of the elytra, Balleriodes sphaera gen. et sp. nov., is described and illustrated from the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. A phylogenetic analysis of 73 terminals and 3118 aligned positions from three DNA fragments placed Balleriodes within a newly recognized and strongly supported clade herein informally named the Synarmostes group. The group includes three monophyletic species-rich genera: African Melanophilharmostes and Pseudopterorthochaetes, as well as Synarmostes from Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. The discovery of the monotypic genus Balleriodes gen. nov. in Udzungwa highlights the importance of the ancient and exceptionally biodiverse chain of the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania and Kenya. Three cases of overseas dispersal by the members of the Synarmostes group are hypothesized: Africa to Madagascar, Madagascar to Comoros, and Africa to Annobón. Preliminary biogeographical interpretation of the increasingly more resolved pantropical subfamily Ceratocanthinae is presented.

A new hypothesis on the evolution of the hybosorid beetle capacity to conglobate their bodies into a tight ball (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea)

Vasily V. Grebennikov, Andrew B.T. Smith — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Although best known for the capacity to fully conglobate their bodies into a "perfect" spheroid, a few Ceratocanthinae (=pill scarabs; Coleoptera: Hybosoridae) have drastically different body architecture. Six South American species, or 1.5% of species diversity, have straight bodies incapable of any conglobation, while some 20% of species can achieve only incomplete body conglobation with legs and abdomen partly exposed. Historically, both latter character states were considered as ancestral and transitional, respectively, in the irreversible evolutionary "progression" towards full-body conglobation. Here we use molecular sequence data to hypothesize a new clade uniting all bodily straight and incompletely conglobate pill scarabs. Significantly, this clade is nested within a clade otherwise consisting of species capable of full-body conglobation. This topology implies that the most recent common ancestor of all pill scarabs had a capacity of full-body conglobation. Consequently, we re-interpret the pill scarab straight and partly conglobate body architectures as secondary reversals to the ancestral condition from the fully conglobate state. If so, the tribe Ceratocanthini uniting 98% of pill scarab species is rendered paraphyletic by two remaining and much smaller South American tribes, Ivieolini and Scarabatermitini. The latter contains three and five rare species, respectively, all of them supposedly termitophilous and all herein illustrated.

Description of the larva of Zwicknia gattolliati Vinçon & Reding, 2018, with notes on the distribution of the genus Zwicknia Murányi, 2014 in Italy (Plecoptera: Capniidae)

Jean-Paul G. Reding — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The specimens of the genus Zwicknia Murányi, 2014 from the Ravizza collection stored in the Museum of Zoology, Lausanne, Switzerland, are revised and re-identified to species level. Whereas most of them were identified as belonging to the species Zwicknia gattolliati, one male collected in Southern Italy corresponded to Z. bifrons. The hitherto unknown larva of Zwicknia gattolliati is described and illustrated on the basis of morphology.

New records and interesting data for the Sardinian spider fauna (Arachnida: Araneae)

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

We present new distributional data of 24 spider species in Sardinia, including 7 endemic and 1 poorly recorded species. Sixteen species from 7 families and six species from 2 families are recorded for the first time in Sardinia and Italy, respectively. Among these, the reported presence of Cepheia longiseta and five other species allows us to include the Synaphridae family and five genera (Anagraphis, Hahnia, Minyriolus, Thaumatoncus, Trabea) in the Sardinian spider checklist, and two genera (Anagraphis and Thaumatoncus) in the Italian spider checklist. Relevant faunistic and distribution notes of poorly collected species are also provided.

The bee genus Pseudoanthidium: revision of the subgenus Exanthidium with the description of a new species (Apoidea: Megachilidae)

Max Kasparek — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Exanthidium Pasteels, 1969 is today recognised as a subgenus of the genus Pseudoanthidium which comprises a small number of little-known species distributed between the Atlantic coast and Central Asia. The taxonomic status is reviewed and the members of the subgenus are here presented for the first time with photographs and line drawings illustrating the specific distinguishing characters. An identification key and distribution maps are given. A new species, Pseudoanthidium (Exanthidium) deserticolum sp. n. is described from Saudi Arabia. It is close to P. (E.) wahrmanicum which is found in the southern Levant and the Algerian Sahara.

Chronology of the worldwide spread of a parthenogenetic beetle, Reesa vespulae (Milliron, 1939) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

Gianluca Nardi, Jiří Hava — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Reesa vespulae (Milliron, 1939) is a parthenogenetic synanthropic subcosmopolitan dermestid pest native to the Nearctic region. The chronology (1942–2020) of its spread outside its native range, its general distribution and ecology are summarized and discussed. Its spread is likely to be the result of multiple introductions into the different zoogeographic regions, and secondary translocations therein; the oldest records from outside its native range are: 1942 (Australian region), 1946 (Neotropical region), 1957–1958 (Palaearctic region) and 1986–2010 (Oriental region). Reesa vespulae is excluded from the Afrotropical fauna, since the sole available record was based on a misidentification, while it is recorded from central Italy for the first time, moreover its oldest Algerian and Austrian records are provided. The need for preventive measures against dermestid infestations in natural history collections is highlighted.

Lophorrhina garnieri, a new fruit chafer species from north-eastern Uganda (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae)

Renzo Perissinotto — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A new species of Lophorrhina Westwood, 1842, L. garnieri sp. nov., was recently discovered in the Labwor Hills range of north-eastern Uganda and is here described. It differs substantially from its closest relative, L. pentachordia (Klug, 1835), particularly at the level of male clypeus but also in the aedeagal parameres, which show an expanded apical surface with lateral projections. In the male of the new species, the clypeus exhibits a smaller apical horn and a narrow and elongate frontal horn, which actually takes the shape of a tapering ridge, rather than a true laminar horn, as is the case in the male L. pentachordia. Other major differences between the two species are manifested in the much more extensive light-yellow ornamentation that characterises the dorsal habitus of L. garnieri in comparison to L. prentachordia and the less protruding and angulate, rather than round, mesometasternal process exhibited by the new species. The female of L. garnieri remains unfortunately unknown. It is likely that the new species represents an isolated population that has remained separated from its relatives through events related to the formation of the East African Great Rift System and for a period long enough to result in speciation. The distribution of the species could potentially include partially connected ranges in western Kenya and South Sudan. In the process of investigating the relationship between this new species and its closest relative, it has also emerged that little information is currently available on the distribution range and biology/ecology of L. pentachordia. A comprehensive data record on its distribution range and period of activity is, therefore, provided here, along with basic information on its habitat preferences, adult diet and response to trapping methods.

Description of a new species of Anoplocheilus MacLeay, 1838 from South Africa, with review of the genus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae)

Renzo Perissinotto, Gerhard Beinhundner, Werner Strümpher — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A new species of Anoplocheilus (Anoplocheilus) MacLeay, 1838 closely related to A. (A.) rusticus (Gory & Percheron, 1833) is hereby described from freshly collected and revisited old material. Unlike its sister species, which is restricted to the west and south coastal regions of South Africa, the new species occurs inland, above the Great Escarpment and in adjacent mountain ranges of the Cape Fold Belt. The recently erected subgenus Nselenius Holm & Perissinotto, 2004, is here elevated to full genus, given the rather unique features of the only species currently known, N. silvicola stat. nov., and its closest proximity to Lamellothyrea Krikken, 1980, rather than Anoplocheilus s. str. Furthermore, another species also allocated originally to Anoplocheilus with great reservation by the original authors themselves, is now transferred to the genus Diphrontis, as D. matilei (Antoine & Lequeux, 2001) comb. nov., since it shares most external and aedeagal key characters with species belonging to that genus.

Review of Eudyasmus, with descriptions of a new species from Waigeo Island, Indonesia and a closely related new genus (Curculionidae: Molytinae: Eudyasmini)

Gregory Setliff, Lorenzo Pancini, Andrea Bramanti — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Eudyasmus Pascoe, 1885 (Curculionidae: Molytinae: Eudyasmini), an endemic weevil genus from New Guinea, is reviewed. The genus is redescribed, all previously described species are diagnosed, and lectotypes are designated for three species. Prior to this study, Eudyasmus was only known from Papua New Guinea but is reported here for the first time from the Indonesian part of New Guinea based on the description of Eudyasmus basalis Pancini & Bramanti sp. nov. from Waigeo Island, West Papua Province. A new genus, Protrachyasmus Setliff gen. nov., is described to accommodate Eudyasmus planidorsis Heller, which is non-congeneric with the four remaining Eudyasmus species. A species level identification key, distribution map, and illustrations are provided for all species of these two closely related genera.

The sumatrana species group of the genus Platyja with descriptions of four new species (Lepidoptera: Erebidae)

Alberto Zilli, Rob De Vos — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

It is shown that under the old concept of Platyja cyanocraspis Hampson, 1922 at least six species are intermingled, including two sympatric sibling ones from New Guinea. Four such species are new to science and are herein described, namely Platyja subtracta sp. n. (New Guinea), P. togutila sp. n. (Halmahera), P. vityaz sp. n. (Bismarck Archipelago) and P. yaleyambae sp. n. (Louisiades), while a fifth one from Buru and Ceram is upgraded from subspecific status as P. lecerfi A.E. Prout, 1922 stat. n. A singleton from New Britain (Bismarck Archipelago) closely albeit not entirely matching P. vityaz is also discussed.

A social beauty: distribution, ecology and conservation of Iris oratoria in the Central Mediterranean Region

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The distribution and knowledge on the Mediterranean mantid Iris oratoria (Linnaeus, 1785) is here updated. Despite is beautiful appearance and presence in the social media, the scientific knowledge on its real distribution is poor and incomplete and this may affect its conservation at local scales. Citizen science records have been here compared with traditional science records, here updated with many new and original localities: this species is reported for the first time for Libya, Malta, Calabria and many Mediterranean islands and islets. The ecological preferences have been investigated in a retrodunal transect to investigate the preferred vegetation patterns for this species. The general value of citizen science records in evaluating the real distribution of a species have been tested here, using Iris oratoria as a case study for further investigations.

Issue summary of Vol. 53 (2021), n. 2

Paolo Audisio — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

First record of Onthophagus (Furconthophagus) sellatus Klug, 1845 for Europe (Coleoptera Scarabaeidae: Onthophagini)

Daniel Patacchiola, Fabrizio Fabbriciani — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Onthophagus (Furconthophagus) sellatus Klug, 1845 (Coleoptera Scarabaeidae: Onthophagini) is recorded for the first time for Europe based on specimens collected in the south-western coastal area of Sicily (Siracusa province). This is a species with wide distribution encompassing the north-eastern portion of Northern Africa,Middle East and Arabian peninsula and a great portion of the Afrotropical region.

Chorthippus bornhalmi new to Lebanon and Jordan, and Eremippus persicus new to Jordan (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Bruno Massa — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The author reports for the first time the presence of Chorthippus (Glyptobothrus) bornhalmi Harz, 1971 in Jordan and Lebanon, and Eremippus persicus Uvarov, 1929 in Jordan.

Amnestus pusillus Uhler, 1876 new to Europe found in Italy (Heteroptera: Cydnidae)

Paride Dioli, Ernesto Pascotto, Marco Uliana — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Specimens of Amnestus pusillus were collected in Veneto, Italy, at light. The species is of American origin and has been recorded previously out of its areal, in Iran and the Asian portion of Turkey. The present record is the first for Europe.

First records of Trithemis kirbyi Selys, 1891 in the Maltese islands (Odonata: Libellulidae)

Charles Gauci — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In this contribution the author reports the first sightings of Trithemis kirbyi, Selys, 1891 in the Maltese islands. Two single males were found at Imselliet Valley and Chadwick Lakes on 17 May 2020 and 13 Aug 2020 respectively.