Ammoecius terminatus HAROLD 1869

Ammoecius terminatus HAROLD, 1869: 100; HAROLD 1871: 18 (as synonym of lugubris).

Aphodius (Ammoecius) terminatus: SCHMIDT 1922: 69 (as synonym of lugubris); ENDRŐDI & RAKOVIČ 1981: 42 (as synonym of lugubris); DELLACASA M. 1988: 207 (as synonym of lugubris).

Aphodius (Ammoecius) orycis ENDRŐDI, 1980: 34; DELLACASA M. 1988: 339, syn. n.

Aphodius (Ammoecius) orycoides ENDRŐDI, 1980: 34; DELLACASA M. 1988: 339, syn. n.

Type locality: Cap. [Cape Town, South Africa.]

Type depository: Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris.

Type material: Ammoecius terminatus HAROLD, 1869: lectotype, (female, MNHNP), herewith designated, bearing the following labels: 1) white, handwritten: Cap. A. viduus Dej; 2) white, handwritten by Harold: terminatus Typ. Hrld; 3) white, printed: Ex Musaeo E. Harold; 4) red, printed: TYPE; 5) red, handwritten: Ammoecius terminatus HAROLD, 1869, Lectotype f, P. Bordat des. 2001.

Aphodius (Ammoecius) orycis ENDRŐDI, 1980: holotype (male, TMP): S. Afr. Namaq Coast, Gemsbok vlakte.

Aphodius (Ammoecius) orycoides ENDRŐDI, 1980: holotype (female, TMP): S. Afr. Namaq Coast, Gemsbok vlakte.

Description – Length 3.5–5.5 mm. Oblong, convex, shiny, glabrous (Fig. 97). Piceous-black; clypeal margin, sides of pronotum and elytra more or less widely brown-reddish; legs dark brownish; antennal club dark testaceous. Head with cupuliform epistoma coarsely and regularly punctured to the arcuate, rather elongate and distinctly raised anterior carina in front of which the punctation is rather fine and sparse; clypeus widely sinuate at middle, subdenticulate and upturned at sides, latter feebly curved and thinly bordered; genae obtusely rounded, elongately ciliate, feebly protruding more than eyes; frontal suture distinctly impressed; frons coarsely and regularly punctured, faintly depressed at middle; epipharynx Fig. 106. Pronotum transverse, strongly convex, simply, regularly and almost coarsely punctured, punctation somewhat denser on sides; latter moderately arcuate, distinctly bordered, maximum width near base; hind angles subtruncate; base faintly bisinuate, rather thickly bordered. Scutellum regularly triangular, at base as wide as two first elytral interstices, sparsely punctured on basal half. Elytra rather elongate, moderately widened backward, almost imperceptibly denticulate at shoulder; striae fine and faintly crenulate on disc, somewhat wider and not crenulate at all toward apex; interstices nearly flat on disc, moderately convex preapically, finely and sparsely punctured. Hind tibiae with superior apical spur longer than first tarsal segment; latter faintly shorter than following three combined. Male: inferior apical spur of middle tibiae shortened, abruptly inwardly curved apically; aedeagus: Figs 107–108. Female: inferior apical spur of middle tibiae elongate and regularly acuminate toward apex.

Distribution: South Africa (Northern and Western Cape Province, Namaqualand).

Remarks – HAROLD (1869: 100) described Ammoecius terminatus comparing it with A. lugubris BOHEMAN, but later (1871: 18) he considered them synonyms. Subsequent authors did not verify this synonymy, and accepted HAROLD’ s decision. Based on a study of the types, P. BORDAT determined that they are two different species.

In 1980, ENDRŐDI described Aphodius (Ammoecius) orycis and Aphodius (Ammoecius) orycoides comparing them with Aphodius (Ammoecius?) brevitarsis PÉRINGUEY. The examination of the type material showed that distinguishing characters mentioned by ENDRŐDI (e.g. shape of elytral striae) for separating A. orycis from A. orycoides are inadequate, resulting in the decision that they are junior synonyms of Ammoecius terminatus. On the other hand, BORDAT (1990: 135) moved Aphodius brevitarsis from Ammoecius to Australaphodius based on its morpho-anatomical characteristics.