Published May 1, 2017 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Namakwanus scholtzi Deschodt & Davis 2017, spec. nov.

  • 1. Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Description

Namakwanus scholtzi spec. nov., Figs 1–2

SPECIMEN EXAMINED. Holotype ♂: [NAMIBIA]: Gobabeb, Kuiseb River, Central Namib, S. W. Afr., 11.v.1959, H. Dick Brown.– (TMSA).

ETYMOLOGY. This species is named in honour of Professor Clarke H. Scholtz, for his extensive and lifelong contribution to entomology.

DESCRIPTION. Dark brown, convex.

Head: two long, distinct, slightly upturned clypeal teeth and one much smaller tooth medially on lower margin of clypeus. Slight red tinge laterally.

Pronotum: punctate with round punctures of variable size, surface shagreened. Laterally clearly flattenedwith ridge in median one-third justinside of lateral margin. Ridge parallel with outside margin anteriorly and curving inward posteriorly. Lateral sides with slight red tinge.

Protibia: surface shagreened, outside margin anteriorly tridentate in last one-third and slightly sinuous to dentate in first two-thirds. Outside two denticles larger than median denticle. Median dorsal ridge present, angulate at posterior denticle of outside margin. Golden brown setae present, longer terminally.Ventral surface withmedian ridge.

Elytra: convex. Surface shagreened, punctures on second to fourth intervals more or less in straight double lines, punctures on all other intervals forming more or less straight single lines. Punctures and striae not well defined.

Sterna: prosternum with clear round and adjacent punctures. Mesometasternal suture distinct and very slightly curved, punctures on mesosternum larger and further apart than on metasternum, surface shagreened.

Fig. 1 Plate showing the habitus and aedeagus of one new species and habitus of all other species treated in this paper: A: Namakwanus irishi Scholtz & Howden,1987; B: Namakwanus scholtzi spec.nov.; C: Aedeagus of Namakwanus scholtzi spec.nov.; D: Namaphilus davisi (Deschodt & Scholtz,2007) comb.nov.; E: Namaphilus endroedyi (Deschodt,Davis & Scholtz,2011) comb.nov.; F: Namaphilus ameibensis spec.nov.; G: Versicorpus streyi (Frolov,2005) comb.nov.; H: Versicorpus erongoense Deschodt,Davis & Scholtz,2011. Fig. 2 Map showing the collecting localities of all the known species of the Byrrhidium group.The black outline indicates the distribution of rock hyraxes (shapefile supplied by IUCN). See online version for map in colour.

Pygidium: surface shagreened and punctate, puncturessmalland further apartthantheirdiameter.

DISCUSSION. This new species can be separated from N. irishi by the tips of the clypeal horns being slightly further apart, more upturned and slightly pointing inward at the apex.

Notes

Published as part of Deschodt, Christian M. & Davis, Adrian L. V., 2017, Transfer of three species of Namakwanus Scholtz & Howden to Versicorpus Deschodt, Davis & Scholtz or to Namaphilus gen. nov., with descriptions of two new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), pp. 109-114 in Annals of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History 7 (7) on pages 110-112, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5562912

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Linked records

Additional details

Related works

Biodiversity

Collection code
TMSA
Event date
1959-05-11
Verbatim event date
1959-05-11
Scientific name authorship
Deschodt & Davis
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Order
Coleoptera
Family
Scarabaeidae
Genus
Namakwanus
Species
scholtzi
Taxon rank
species
Taxonomic status
spec. nov.
Type status
holotype
Taxonomic concept label
Namakwanus scholtzi Deschodt & Davis, 2017

References

  • SCHOLTZ, C. H. and HOWDEN, H. F., 1987. A revision of the southern African Cathonina [sic] (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa 50: 75 - 119.
  • DESCHODT, C. M., KRYGER, U. and SCHOLTZ, C. H., 2007. New taxa of relictual Canthonini dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) utilizing rock hyrax middens as refuges in south-western Africa. Insect Systematics & Evolution 38: 361 - 376.
  • DESCHODT, C. M., DAVIS, A. L. V. and SCHOLTZ, C. H., 2011. New dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) taxa from arid south-western Africa. Insect Systematics & Evolution 42 (3): 277 - 294.
  • FROLOV, A. V., 2005. A new species of the dung beetle genus Namakwanus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) from Namibia. In: KONSTANTINOV, A., TISHECHKIN, A. and PENEV, L., eds, Contributions to systematics and biology of beetles, papers celebrating the 80 th birthday of Igor Konstantinovich Lopatin, pp. 245 - 247. Pensoft, Sofia.