Systematic revision of the Afrotropical genus BolbaOEer Vulcano, Martinez and Pereira (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Bolboceratidae: Bolboceratinae), with descriptions of eight new species
Author
Gussmann, S. M. V.
Author
Scholtz, C. H.
text
Journal of Natural History
2001
2001-07-31
35
7
1013
1084
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/002229301300323910
journal article
10.1080/002229301300323910
1464-5262
5277129
BolbaOEer guineaensis
sp. nov.
(®gures 3o, 15a±e)
Description male
holotype
Body length
21.6 mm
.
Colour
mid-brown.
Outer margin of mandible
very feebly sinuate.
Clypeus
with bituberculate, moderately arcuate transverse posterior carina; tubercles in line with clypeo-frontal transition; posterior carina slightly shorter than anterior carina.
Frons
moderately depressed posterior to posterior clypeal carina.
Antennal club
with glabrous area of basal segment about one-half of exposed surface.
Pronotum
with anterior margin in dorsal view medially very feebly bisinuate and not projecting over frons; with one pair of outer, short, slightly inward inclined horns near posterior margin (®gure 3o); disc with both ®ne and large, well-spaced punctures, these increasingly densely spaced towards sides and along anterior margin.
Scutellum
with surface moderately punctate.
Elytron
with strial punctures separated by four to six puncture diameters; intervals with approximately ®ve to six punctures between two striae.
Protibia
®ve-dentate.
Protibial spur
longer than ®fth tarsomere, acuminate.
Metatrochanter
of unmodi®ed shape; surface in basal third and along posterior margin with long and fairly dense setation, remaining surface asetose.
Metafemur
in ventral view in posterior third with line of densely spaced moderately long and long setae; with fairly dense, long setation in anterior third and in apical area; with fairly dense, long setae along posterior margin; remaining areas with some isolated setae.
Metatibia
in lateral view with subapical carina bilobed; with unmodi®ed spurs.
Underside
with sternites 4 and 5 unmodi®ed (®gure 15b); posterior margin of sternite 6 very feebly concave (®gure 15b); pygidium unmodi®ed (®gure 15a).
Genitalia
with aedeagus very small, as in ®gure 15c±e; genital capsule apically with moderately long setation.
Female
unknown.
Distribution
. The only label data`Guinea’ is presumed to refer to the West African country`Guinea’ and not to`Guinea-Bissau’ or`Equatorial Guinea’. Since proper locality data are missing, the species’ distribution is not mapped.
Type material examined
.
HOLOTYPE
:`Guinea’ (
ZMHB
).
Etymology
. Named after the country of origin.
Comments
. The presence of only one pair of horns along the posterior pronotal margin makes the single male specimen of this new species similar in appearance to males of
B. splendidus
. There are, however, signi®cant diOEerences between the two species: both metatibial spurs are unmodi®ed in
B. guineaensis
but one metatibial spur is hooked in
B. splendidus
; modi®cations on abdominal sternites and pygidium are virtually absent in
B. guineaensis
but are strong and distinct in
B. splendidus
(compare ®gure 15a, b with 7f±h). Lastly, the aedeagi of both species bear no similarity in shape at all (compare ®gure 15c±e with 8d±g). The small size of the aedeagus of
B. guineaensis
is unusual as well. The presence of only one pair of horns and the general lack of other morphological modi®cations make
B. guineaensis
a unique species, easy to identify. Judging from the position and size of the pronotal horns and through comparison with males of
B. splendidus
, we assume that the
holotype
of
B. guineaensis
represents either a minor or intermediate male.
BolbaOEer guineaensis
cannot be confused with males of the allopatric
B. gigas
,
B. sasakii
and
B. namibiensis
, the remaining other species that possess only one pair of horns along the posterior pronotal margin: the horns of these three species, even in minor males, are much further apart from one another than in
B. guineaensis
(compare ®gure 3o with 4i, l, s) and sternal and pygidial modi®cations diOEer signi®cantly as well (compare descriptions and ®gures).
Females of
B. guineaensis
remain unknown.