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 sebastiani
sp. nov.
(®gures 2a, 4o±q, 23a±g, 25)
Description male
Body length
19.9±22.3 mm
(
3 specimens
).
Colour
mid- to dark brown.
Outer margin of mandible
rounded (®gure 2a).
Clypeus
with bituberculate, feebly arcuate transverse posterior carina; position of tubercles variable, from in line with antennal insertions to in line with clypeo-frontal transition; posterior carina as long as or slightly shorter than anterior carina (®gure 2a).
Frons
feebly depressed posterior to posterior clypeal carina.
Antennal club
with glabrous area of basal segment about one-half of exposed surface.
Pronotum
with anterior margin medially raised and bihorned (®gures 2a, 4o, p), in major males in dorsal view slightly projecting over frons; with ®ve protuberances along posterior margin, i.e. one pair of long, slightly inward inclined outer horns and three tuberculate swellings between horns (®gure 4o, p); disc with ®ne, well-spaced punctures, these increasingly interspersed by large, often conūent punctures towards sides and along anterior margin of pronotum.
Scutellum
with surface coarsely punctate.
Elytron
with strial punctures separated by ®ve to six puncture diameters; intervals with approximately four to six punctures between two striae.
Protibia
®ve-dentate.
Protibial spur
more or less as long as ®fth tarsomere, acuminate.
Metatrochanter
of unmodi®ed shape; with dense, moderately long setation in basal third and along posterior margin; remaining surface asetose.
Metafemur
in ventral view in posterior third with line of densely spaced, moderately long and long setae; with dense, moderately long and long setae in basal area and basal third along posterior margin; with fairly dense, long setae in anterior third and apical area; remaining areas with sparse, long setation.
Metatibia
in lateral view with subapical carina bilobed; with unmodi®ed spurs.
Underside
with sternites 4, 5, 6 and pygidium strongly modi®ed (®gure 23a±c); process on sternite 4 with rounded apex and strongly projecting over sternite 5 (®gure 23b, c); pygidium apically distinctly bilobed (®gure 23a); median emargination dividing approximatel y apical ninth of pygidium; the two halves of pygidium in basal eight ninth fused to a clearly visible suture (stippled line in ®gure 23a).
Genitalia
with aedeagus as in ®gure 23d±f; genital capsule apically with moderately long setation.
Description female
Body length
20.0±
22.7 mm
(
4 specimens
).
Colour
as in male.
Outer margin of mandible
rounded (®gure 2a).
Clypeus
unarmed.
Frons
with distinctly raised bituberculate, transverse carina positioned between eye-canthi; carina straight and slightly shorter than anterior clypeal carina.
Antennal club
as in male.
Pronotum
with anterior margin medially raised, in frontal view slightly bisinuate (as in ®gure 4q), in dorsal view feebly arcuate; with transverse distinctly carinate swelling at median portion of disc; carina in frontal view as in ®gure 4q, in dorsal view distinctly bisinuate; swelling with sparse ®ne and small punctures; area anterior to swelling (shaded area in ®gure 4q) with very densely spaced small, deep punctures; on feebly swollen areas lateral to densely punctate area and also along posterior margin with large, densely spaced punctures; otherwise with very densely spaced, partially conūent, large punctures.
Scutellum
and elytron
as in male.
Protibia and protibial spur
as in male.
Metatrochanter
of unmodi®ed shape; with fairly dense, moderately long setation in basal quarter and along posterior margin; remaining surface asetose.
Metafemur
in ventral view in posterior third with line of fairly dense, moderately long and long setae; with fairly dense and long setae in anterior third and apical area; with fairly dense, moderately long setae along posterior margin; remaining areas with sparse setation.
Metatibia
as in male.
Underside
with sternite 5 postero-medially feebly but discernibly swollen (not illustrated); apex of sternite 6 truncate and with strongly sclerotized margin (®gure
23g
); pygidium apically broadly bilobed (®gure
23g
); median emargination dividing apical third of pygidium; the two halves of pygidium in basal two thirds fused to a clearly visible suture (stippled lines in ®gure
23g
).
Distribution
(®gure 25). The species is known only from localities in
Tanzania
.
Type material examined
.
HOLOTYPE
l[diss.]:`
Tanganyik
a [
Tanzania
]:
Shinyanga
[taken as
Shinyanga District
,
03.40S
33.30E
],
Dr. E. Burtt
,
5.-23.i.1956
’
/`
At
light’
/`
Pres.
by
Comm. Inst. Ent. B.M.
1956-267.’ (
BMNH
)
;
ALLOTYPE
m:`Tanganyika Terr. [
Tanzania
],
Old
Shinyanga
Boma
[Old
Shinyanga
Forest Reserve,
03.34S
33.23E
],
14.ii.1935
,
E.Burtt
, B.M. 1935-351.’ (
BMNH
); 5
PARATYPES
: 1 l [diss.], same data as holotype (
BMNH
)
;
1 l[diss.],`[
Tanzania
]
Mpwapwa
[taken as loc.,
06.21S
36.29E
],
E. Africa
,
Nevinson Coll.
1918-14’ (
TMSA
)
;
1m
,`
Manjoni
[Manyoni distr.
06.20S
34.35E
],
D.O. Africa
[
Tanzania
]’ (
ZMHB
)
;
1m
,
Tanganyik
a [
Tanzania
],
1.5 miles
to
Lake Sereri
[Lake Burungi,
ca
03.53S
35.52E
], E shore
,
3150 feet
,
Coll. Dr J. Szunyoghy
, singled [
sic
] material, 11±
27 August 1965
(
HNHM
)
;
1m
, same data (
NHMG
)
.
FIG. 23.
BolbaOEer sebastiani
male: abdomen, posterior view (a), posterior part of abdomen, ventral view (b), sternite four and ®ve, lateral view (c), aedeagus, dorsal (d), ventral (e), lateral view (f);
B. sebastiani
female: abdomen, posterior view (g);
B. namibiensis
male: abdomen, posterior view (h), posterior part of abdomen, ventral view (i), sternite four and ®ve, lateral view (j), posterior view (k), aedeagus, dorsal (l), ventral (m), lateral view (n);
B. namibiensis
female: abdomen, posterior view (o), posterior part of abdomen, ventral view (p).
Etymology
. Named after the late Dr Sebastian EndroÈdy-Younga in honour of his valuable achievements as a scientist and as head of the
Coleoptera
Department at the Transvaal Museum of Natural History for many years.
Comments
. Although none of the specimens of
B. sebastiani
were collected in pairs, we felt con®dent enough to associate the above
four females
with the males. Firstly, the females were collected not very far from localities where males had been found; secondly, the males and females possess the typical modi®cations that place them in the
B. abyssinicus
species-group; and thirdly, the two sexes show obvious similarities in the modi®cations of the shape of the pygidium, a tendency that is also apparent in the other members of the species-group. For example, the apex of the pygidium in male
B. namibiensis
(see below) has a narrow, short incision and so has the pygidium in females, on the other hand the pygidium in male
B. sasakii
is unmodi®ed and so is the pygidium in females. The apex of the pygidium is distinctly bilobed in male
B. sebastiani
while it is deeply divided and thus forming two, broad lobes in the female sex.
As in the case of the other members of the
B. abyssinicus
species-group, males of
B. sebastiani
have species speci®c sternal and pygidial modi®cations, a distinct aedeagus and pronotal armature, making it impossible to confuse them with males of other species. The same applies for the females (see key and description).