New species of Orizabus Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Pentodontini) from Mexico and Guatemala, with a revised key and checklist of the species in the genus
Author
Ratcliffe, Brett C.
Author
Cave, Ronald D.
text
Insecta Mundi
2010
2010-06-18
2010
127
1
16
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.5164423
1942-1354
5164423
Orizabus thomasi
Ratcliffe and Cave
,
new species
(
Fig. 14-16
,
26
,
29-30
)
Type Material.
Holotype
male labeled: “
MEXICO
:
Veracruz
/
Excola
, el. 9310'/
19
o
06.46'N
,
97
o
12.77'W
/ 23-IV-09,
D. B. Thomas
”
.
Allotype
female and
one female
paratype
labeled “
MEXICO
:
Veracruz
, 5 Km W/
Excola
,
El
9026 ft
,
7 May 2008
/
19
o
06.60'N
;
97
o
12.77'W
/
19
o
06.46'N
,
97
o
12.77´W
/
D. Thomas
&
D. Robacker
”. Two male pratypes labeled “
MEXICO
/
Veracruz
/
Cofre de Perote
/Mateu-leg./
Coll. Martínez
/Sept.974”
.
Holotype
and
allotype
deposited at the University of Nebraska State Museum (Lincoln, NE). Two
paratypes
deposited in the Canadian Museum of Nature (Ottawa,
Canada
) and
one paratype
in the B. C. Ratcliffe collection (Lincoln, NE).
14
Figure 14-16.
Orizabus thomasi
.
14)
Dorsal view.
15-16)
Parameres, caudal and lateral views.
Etymology.
This species is named in honor of its collector, Donald Thomas (USDA, Weslaco, TX), and in recognition of Don’s generous donations of specimens over the years for our projects.
Distribution
.
Orizabus thomasi
is known only from the vicinity of the high elevation (
2,751
-2,838
m
) pueblo of Excola in the Municipio de Calcahualco in
Veracruz
,
Mexico
(
Fig. 26
,
29-30
) and from Cofre de Perote (possibly Parque Nacional Cofre de Perote), another high elevation locale in the same municipio.
Temporal Distribution
. April (1), May (2), September (2).
Diagnosis.
The male of
O. thomasi
is distinctive because of its small size (
16-18 mm
), vaguely punctate pronotal surface that lacks a fovea and tubercle, tridentate protibia, and completely punctate pygidium. The parameres of
O. thomasi
,
O. cuernavacensis
,
and
O. teamscaraborum
Ratcliffe and Cave
are somewhat similar (
Fig. 15-16
,
20
, and 24-25, respectively).
Orizabus thomasi
has a tooth on the lateral edge at about the midpoint of the paramere, whereas
O. cuernavacensis
does not.
Orizabus teamscaraborum
has edentate protibiae and a large body size (
23-30 mm
), but
O. thomasi
has tridentate protibiae and a small body size (17-
17 mm
). The females of
O. thomasi
key out closest to
O. cuernavacensis
and
O. fairmairei
(Bates)
;
O. thomasi
has moderately dense punctures on the pygidium (except at the center apex), whereas the pygidium in
O. cuernavacensis
and
O. fairmairei
are both relatively smooth everywhere except at the base and angles.
Biology
. Nothing is known of the life history of this species. The specimens were collected at lights from elevations of 2,751 and
2,838 m
in pine/oak forest (
Fig. 29-30
). The female
paratype
had 18 developed eggs within her abdomen. The specimen was collected in May, suggesting that oviposition was imminent.