Revision of Australian species of the dung beetle genus Lepanus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae): key to species groups and description of 14 new species from the L. pygmaeus species group
Author
Gunter, Nicole L.
Author
Weir, Thomas A.
text
Zootaxa
2019
2019-03-05
4564
1
41
80
journal article
28431
10.11646/zootaxa.4564.1.2
d3a56aac-92aa-48f2-b9fe-9576a4c2a0ec
1175-5326
2588621
27F70B5F-24DD-4C9E-BBA7-2B87476BD49C
Lepanus guthrieae
Gunter & Weir
,
new species
(
Figs. 4A, 4F
,
5E
,
8E
,
10E
,
16
)
Type series.
Holotype
:
♂
“W.A.:
53km
NNW of Tom Price
,
Site
TCMBW12
, ethylene glycol pitfalls,
22°18'21"S
,
117°28'47"E
,
23 August 2005
-
24 May 2006
, CALM PILBARA SURVEY” / “ANIC Database No. 25-053803” / “
Lepanus
WA2 det.
T.A.Weir
2008” / “ANIC Image” in WAM.
Paratypes
:
Western Australia
:
53 km
NNW of Tom Price
,
Site
TCMBW12
,
22°18'21"S
,
117°28'47"E
,
23.viii.2005
–
24.v.2006
,
CALM
Pilbara Survey
(25-065526 ×
1 ♀
in
ANIC
)
;
17.5 km
NE of Tom Price
,
Site
TCMBE10
,
22°36'26"S
,
117°56'08"E
,
31.viii.2005
–
30.v.2006
,
CALM
Pilbara Survey
(25-053804
x
1
♀ in
ANIC
)
;
4 km
N of Barowanna Hill
(Camp Curlewis),
21°23'41"S
,
117°10'14"E
,
8.v–11.x.2004
,
CALM
Pilbara Survey
(25-058206 ×
2 ♂
in
ANIC
)
;
11 km
SW of Coolawanyah
,
21°52'35"S
,
117°44'29"E
,
25.xi.2003
–
6.v.2004
,
CALM
Pilbara Survey
(25-058207 ×
1 ♂
in
ANIC
)
;
1.8 km
SSE of Mulga Downs Outcamp
,
22°20'05"S
,
118°59'20"E
,
21.xi.2003
–
24.v.2004
,
CALM
Pilbara Survey
(25-058208 ×
1 ♂
, ×
2 ♀
in
WAM
)
;
Northern Territory
:
Cape Crawford
,
9.2 km
NE, [
16°38'00"S
,
135°48'00"E
],
17–19.iv.2004
,
G.B. Monteith
&
D.J. Cook
(T
111940
-T
111941
1 ×
♂
, 1 ×
♀
in
ANIC
(also as 25-065473), T
111942
-T
111944
1 ×
♂
, 2 ×
♀
in
QM
);
Cape Crawford
,
4.1 km
NE,
16°39'10"S
,
135°45'50"E
,
17–19.iv.2004
(T
111936
-T
111939
3 ×
♂
, 1 ×
♀
in
QM
)
;
Barkly Highway
,
Kiama Creek
,
19°59'37"S
,
137°46'2"E
,
16–21.iv.2004
(T
111931
in
QM
♂
)
;
Queensland
:
159 km
S Normanton
, [
19°06'00"S
,
141°04'00"E
],
11–13.iii.1976
,
R.I. Storey
(25-
032634
×
1 ♀
in
QDPC
,
CMNEN-00030249
in
CMNC
♀
);
Toorak Research Station Trap
1, NHT
Project
, [
20°58'39"S
,
141°48'04"E
],
10.ii.2002
(T
139023 in
×
1 ♂
QM
)
;
Fletcher Creek Rest Area
,14895, [
19°48'57"S
,
146°03'14"E
],
11–12.ii.2007
,
G.B. Monteith
, dung pit fall (T
143965 in
QM
)
♂
; Beames Brook
15 mi
SW of
Burketown
[
17°57’46”S
,
139°30’20”E
],
20.v.1972
,
G.B. & S.R. Monteith
, mercury vapour lamp (
UQIC 71247
, also as
ANIC 25-058521
×
1♀
in
QM
)
.
Other material examined.
Additional specimens from three localities of the CALM survey not included in the
paratype
series above were also examined.
Western Australia
:
4 km
N of Barowanna Hill
(Camp Curlewis),
21°23'41"S
,
117°10'14"E
,
8.v.2004
–
11.x.2004
,
CALM
Pilbara Survey
(25-058205
x
99
in
ANIC
)
;
6 km
SW of
Millstream
,
21°38'33"S
,
117°02'13"E
,
24.xi.2003
–
7.v.2004
,
CALM
Pilbara Survey
(25-058211
x
34
in
ANIC
)
;
6.5 km
SSW
Coolawanyah
,
21°51'53"S
,
117°47'13"E
,
25.xi.2003
–
6.v.2004
,
CALM
Pilbara Survey
(25-058209
x
1
in
ANIC
) (partial specimen)
.
Description.
Bicoloured; pronotum and elytra light brown, head black with brown edges. Antennal club grey.
Total length: 2.4–3.0 mm.
Holotype
measurements: Total length
2.8 mm
, elytral width
1.7 mm
.
Male: Head: U-shaped between clypeal teeth, which are upturned. Margin slightly angulate at clypeogenal suture. Genal angle weakly defined. Basal carina present but interrupted medially. Head reticulate between clypeal suture and anterior edge. Dorsal part of eyes narrow in size, separated by interocular space approximately 17–18 times eye width (35: 2); eye canthus not dividing eye. Head 1.25 × wider than long (43:34).
Prothorax: Hypomeral surface finely reticulate with light punctation. Hypomeral striae half length of hypomeron. Pronotum 1.6 × wider than long (74:46).
Elytra: Surface smooth, intervals with extremely fine setae extending backwards. Striae double with very fine punctate edges. All striae on disc equal width. Elytra 1.15 × wider than long (87:75).
Legs: Front edge of protibiae deeply angulate; apical digit elongate and sharp; 2 teeth on outer edge. Inner edge of metatibiae gently curved and with a slight flange. Metatarsi with 5th tarsomere longest. Tarsal claws intermediate and toothed.
Abdomen: Pygidium with a variably round to ovoid shaped depression, containing a pillar-shaped tubercle. Depression occupies approximately half size of disc and extends under the concave upper edge of pygidium. Abdominal surface is very finely reticulate right across. Segment 6 finely punctate and finely reticulate.
Pterothorax: Medial lobe of metaventrite finely punctate and broadly margined between mesocoxae. Lateral lobe of metaventrite punctate and finely reticulate. Meso-metaventral suture very slightly arched. Mesoventrite with slight notch anteriorly. Mesoventrite finely reticulate and punctate at least at sides. Mesepimeron and metanepisternum reticulate.
Female: As per the
L
.
pygmaeus
species group and pygidial depression slightly more ovoid.
Etymology.
Named in honour of Nadine Guthrie, entomologist with the
Western Australia
Department of Environment and Conservation, who collected much of the material for the CALM Pilbara survey.
Distribution.
A widespread species known from the Western Australian PIL bioregion,
Northern Territory
GFU bioregion, and
Queensland
GUP and EIU bioregions (
Fig. 16
). Given the disjunct distribution and limited sampling in much of northern
Australia
, this species is likely to occur in numerous other IBRA regions such as those predicted by BIOCLIM. Our BIOCLIM model predicted
L. guthrieae
may also occur in Carnarvon (
CAR
), Gascoyne (GAS), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), DAL, CEK, OVP, STU, GUC, CEA, ARC, Tanami (TAN), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), MII, DEU, BBN, and CYP IBRA regions.
Comments.
Lepanus guthrieae
has previously been referred to as “
Lepanus
WA2” under the informal nomenclature sensu
Yeates
et al
. (2011)
. A specimen (COL 2465) from Cape Crawford,
Northern Territory
was sequenced in the study of
Gunter
et al.
(2018)
is designated as a
paratype
here (ANIC) and was recovered as sister to
L. pungalina
within a member of the monsoonal clade of
Lepanus
, which contains species in the
L. pygmaeus
species group. All specimens of
L. guthrieae
have been collected in pitfall traps in open forests.
A specimen from Beames Brook,
15 mi.
SW Burketown (25-058521 in QM) listed as
L. pygmaeus
in
Matthews (1974)
revision is most similar to
L. guthrieae
, although this specimen is a teneral female it is easily differentiated from
L. pygmaeus
on the basis of the apical edge of the protibia being angulate (truncate in
L. pygmaeus
) and the almost ovoid pygidial depression (distinct pear shape in
L. pygmaeus
).