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 barbatus
sp. nov.
(®gures 3j, 10a±e, 11)
Description male
holotype
Body length
18.6 mm
.
Colour
mid-brown, head and pronotum slightly darker.
Outer margin of mandible
rounded.
Clypeus
with strongly arcuate, transverse posterior carina; carina medially raised to single horn; lateral endpoints of carina anteriad to antennal insertions but not reaching lateral clypeal margins; horn medially connected to anterior clypeal margin with short carina.
Frons
distinctly concave posterior to posterior clypeal carina.
Antennal club
with glabrous area of basal segment about one-third of exposed surface.
Pronotum
with anterior margin not raised, very feebly curved in dorsal view; with one pair of outer horns along posterior margin and one pair of horns along anterior margin (®gure 3j); disc with large fairly densely spaced punctures, these denser and often conūent towards sides, along posterior and anterior margin of pronotum.
Scutellum
with surface moderately punctate.
Elytron
with strial punctures separated by four to ®ve puncture diameters; intervals with approximately four to six punctures between two striae.
Protibia
six-dentate.
Protibial spur
possibly longer than missing ®fth tarsomere, acuminate.
Metatrochanter
of unmodi®ed shape, with very dense and very long setal tuft along posterior margin (®gure 10a).
Metafemur
in ventral view in posterior third with line of densely spaced long setae; with dense, long setation in anterior third, in basal area and along posterior margin; remaining areas asetose.
Metatibia
in lateral view with subapical carina feebly bilobed; with unmodi®ed spurs.
Underside
with sternite 4 unmodi®ed; sternite 5 broad and postero-medially strongly declivous and membranous (see area enclosed by stippled line in ®gure 10b); posterior margin of sternite 6 feebly roundedly incised (®gure 10b); pygidium unmodi®ed.
Genitalia
with aedeagus as in ®gure 10c±e, large relative to body size; genital capsule apically with short setation.
Female
unknown.
Distribution
(®gure 11). The species is only known from the
type
locality in
Ghana
.
Type material examined
.
HOLOTYPE
:`
W.Afrika
,
Kete Kratje
[
Ghana
, Kete Krachi,
07.48N
00.01W
],
Graf Zech S.Gr.
’
/`
69727’ (
ZMHB
).
Etymology
. The term`barbatus’, Latin for`bearded’, refers to the very dense, long hairtuft on the metatrochanter, a unique character state for this species.
Comments
. The clypeal armature of the
holotype
of
B. barbatus
is very similar to
B. gigas
: in males of both species the posterior carina is produced into a single horn, a character state not found in any other male
BolbaOEer
. There are, however, signi®cant diOEerences between males of the two species. As in most male
BolbaOEer
, the pronotal protrusions in
B. gigas
are positioned along the posterior margin whereas
B. barbatus
has an additional pair of horns positioned near the anterior margin, a unique character for the latter species. Apart from that, males of both species diOEer strongly in the shape of the anterior pronotal margin (unmodi®ed in
B. barbatus
but bisinuate and projecting over head in
B. gigas
), the modi®cations on the abdominal sternites (compare ®gure 10b with
19g
) and shape and structure of the aedeagi (compare ®gure 10c±e with 19h±j). Lastly the extremely long setal tuft on the metatrochanter of
B. barbatus
is not shared by male
B. gigas
or any other male
BolbaOEer
. Hence we have no doubt that
B. barbatus
is a new species. The female of this species is unknown.