Australian Melolonthini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae): reclassification of eight species to Antitrogus Burmeister, 1855 and Barryfilius new genus
Author
Allsopp, Peter G.
text
Zootaxa
2022
2022-11-29
5213
5
513
545
journal article
199060
10.11646/zootaxa.5213.5.3
c73ab242-8a3e-4f76-81b4-fd9eada9f0e7
1175-5326
7381670
449781B5-94E0-4B6C-9F6B-D0711FC08BB2
Placement of
Lepidiota ciliata
Britton, 1978
In
Britton’s (1978)
key to the Australian
Lepidiota
species
,
L. ciliata
Britton, 1978
falls as an isolated species late in his key.
Britton (1978)
noted his difficulty with the placement of
L. ciliata
, remarking “This species has also been included in the key to
Antitrogus
spp.
to allow for the possibility of interpretation of the very elongate scales as setae [at couplet 19(18)] in the key to genera of
Melolonthini
”.
Weir
et al.
(2019)
grouped
L. ciliata
with
L. quinaria
Britton, 1978
at their couplet 22, suggesting that they were distinct from mainstream
Lepidiota
species.
I consider that the “very elongate scales” of
Britton (1978)
should be considered setae (
Figs. 10–12
) and, also because
L. ciliata
has a five-lamellate club in both males and females, it should be placed in
Antitrogus
. This resolves Britton’s dilemma and simplifies keys to genera.