Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida
Date of this Version
2-3-2023
Citation
Ziani S, Keith S. 2023. Third contribution to the knowledge of Arabian Onthophagini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Onthophagus aeneopiceus d’Orbigny, 1902, a new record for Yemen and for the Palaearctic ecozone. Insecta Mundi 0974: 1–4.
Abstract
Onthophagus aeneopiceus d’Orbigny, 1902 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Onthophagini) is recorded for the first time for Yemen and for the Palaearctic region. An integration into the key to the Onthophagini from the Arabian Peninsula (Ziani et al. 2019), is provided.
After Ziani et al. (2019) and Montanaro and Ziani (2022), 30 Onthophagini species were known from the Arabian Peninsula. In this paper a 31st species is recorded: Onthophagus aeneopiceus d’Orbigny, 1902. The species, belonging to the 23rd group of d’Orbigny (1913) and until now known from Eastern Africa and, dubitatively, Ivory Coast (Schoolmeesters 2022), has been collected in Yemen. This is also the first record for the Palaearctic ecozone, sensu Löbl and Löbl (2016).
Because of the internal sac morphology, especially that of the lamella copulatrix (Fig. 4), O. aeneopiceus can be compared with Onthophagus mopsus (Fabricius, 1792), an eastern Palaearctic and Oriental taxon, type-species of the subgenus Indonthophagus Kabakov, 2006. Waiting for further studies on the matter (work in progress), we prefer, however, not to insert O. aeneopiceus into any known subgenus or group of Onthophagus.
Comments
Published on February 3, 2023 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P.O. Box 141874 Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 USA http://centerforsystematicentomology.org/
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