Cerhomalus Quedenfeldt 1884
Creators: name: Frolov, Andrey V.
name: Akhmetova, Lilia A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Orphnidae
Cerhomalus

description: Cerhomalus Quedenfeldt, 1884
Figs 1–6
Cerhomalus Quedenfeldt, 1884: 289, pl. VIII, fig. 7.
Cerhomalus – Karsch 1887: 5. — Quedenfeldt 1888: 165. — Arrow 1912: 30. — Schmidt 1913: 71. — Paulian, 1948: 11.
Orphnus (Cerhomalus) Quedenfeldt – Petrovitz 1971: 2.
Type species
Cerhomalus mechowi Quedenfeldt, 1884, by monotypy.
Diagnosis
The largest orphnines (body length 15–22 mm). Colour uniformly dark brown to black. Clypeus of both sexes with a transverse keel, higher and apically bilobate in males (Fig. 1A) and lower but distinct in females (Fig. 1G). Pronotal disc of males more or less depressed, sometimes slightly excavated, but distinct pronotal lateral processes always absent. Elytra convex, without ridges, with humeral umbones. Elytral surface sparsely covered with rounded punctures; punctures arranged in longitudinal striae, which are more distinct on disc. Protibiae with 3 strong outer teeth similar in both sexes. Apical protibial spur absent in males. Middle and posterior legs similar in shape; posterior femora and tibiae about ½ longer than middle ones. Parameres symmetrical, not setose apically, very wide in lateral view; inner sides of parameres with longitudinal excavations in 3 species (Fig. 1E). Ventroapical part of phallobase strongly sclerotized, in shape of 2 incompletely separated sclerites (Figs 1C, 5A, va. phlb. sc.).
Species composition
The genus comprises four species including two new ones described below.
Distribution
The genus occurs in Central and West Africa with the majority of records from the Congo Basin (Fig. 6).
Key to species of Cerhomalus (males)
1. Apices of parameres rounded in apical view, without semi-circular excavations (Fig. 2G, J) and without keels or fossae on ventral side (Fig. 2K); base of elytra with somewhat tile-shaped punctures (Fig. 2 A–B) .................................................. Cerhomalus absconditus (Petrovitz, 1971) comb. nov.
– Apices of parameres with semi-circular excavations in apical view (Figs 1E, 3F, 4F, J) and with more or less developed fossae on ventral sides bordered with keel (Fig. 1F); base of elytra smooth (Figs 1A, G, I, 3A, C, 4A, C) ............................................................................................................ 2
2. Ventral fossae on apices of parameres not bordered proximally (Fig. 4G, K, arrowed); apices of parameres in lateral view acute-angled (Fig. 4D, H) ................... Cerhomalus quedenfeldti sp. nov.
– Ventral fossae on apices of parameres completely bordered (Figs 1F, 3G); apices of parameres in lateral view right-angled (Figs 1C, 3D) ............................................................................................ 3
3. Widened part of paramere (in lateral view) about half length of paramere (Fig. 1C); ventral fossa of paramere shorter and wider (Fig. 1F) ............................... Cerhomalus mechowi Quedenfeldt, 1884
– Widened part of paramere (in lateral view) about two thirds length of paramere (Fig. 3D); ventral fossa of paramere longer and narrower (Fig. 3G) .............................. Cerhomalus petrovitzi sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Frolov, Andrey V. & Akhmetova, Lilia A., 2021, Taxonomic revision of the Afrotropical scarab beetle genus Cerhomalus Quedenfeldt, 1884 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Orphninae), pp. 36-50 in European Journal of Taxonomy 739 (1) on pages 37-38, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2021.739.1265, http://zenodo.org/record/4604232