Dendropaemon (Onthoecus) amyntas Lacordaire 1856
Creators: name: François Génier
name: Patrick Arnaud
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Dendropaemon
Dendropaemon amyntas

description: 27. Dendropaemon (Onthoecus) amyntas Lacordaire, 1856
(Figs. 27, 84–85, 122, 159)
Dendropaemon Amyntas Lacordaire 1856, Hist. Nat. Ins. III: 103 (original description)
Dendropaemon Amyntas: Lacordaire 1856, Hist. Nat. Ins. Atlas: Pl. 27, Fig. 5 (illustration)
Dendropemon Amyntas: Harold 1869, Cat. Col. IV: 1020 (catalogue)
Dendropaemon waterhousi Olsoufieff 1924, Insecta 13: 125 (original description) new synonymy Dendropaemon waterhousi: Pessôa & Lane 1936, Rev. Biol. Hygiene 7: 90 (identification key, comment) Dendropaemon amynthas waterhousi: Blut 1939, Arch. Naturg. (N.F.) 8: 269 (monograph)
Dendropaemon waterhousei: Pessôa & Lane 1941, Arq. Zool. S. Paulo 2: 490 (identification key, distribution) Dendropemon waterhousei: Blackwelder 1944, U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 185: 211 (checklist)
Dendropaemon (D.) amyntas: Edmonds 1972, Univ. Kansas Sc. Bull. 49: 850 (misidentification) Dendropaemon waterhousi: Arnaud 1982, Rev. Fr. Ent. (N.S.) 4: 117 (lectotype designation) Dendropaemon amyntas waterhousei: Vaz-de-Mello 2000, Hac. Proy. CYTED: 192 (faunistic) Dendropaemon waterhousei: Vitolo 2000, Rev. Acad. Colomb. Cienc. 24: 599 (misidentification) Dendropaemon (D.) amyntas: Arnaud 2002, Col. Monde 28: 16 (monograph)
Type locality. Brésil.
Diagnosis. The large size, rather thick body combined with dark metallic blue sheen of the dorsum will separate D. amyntas from all other species. It can easily be separated from its sister species D. attalus by the shape of the clypeal teeth (Fig. xx) and the more slender metatibia.
Description. Male lectotype (Fig. 27). Body. Body large, length 18.0 mm, maximum width 10.0 mm; body subrectangular; dorsum narrowly flat. Color. Dorsal surface dark reddish brown to black, glossy, with metallic sheen; head with greenish to coppery metallic sheen adjacent to the eyes; pronotum with blue metallic sheen except for anteromedian carina, on anterior portion of disc and surface adjacent to lateral fossae; elytra with rather faint blue to purple metallic sheen; ventrum light to dark brown; pygidium with blue and green metallic sheen; legs light to dark brown. Head. Clypeus broadly arcuate, anterior portion upturned; clypeal teeth triangular, lateral edges of each tooth only slightly tapering toward apex; clypeal median emargination broadly v-shaped, clypeal edge emarginate on external side of each clypeal tooth, clypeal teeth ventral surface with a fine v-shaped carina, clypeal margin ill-defined, bordered posteriorly by a more or less regular row of punctures, clypeal surface with transverse blunt rugulae; clypeogenal suture well-defined, bluntly carinate internally; genal surface with fine punctures laterally, fine tubercles medially and minute tubercles posteriorly, transversely tumescent; clypeofrontal carina as high as wide basally, gradually tapering toward apex, straight in dorsal view, simply carinate, clypeofrontal carina apical edge straight in frontal view; eyes small in dorsal view, interocular ratio 6.0. Pronotum. Pronotum transverse in dorsal view, pronotal width/length ratio 1.6; disc of pronotum finely punctate basally, punctures changing into fine rough rugulae anteriorly, with an ill-defined shallow longitudinal depression on posterior half; pronotal anterior margin slightly wider and concave lateral to eye; anterior portion with a strongly tri-sinuous carina produced into a wide truncated lobe medially; anterior angles surface with fine rugulae, similar to lateral margin along posterior edge of anterior margin; lateral fossae simply rounded, concave; lateral portions strongly explanate; pronotal basal fossae well-defined, concave; posterior margin well-defined, lacking crenulation and setae. Elytra. Elytra approximately as long as wide in dorsal view, elytral combined width/length ratio 1.2; elytral base lacking distinct margin, simply convex; elytral striae 1–4 moderately wide, not bordered by a minute carina laterally, shallowly impressed throughout, elytral striae 5 similar to 4 on disc, strial punctures ill-defined, adjacent strial edge encroaching on interval, stria 1 well-defined apically, connecting to marginal stria; interstriae moderately convex, minutely punctate throughout, surface glossy. Thoracic sterna. Proepisternal carina complete, extending laterally; metasternal median lobe angularly produced anteromedially, ventral ridge well-defined, vshaped. Legs. Profemur posterior surface convex, glabrous and punctate internally, posterointernal margin rather thick, uneven, internal edge wide, with a contiguous row of setae along anterointernal edge and few scattered long setae on anterior half, remaining surface more or less irregularly punctate. Protibia with four teeth on lateral edge; internal basal angle bluntly lobate; anterior surface with long aligned row of setae internally, surface glossy or feebly microsculptured between punctures; posterior surface with some ill-defined irregular punctures externally to median carina, surface glossy between punctures, with a single interrupted setal row along lateral teeth. Mesofemur unmodified on anterointernal edge apically. Mesotibia rather slender, gradually widening toward apex in anterior view; anteroapical edge finely crenulate, anteroapical row of setae incomplete, irregular; apicoanterior edge circularly indented internally; external edge rounded basally, more or less flat apically, surface with irregular punctures and microsculpture. Mesotarsus similar in shape to metatarsus, 3-segmented, first segment rather elongate, approximately three times as long as wide at apex. Metafemur elongate, internal and lateral edges mostly parallel in ventral view, more than twice as long as wide, depressed anterointernally before apex, apicoposterior edge lobate beyond tibial insertion, surface coarsely microsculptured, anterior surface with a well-defined irregular sulcus on median half. Metatibia robust, short, slightly widening toward apex in anterior view, anterior surface completely covered with irregular sculpturing and punctures, metatibial posterior surface concave between longitudinal row of setae and lateral edge, surface dull and irregularly punctate. Metatarsus 3-segmented (Fig. 122), first segment moderately elongate, approximately three times as long as wide at apex, with anterointernal carina ill-defined. Abdominal sternites. Sternites 3–6 longitudinally flat; sternites 4–6 with more than three unaligned row of setae laterally, glabrous medially; sternite 7 approximately longitudinally flat medially, shorter than segment 6 along midline; pygidium with mixed minute and fine punctures on disc. Male genitalia (Figs. 84– 85). Parameres dentate in dorsal view; with minute raspy tubercles apically.
Measurements (11 males, 10 females). Length: male 15.0–20.5 (17.9±1.8), female 16.5–21.0 (18.2±1.3) mm.
Primary type data.
Dendropaemon amyntas Lacordaire. Brésil (from primary citation).
Dendropaemon waterhousi Olsoufieff. Lectotype male (MNHN): [LAFERTÉ./ 4820.] partly handwritten; [Ex.Musaeo/ D.Sharp 1890] black border; [Museum Paris/ ex Coll./ R. Oberthur] green card; [Dendropaem. waterhousi sp.n / det. G. OLSOUFIEFF] partly handwritten; [Dendropaemon / waterhousi Ols. / LECTOTYPE / P.ARNAUD DET 1982] red border; [WORLD/ SCARAB./ DATABASE/ WSD00016617]; [Dendropaemon ♂/ amyntas / Lacordaire, 1856/ dét. Génier & Arnaud,2012]
Material examined. [NO DATA]: -., coll. [anonymous]— 4 females, 4 males, 1 specimen (BMNH, IRSNB, MNHN, MNRJ, NMPC); -., coll. [anonymous]— 1 female, 2 males (incl. lectotype, 2 paralectotypes of D. waterhousi) (MNHN); BRAZIL: [unspecified locality], [no date], coll. [anonymous]— 1 male (CPFA); BAHIA, Ilhéus, (14°48'S, 39°2'W), [no date], coll. [anonymous]— 1 female (IRSNB); ESPIRITO SANTO, Parque Estadual da Forte Grande, Vitória, (20°18'S, 40°20'W), 30.x.2004, coll. Erwin, Pannagnani & Schiffler— 1 female (CEMT); Vitória, (20°19'S, 40°21'W), [no date], coll. [anonymous]— 1 female, 1 male (ZMHB); MATO GROSSO DO SUL, Dourados, (22°13'S, 54°48'W), x.2010, coll. V.A. Conrad— 1 male (CEMT); same locality, 1.xi.2009, coll. J.F.A. Da Luz— 1 female (CEMT); UNESP Farm [=Fazenda Experimental da Universidade Estadual Paulista, câmpus de Ilha Solteira], Selvíria, (20°20'8''S, 51°24'44''W), 6.xi.2010, coll. H. Wilson— 1 female (MEFEIS); same locality, 20.xi.2010, coll. H. Wilson— 1 male (MEFEIS); same locality, 4.ii.2011, coll. H. Wilson— 1 female (MEFEIS); MINAS GERAIS, Universidade Federal de Viçosa Campus, Viçosa, (20°45'S, 42°52'30''W), ix.1999, coll. Vaz-de- Mello & Milhomem— 1 female (CEMT); same locality, 18.xi.1995, coll. F. Vaz de Mello— 1 male (CEMT); RIO DE JANEIRO, Cordeiro, (22°1'S, 42°22'W), ii.1989, coll. R. Salgado— 1 male (CEMT); Mendes, (22°31'S, 43°45'W), [no date], coll. [anonymous]— 1 male (CPFA).
Natural history. Unknown. Three specimens collected using unbaited window traps.
Remarks. Females differs in having the clypeofrontal carina much lower, approximately 4 times as wide as high and by the anterior pronotal carina simply tri-sinuate and only slightly more developed medially.
Variation is seen in the extent and intensity of the metallic sheen, as well as the color varying from greenish to dark purplish-blue. In some individuals the pronotal punctures are slightly larger and coarser. Specimens from the cerrado slightly but consistently differs in the shape of the clypeal teeth which are smaller and more obliquely oriented laterally. Females from the cerrado also have the median portion of the pronotal carina produced into an upward angular projection, the carina is simply arcuate in specimens from the Atlantic forest. The configuration of the male median pronotal projection is also variable, some individuals present a simply dorsoventrally flat projection, and in some other the anterior edge of the projection is thickened and more or less marginate dorsally. The inferior surface of the lobate median projection is produced into a more or less sharp longitudinal carina. This carina, which is very blunt and less developed in the Atlantic forest specimens is dividing the anterior concavity into two equal portions.
Nomenclature and taxonomy. D. amyntas Lacordaire, 1856 bona species = D. waterhousi Olsoufieff, 1924 (auctores), new synonymy.
Lacordaire’s (1856) description and illustration (holotype) of this species were considered invalid by previous authors. The description alone is too vague to identify the species, however the illustration is very accurate and clearly shows one of the diagnostic characters of this species. The clypeal teeth are clearly defined in the drawing and correspond to the species that is found in the cerrado and Atlantic forest of Brazil. This species was redescribed as D. waterhousi by d’Olsoufieff in 1924. Harold (1869) lists Lacordaire’s name but failed to recognize the description as valid, which seems to have started the confusion over the identity of this species.
description: Published as part of François Génier & Patrick Arnaud, 2016, Dendropaemon Perty, 1830: taxonomy, systematics and phylogeny of the morphologically most derived phanaeine genus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae, Phanaeini) in Zootaxa 4099 (1) on pages 55-57, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4099.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/268274