Onitis Fabricius 1798
Creators: name: Karimbumkara, Seena Narayanan
name: Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Onitis

description: Genus Onitis Fabricius,1798
Key to species of Onitis Fabricius, 1798 from the Indian subcontinent
The following key is based on external morphological characters and can be used to identify both male and female adults of Onitis. For the convenience of identification, we have retained the groups suggested by Janssens (1937). The keys have been modified from the identification keys to the species provided by Arrow (1931) and Balthasar (1963).
1. Head with frontal carina interrupted medially, with tubercle placed adjoining the carina; clypeus always with a short or long transverse carina.................................................................................... 2
– Head with frontal carina uninterrupted or entire, with tubercle behind or absent; clypeal carina feebly expressed.......................................................................................................................................... 13
2. Body completely black or dark brown (GROUP I) .......................................................................... 3
– Body metallic, with coppery or green tinge....................................................................................... 6 3. Pronotum minutely punctured (Fig. 5E–F)........................................................................................ 4
– Pronotum strongly punctured (Fig. 14A–B)...................................................................................... 5
4. Metasternal shield in male with deep transverse excavation in the middle; without an anterior longitudinal groove ................................................... O. excavatus Arrow, 1931 (Figs 5E, 6A–D, 18)
– Metasternal shield without transverse excavation in the middle, with an anterior longitudinal groove ...................................................................... O. falcatus (Wulfen, 1786) (Figs 5F, 6E–H, 18)
5. Pygidium with a median longitudinal groove; protibia with a rudimentary spur before the extremity (Fig. 16A) ..................................... O. bhomorensis sp. nov. (Figs 2, 6I–L, 9A, 14A, 15A, 16A, 17)
– Pygidium without a median longitudinal groove; protibia without a rudimentary spur (Fig. 16B).... ................................. O. punctatostriatus Janssens, 1937 (Figs 6M–P, 9B, 10F, 14B, 15B, 16B, 19)
6. Vertex covered with granules or highly raspy punctuation; clypeal carina closer to the frontal carina than to the clypeal margin (Fig. 9A–F) (GROUP II)........................................................................ 7
– Vertex covered with punctures and never rough or granular; clypeal carina midway between clypeal margin and frontal carina (Figs 1A, 10D) (GROUP III)................................................................ 12
7. Metasternum longitudinally grooved anteriorly (Fig. 12F)............................................................... 8
– Metasternum not grooved anteriorly (Fig. 1B).................................................................................11
8. Pronotum without a smooth median longitudinal line; genae smooth, inconspicuously punctured (Fig. 14C–D); male profemur not toothed......................................................................................... 9
– Pronotum with a smooth median longitudinal line; genae sparingly granular (Fig. 14E–F); male profemur toothed ............................................................................................................................. 10
9. Clypeus granular in male and rugose in female (Figs 9D, 14D), pronotum strongly and unevenly punctured .......................... O. philemon Fabricius, 1801 (Figs 8E–H, 9D, 10E, 14D, 15D, 16D, 19)
– Clypeus rugulose in both sexes; pronotum strongly and closely punctured (Figs 9C, 14C)............... ................................................................. O. kethai sp. nov. (Figs 7, 8A–D, 9C, 14C, 15C, 16C, 18)
10. Lateral margin of pronotum feebly curved; front angles of pronotum blunt (Figs 9F, 14F); mid-femur in male with a tooth near the middle of its posterior edge, another at the extremity (Fig. 16F) ......... ......................................... O. singhalensis Lansberge, 1875 (Figs 8I–L, 9F, 12A, 14F, 15F, 16F, 19)
– Lateral margin of pronotum strongly curved; front angles of pronotum sharp (Figs 9E, 14E); mid femur in male without a tooth near the middle of the posterior edge, the extremity with a sharp tooth on the lower edge and a blunt one above (Fig. 16E) ........................................................................... ....................................................... O. visthara sp. nov. (Figs 8M–P, 9E, 12E–F, 14E, 15E, 16E, 20)
11. Frontal carina narrowly interrupted; pygidium smooth with minute punctures.................................. ............................................................................. O. virens Lansberge, 1875 (Figs 12D, 13E–H, 20)
– Frontal carina widely interrupted; pygidium opaque with imperceptible punctures........................... ............................................................................ O. subopacus Arrow, 1931 (Figs 12C, 13A–D, 20)
12. Pronotal anterior angles not extended, blunt; male protibia with 3–4 teeth on the inferomedial ridge ........................................................................... O. naviauxi Cambefort, 1988 (Figs 4E–F, 10D, 19)
– Pronotal anterior angles slightly extended, sharp; male protibia with 6–7 teeth on the inferomedial ridge (Fig. 1C) ........................................................ O. assamensis Biswas, 1980 (Figs 1, 4A–D, 17)
13. Pygidium covered with short or long hair (GROUP VII)............................................................... 14
– Pygidium not covered with hair or setae ......................................................................................... 17 14. Clypeus elliptical; head not tuberculate; elytral intervals slightly carinate in the middle................... ..................................................................................... O. feae Felsche, 1907 (Figs 10A, 11E–H, 18)
– Clypeus truncate or excised; head tuberculate; elytral intervals convex......................................... 15
15. Clypeal margin deeply excised with an obtuse angle; frontal carina with a small gap ....................... .......................................................................................... O. brahma Lansberge, 1875 (Figs 5B, 17)
– Clypeal margin not deeply excised; frontal carina entire ................................................................ 16
16. Hair on the pygidium short; elytral interval angularly elevated along middle with fine close punctures................................................................................... O. crassus Sharp, 1875 (Figs 5D, 18)
– Hair on the pygidium long; elytral interval flat with feeble punctures................................................ .................................................................... O. castaneus Redtenbacher, 1848 (Figs 5C, 11A–D, 17)
17. Clypeal carina present ..................................................................................................................... 18
– Clypeal carina absent....................................................................................................................... 19
18. First, third and fifth inter-striae of the elytra not much convex; elytra dark, metasternal shield smooth behind, with a median groove (GROUP V)............ O. lama Lansberge, 1875 (Figs 10C, 11I–L, 19)
– First, third, and fifth inter-striae distinctly convex; elytra yellow with some intervals green; metasternal shield punctured behind, without a median groove (GROUP XIV) ............................... ....................................................................................... O. humerosus (Pallas, 1771) (Figs 10B, 18)
19. Pronotum covered with close granules (GROUP IX)......................................................................... ............................................................................ O. bordati Cambefort, 1988 (Figs 3, 4G–J, 5A, 17)
– Pronotum covered with strong punctures (GROUP XVIII)............................................................... .......................................................................................... O. siva Gillet, 1911 (Figs 4K–N, 12B, 20)
description: Published as part of Karimbumkara, Seena Narayanan & Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan, 2024, Study on the genus Onitis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) of the Indian Subcontinent, with three new species from India, pp. 1-61 in European Journal of Taxonomy 956 on pages 4-6, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.956.2657, http://zenodo.org/record/13742850