Polynoncus Burmeister 1876
Creators: name: Costa-Silva, Vinícius
name: Strümpher, Werner P.
name: Thyssen, Patricia J.
name: Vaz-de-Mello, Fernando Z.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Trogidae
Polynoncus

description: Key to the species of the genus Polynoncus:
3 Humeral region without prominent callus (Figure 4a) ......................................................... 4
3’ Humeral region with prominent callus (Figure 4b) ............................................................. 11
4 Humeral callus obsolete; elytral tubercles with tufts of erect black setae; restricted to Ecuador ..................................................................................................................... Polynoncus tenebrosus (Harold)
4’ Humeral callus completely absent; elytral tubercles glabrous or with sparse small black setae .............................................................................................................................................. 5
5 Posterior margin of clypeus emarginate in dorsal view (Figure 4e) ............................... 6
5’ Posterior margin of clypeus truncate in dorsal view (Figure 4f) ...................................... 7
6 Odd-numbered elytral tubercles distinctly separate and glabrous; antennae with black setae. Chile and Argentina ................................................................ Polynoncus bullatus (Curtis)
6’ Odd-numbered elytral tubercles poorly separated and covered by velutinous tumescence; antennae with yellow setae. Restricted to Galapagos Archipelago ........................ .............................................................................................. Polynoncus galapagoensis (Van Dyke)
7 Elytra subcircular, nearly as wide as long; meso- and metatibiae with long and dense setae on inner margin. Chile and Argentina Polynoncus hemisphaericus (Burmeister)
7’ Elytra elongate, distinctly longer than wide; meso- and metatibiae with short setae on inner margin (the setae smaller than the basal tarsomere) ............................................... 8
8 Pronotum with basal tubercles obsolete or poorly distinguishable; elytral tubercles on the anterior half coalescent ............................................................................................................. 9
8’ Pronotum with distinct basal tubercles; elytral tubercles distinctly separated ........ 10
9 Pronotal ridges acute, shiny; pronotum with basal tubercles indistinctive. Restricted to Argentina .......................................................................... Polynoncus pampeanus (Burmeister)
9’ Pronotal ridges broad, rounded; pronotum with basal tubercles distinctive, visible. Restricted to Argentina ................................................................ Polynoncus erugatus Scholtz
10 Pronotal ridges connected with the antero-lateral tubercle (Figure 5g); costal tubercles usually confluent. Restricted to Argentina ............................................................................ ................................................................................................. Polynoncus patagonicus (Blanchard)
10’ Pronotal ridges not connected with the antero-lateral tubercle; costal tubercles separate. Restricted to Argentina .............................................. Polynoncus patriciae Pittino
11 Apex of mesotibia with a prominent tooth in ventral view (Figure 4c) ...................... 12
11’ Apex of mesotibia truncate, without teeth in ventral view (Figure 4d) ...................... 19
12 Antennae with yellow setae .......................................................................................................... 13
12’ Antennae with black setae ............................................................................................................ 14
13 Pronotum with lateral margin crenulate; surface of the elytral tubercles rounded. Restricted to Argentina ........................................................................ Polynoncus neuquen (Vaurie)
13’ Pronotum with lateral margin smooth; surface of the elytral tubercles flat. Restricted to Argentina ...................................................... Polynoncus pittinoi Costa-Silva and Diéguez
14 Pronotum without distinct raised medial ridges (Figure 56). Widely distributed in western South America .................................................................. Polynoncus peruanus (Erichson)
14’ Pronotum with distinct medial ridges (as in Figure 4e) ..................................................... 15
15 Pronotum with transversal basal tubercles elongate and thin (male – Figure 5a); or elongate and broad (female – Figure 5b). Restricted to Argentina ....................................... .................................................................................................. Polynoncus gemmiferus (Blanchard)
15’ Pronotum with basal tubercles rounded or poorly visible ............................................. 16
16 Entire surface of the hypomeron covered by setae (as in Figure 31c – white setae). Restricted to Argentina ................................................. Polynoncus gemmifer (Blanchard)
16’ Entire surface of the hypomeron glabrous .......................................................................... 17
17 Second and fourth elytral costae with equal-sized tubercles (sometimes one or two tubercles varying in size). Bolivia and Argentina ........ Polynoncus burmeisteri Pittino
17’ Second and fourth elytral costae with different-sized tubercles ................................ 18
18 Pronotal ridge complete,forming a well-defined triangle with shallow fovea (Figure 4g). Restricted to Argentina .................................................. Polynoncus argentinus (Harold)
18’ Pronotal ridge incomplete, not forming a well-defined triangle at the middle (Figure 4h). Restrict to Argentina ............................. Polynoncus pseudogemmifer sp. n.
19 Pronotal and elytral surface with distinct black setae; elytral tubercles with tufts of erect black setae. Known only from Ecuador .............. Polynoncus ecuadorensis (Vaurie)
19’ Pronotal and elytral surface without distinct black setae; elytral costae tomentose or glabrous, but never with distinct erect setae ............................................................................ 20
20 Surface of elytra without distinctly raised elytral tubercles; elytral costae formed by tufts of small fulvous, yellow or black setae (Figure 5f) ....................................................... 21
20’ Surface of elytra with distinctly raised elytral tubercles (Figure 5e) ............................... 22
21 Intercostal punctures shallow, forming a straight edge along the surface of elytra; lateral margin of elytra with row of small yellow bristles (Figure 5f). Restricted to Chile ....................................................................................................................... Polynoncus diffluens (Vaurie)
21’ Intercostal punctures distinct and deep, forming a sinuous edge along the surface of elytra; lateral margin of elytral smooth. Restricted to Chile ........................................................ ..................................................................................................................... Polynoncus crypticus Diéguez
22 Meta- and mesotibia with surface glabrous; surface of elytra glabrous, tomentosity restricted to the raised tubercles (Figure 5e). Argentina and Paraguay ................................ ...................................................................................................................... Polynoncus pedestris (Harold)
22’ Meta- and mesotibia covered partially or completely by tomentosity; elytral tubercles glabrous ........................................................................................................................................................ 23
23 Head and pronotum entirely covered by distinct punctation (the distance between punctures is smaller than diameter of puncture; as in Figure 56); surface of meso- and metasternum with dark bristles; pronotum without distinct medial ridges and tubercles. Widely distributed in western South America .. .. Polynoncus aricensis (Gutiérrez)
23’ Head and pronotum without distinct punctation (sometimes restricted to basal tubercles and pronotal ridges); surface of meso- and metasternum glabrous or with few sparse setae; pronotal ridges and tubercles distinct ..................................................... 24
24 Elytral tubercles shiny (Figure 4a,b) ................................................................................................ 25
24’ Elytral tubercles completely covered by tomentosity ........................................................... 30
25 Elytra with elongate shiny elytral tubercles (Figure 1b); if rounded, half of surface covered by discreet velutinous area ............................................................................................... 26
25’ Elytra with rounded shiny elytral tubercles (Figure 4a) ........................................................ 28
26 Tubercles of third elytral costae 3–4 times longer than wide (Figure 4b); elytral tubercles completely shiny; elytral intercostae marked with deep round punctures; male with metatarsus as long as metatibia. Chile and Argentina ............................................ ................................................................................................................... Polynoncus longitarsis (Harold)
26’ Tubercles of third elytral costae at most 2 times longer than wide; elytral tubercules shiny or with half of surface covered by discreet velutinous area; male with metatarsus smaller than metatibia ................................................................................................................... 27
27 Humeral callus prominent, covering the lateral margin of elytra (Figure 5h); subhumeral callus with coalesced tubercules, overhanging. Chile and Argentina ........................... ...................................................................................................................... Polynoncus chilensis (Harold)
27’ Humeral callus not prominent, lateral margin of elytra visible (Figure 5i); subhumeral callus with few and separate tubercles. Chile and Argentina .................................................... ......................................................................................................................... Polynoncus mirabilis Pittino
28 Subhumeral ridge present (as in Figure 14b, white arrows). Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay .................................................................................. Polynoncus aeger (Guérin-Meneville)
28’ Subhumeral ridge absent ..................................................................................................................... 29
29 Anterior half of lateral margin of elytra entirely smooth; latero-basal tubercles of pronotum poorly raised. Chile and Argentina ........ Polynoncus brevicollis (Eschscholtz)
29’ Anterior half of lateral margin of elytra slightly crenulated; basal and latero-basal area of pronotum raised, distinctly raised. Restricted to Chile ............................................................. ................................................................................................................... Polynoncus gibberosus Scholtz
30 Lateral margin of pronotum with sides bulbous in front of the middle (Figure 5a, white arrow) ................................................................................................................................................ 36
30’ Lateral margin of pronotum rounded until constriction in front of the posterior angle (Figure 5b, white arrow) ........................................................................................................................ 31
31 Antennae with black setae; scutellum broad, shield-shaped. Widely distributed in central South America ................................................................. Polynoncus pilularius (Germar)
31’ Antennae with fulvous or yellow setae; scutellum elongate ............................................. 32
32 Tubercles in the odd-numbered elytral costae slightly separated (space between tubercles smaller than tubercle length), thus forming an interrupted carina; surface of elytra with glabrous areas; only elytral tubercles tomentose. Restricted to Ecuador (including Galapagos Island) .......................................... Polynoncus seymourensis (Mutchler)
32’ Tubercles in the odd-numbered elytral costae well separated (space between tubercles the same size as or bigger than tubercle length; elytra completely tomentose 33
33 Subhumeral ridge present (Figure 14b, white arrow). Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina .................................................................................................................. Polynoncus brasiliensis (Vaurie)
33 Subhumeral ridge absent ..................................................................................................................... 34
34 Pronotal ridges connected with basal tubercle. Restricted to Peru ........................................ ....................................................................................................................... Polynoncus gordoni (Steiner)
34’ Pronotal ridges distinctly separated from basal tubercle ................................................. 35
35 Elytral tubercles not raised, small (tubercles in the third elytral costae narrower than scutellum width). Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia .............................. Polynoncus sallei (Harold)
35’ Elytral tubercles raised, rounded (width of tubercles in the third elytral costae bigger than scutellum width). Widely distributed in South America ..................................................... ............................................................................................................... Polynoncus gemmingeri (Harold)
36 Pronotal ridges and basal tubercles fused (Figure 5c, black line) ................................... 38
36’ Pronotal ridges and basal tubercles not fused (Figure 5d, black line) .......................... 37
37 Odd-numbered tubercles with small yellowish setae (×128). Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina .................................................................................... Polynoncus bifurcatus (Vaurie)
37’ Odd-numbered tubercles with small black setae (×128); Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay ................................................................................... Polynoncus parafurcatus Pittino
38 Pronotal antero-basal projection prominent, acute; posterior margin of pronotum with an obtuse lobe at the middle, pointing backward (see drawing in Huchet and Costa-Silva 2018, figs. 10–11); inner margin of protibias with a well-defined second tooth. Guianas and north of Brazil ............................................ Polynoncus juglans (Ratcliffe)
38’ Pronotal antero-basal projection rounded; posterior margin of pronotum backward, but never forming a distinct lobe; inner margin of protibias without a second tooth......................................................................................................................................................... 39
39 Latero-basal tubercles of pronotum distinct; tubercles on odd-numbered costae raised and usually rounded (at least 2× longer than wide). Restricted to Brazil ............. .................................................................................................................. Polynoncus furcillifer Pittino
39’ Latero-basal tubercle poorly raised; tubercles on odd-numbered costae elongate, thin and poorly raised (at least 2× longer than wide). Restricted to Brazil ................................... ............................................................................... Polynoncus vazdemelloi Huchet and Costa-Silva
description: Published as part of Costa-Silva, Vinícius, Strümpher, Werner P., Thyssen, Patricia J. & Vaz-de-Mello, Fernando Z., 2024, Taxonomic revision of the South American genus Polynoncus Burmeister, 1876 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Trogidae), pp. 14-166 in Journal of Natural History 58 (1 - 4) on pages 23-29, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2023.2260060, http://zenodo.org/record/10830771