Onitis visthara Karimbumkara & Priyadarsanan, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Karimbumkara, Seena Narayanan
name: Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Onitis
Onitis visthara

description: Onitis visthara sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 0E89DF71-6A9D-4E88-8C49-84281CC84C2A
Figs 8M–P, 9E, 12E–F, 14E, 15E, 16E, 20
Differential diagnosis
Onitis visthara sp. nov. belongs to Group II; it shows affinity to Onitis philemon, O. kethai sp. nov and O. singhalensis as the metasternum is longitudinally grooved anteriorly and the clypeal margin feebly emarginate. The pronotum of Onitisvisthara is more convex and wider and has a smooth median line similar to that in O. singhalensis but absent in O. philemon and O. kethai. Onitisvisthara can be differentiated from O. singhalensis by the pronotal front angle which is sharp in the former while blunt or rather rounded in the latter (compare Fig. 9E–F). The clypeus and vertex in O. visthara are rugose while they are closely granular in O. singhalensis. The genae of the former is gently rounded while that of the latter is sharply rounded. Profemur in the male of O. visthara is without tooth while there is a strong tooth towards the end of its anterior edge in the male of O. singhalensis. The mid femur in the male of O. visthara is without a tooth near the middle of its posterior edge, but with two teeth at the extremity, a sharp one on the lower edge and a blunt one above; while in the male of O. singhalensis, the middle femur has a strong tooth near the middle of its posterior edge and another tooth at the extremity. The middle tibia in male O. visthara is slender at the base and they curve and angularly dilate before the middle; in O. singhalensis, the middle tibia is slender at the base, less curved, abruptly, angularly dilated before the middle (compare 16E–F).
Type material
Holotype
INDIA • ♂; Karnataka, Hesaraghatta, Bangalore, hand-picked from cattle dung; 4 Jan. 2015, Mohammed Ashraf K. leg.; specimen deposited at NBAIR, NIM/NBAIR/COL/ONIT/H-271023C.
Paratype
COUNTRY • ♂; same collection details as holotype; AIMB / Co/Sc1000789.
Etymology
The pronotal and elytral measurements of this species are almost the same, giving it a broader rectangular appearance while comparing with other species, thus the name visthara which means ‘expanse’ in Sanskrit.
Description
MEASUREMENTS (in mm). TL= 17–18; BW =9–10; PL=8–9; PW=9.5–10.5; EL=8–9.5; HL=4–4.5; HW=5–5.5.
Male (Holotype)
Brownish black, not shining, pronotum bronzy black, elytra bronzy red, ventral side blackishred; antennae and mouth reddish; oval, not very convex. Clypeus (Fig. 14E) rugulose, anterior margin parabolic, slightly straight in the middle; clypeal carina not much elevated, bears a few punctures; clypeo-frontal carina not widely interrupted, the tubercle behind blunt, rounded and closer to carina, bears a few punctures; vertex rugulose in the middle and sides more or less smooth with a few scattered granules; genae broad and smooth, slightly reflexed anteriorly with a few scattered punctures. Pronotum strongly and fairly closely punctured, scattered in the middle, more strongly and closely pitted anteriorly, lightly and closely at the base, with a slight median groove starting above the basal foveae and extending to anterior margin as a thin smooth line; front angles moderately sharp, almost right angled, hind angle obsolete, lateral margin straight anteriorly, strongly curved or rounded in the middle and bisinuate behind; base of pronotum bluntly angulate; basal foveae rounded and concave. Elytra moderately shining, lightly and broadly striate, striae smooth, intervals almost flat, strongly and closely punctured; sutural interval convex and slightly elevated than the rest, finely and deeply punctured. Pygidium not shining, lightly and uniformly punctured. Metasternum with deep broad longitudinal groove; metasternal shield smooth in the middle with fine scattered punctures and with strong close aciculate punctures anterio-laterally; sides of metasternum with setigerous granules. Femora smooth with some punctures and hairs on anterior part near the tibial joint. Protibia with four teeth, with the tip extended to a curved process; teeth very short, blunt, the terminal tooth trapezoid. Profemur without teeth. Mid femur has a pair of sharp teeth near the end of the lower edge, and a blunt curved process towards the middle; hind trochanter with a small blunt tooth.
AEDEAGUS (in mm) (Fig. 8M–P). LP=3, Lp=2.5; BP=0.75, BpB=0.5, BpT=0.25. Phallobase slightly curved, longer than parameres, the latter curved at the tip, with an opening on the ventral side at the point of articulation with the phallobase. The base of the opening is with a cup-shaped extension which is curved inwards.
Female
Unknown.
Habitat
The specimens were collected from cattle dung in open grassland near Hesaraghatta lake, the vegetation of which is undergoing rapid changes due to human activities and ecological succession.
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 52-53, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.956.2657, http://zenodo.org/record/13742850