Macroderes tortuosus Abdalla & Deschodt & Scholtz & Sole 2018, new species
Creators: name: Abdalla, Ishtiag H.
name: Deschodt, Christian M.
name: Scholtz, Clarke H.
name: Sole, Catherine L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Macroderes
Macroderes tortuosus

description: Macroderes tortuosus Abdalla and Scholtz, new species
(Figs. 22, 39, 82, 89, 99)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 7384BF25-B384-44DF-B0B0-303B16AF9D45
Type locality. South Africa, Western Cape Province, Gifberg, 31°48'5.22S 18°55'7.16E.
Type material. Holotype, ♂ (TMSA): “ South Africa / Western Cape Province / Gifberg / 26km SE of Vanrhynsdorp / 31° 48' 5.22 S 18° 55' 7.16 E / Alt 377 m / 16.vi.2016 / C. Scholtz [printed] // HOLOTYPE / Macroderes tortuosus / Abdalla & Scholtz / 2018 / [red label, printed]”. Paratypes: 1♂ and 2♀♀ (TMSA) same data as holotype; 2 ♂♂ (TMSA): “ South Africa / Western Cape Province / Gifberg / 26 km SE of / Vanrhynsdorp / 31° 48 '5.22 S 18° 55' 7.16 E / Alt 377 m / 21.vii.2016 / C. Deschodt & W.P. Strümpher 1 leg [printed] // PARATYPE / Macroderes tortuosus / Abdalla & Scholtz / 2018 / [red label, printed]”.
Holotype description. Holotype, ♂ (Fig. 22). Body length 10.6 mm, body width 7.7 mm.
Head. Clypeus very broad, semi–circular, edges with narrow border and two teeth on anterior margin. Genae acute angled. Frons densely punctate with small round punctures. Frontoclypeal suture slightly curved without tubercle in the middle. Clypeogenal suture present but poorly defined towards the clypeal edge. Dorsal surface of clypeus densely punctate with more or less elongated punctures becoming rugose near the clypeal margin.
Pronotum. Form trapezoidal, shagreened, matte, excavated anterolaterally, lateral edges delimited by narrow borders, borders crenulated, punctate, base not bordered. Pronotum anterior angle obtusely angled, posterior rounded angled appears entire in dorsal view. Pronotal sides rugose with formation of distinct tubercles. Base lacking a longitudinal depression. Pronotal surface punctate with elongated, confluent, coarse punctures (Figs. 82, 89). The confluent punctures flowing together forming twisted–like channels. Punctures with short yellow setae. Punctures becoming smaller towards the pronotum anterior edge. Punctures spaced by elevated matte areas.
Elytra. Elytral intervals convex, strongly shagreened, matte, densely punctate with large roughly round punctures. Punctures associated with short yellow setae in the middle. Punctures separated by elevated matte areas. Striae with fine punctures spaced by 2–4 times their own diameter (Fig. 99). Stria 9 short, close to stria 10, 2/3 the length of the elytron.
Aedeagus. Sclerite of internal sac curved basally and with very long lateral process, (Fig. 39).
Size range. Males length: 10.0– 10.7 mm, width: 7.4–7.9 mm; females length: 8.7–9.8 mm, width: 6.4–7.2 mm.
Female. Female differs from male by having pronotum less excavated anterolaterally than in male.
Etymology. The name of this species is taken from the Latin adjective tortuosus (twisted) for many turns in the pronotum.
Differential diagnosis. This species is most similar to M. amplior in having pronotum with elongated punctures (Figs. 82, 89) but it is different from the latter in having close punctures and the pronotum lateral edges punctuate and crenulation clearly visible in dorsal view.
Habitat and distribution. This species was collected from the base of the Gifberg (Fig. 2) at the northern end of the Bokkeveld Escarpment Mountain Plateau just south of Vanrhynsdorp. These mountains consist of Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos (Mucina & Rutherford 2006). The habitat is very rocky with shallow soil, poor in mineral content.
description: Published as part of Abdalla, Ishtiag H., Deschodt, Christian M., Scholtz, Clarke H. & Sole, Catherine L., 2018, An update to the taxonomy of the genus Macroderes Westwood 1842 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) with descriptions of new species from South Africa, pp. 41-75 in Zootaxa 4504 (1) on page 69, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4504.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/2606164