Aphodius (Liothorax) felix Angus, Maté, Angus & Král, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Angus, Robert B.
name: Maté, Jason F.
name: Angus, Elizabeth M.
name: Král, David
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Aphodius
Aphodius felix

description: Aphodius (Liothorax) felix sp. nov.
Figs 4 c, 6 i, 8 e, f, 15 d, 16 v, 18 p, q, 21 f, k, 23 v, w, 25 c, 26 v, 32 a – e
Type material examined.
Holotype ♂: Italy, Abruzzo, Campo Felice. Washed into pool. 1. vi. 2009. R. B. Angus. Chromosome prep. 4, 7. vi. 2009. R. B. Angus (NHMUK). Paratypes: 1 ♂, data as holotype, chromosome prep. 3, 7. vi. 2009. R. B. Angus; 3 ♀♀, data as holotype, chromosome preps 1 – 3, 9. vi. 2009. R. B. Angus (NHMUK); 1 ♀, data as holotype, 1. vi. 2009 (sequenced) (JFMC); Basilicata, M. Sirino (PZ) XI. 1997 1400–1700 m Leg. F. Angelini (JFMC).
Differential diagnosis.
Aphodius felix sp. nov. was the first new species to be recognised, after A. wilsonae, initially because of its small y chromosome. The endophallic teeth are large, as in A. niger, and the basal segment of the mesotarsi is not longer than the longer mesotibial spur. The pronotum is fairly strongly punctate and the sides bulge outwards so that the lateral margins are not visible from above either all the basal 1 / 2 or visible again in the basal 1 / 6 (Fig. 6 i), a character shared with Sicilian A. bellumgerens (Fig. 6 j). Chromosomally, these two species are clearly distinguished by their X chromosomes, the X being clearly the longest in the nucleus in A. (bellumgerens Fig. 32 f – i), but clearly shorter than autosome pairs 1–3 in A. felix (Fig. 32 a – e).
Redescription.
General appearance (Fig. 4 c). Length: 4.4–4.5 mm (♂), 4.2–5.0 mm (♀); width: 1.9–2.0 mm (♂), 1.6–2.3 mm (♀). Glossy black, tarsi, and tibial spurs dark brown, tibiae with a hint of brown-bronze reflections.
Head with dorsal surface domed, flatter behind frontoclypeal suture. Frontoclypeal suture distinct, completely non-tuberculate but with smooth elevated areas each side of the median straight section and a weaker elevation medially. Genae rounded, strongly protuberant laterally in front of eyes. Clypeus with rounded median emargination, angles either side of this rounded. Clypeus and genae with strong raised margin, this slightly brownish. Surface strongly and more or less evenly punctuate, the punctures separated by ca 1.5 × their diameter, and finer medially. Antennae and palpi more or less black. Epipharynx (Fig. 8 e, f) clithra evenly excised either side of the median tylus, chaetopedia with four or five rather stout spines and spines of chaetopariae mainly shorter than chaetopedia. Head and pronotum as in Fig. 6 i.
Pronotum hemicylindrical, highly arched transversely but more or less flat longitudinally, lateral margins more or less parallel, but slightly convergent anteriorly, weakly and very evenly curved. Pronotal surface bulging outwards from the general curvature over all or part of the basal 1 / 2 of the pronotum, ca 1 / 4 of the way in from each side, so that the lateral margins are not visible from above either in all of the basal 1 / 2 of the pronotum, or visible in the basal 1 / 6 (Fig. 6 i). Lateral margins with distinct raised border, this continued very finely over the lateral 1 / 3 of the basal margin, the median 1 / 3 of which normally lacks any border Occasionally the median 1 / 4 of the basal margin is bordered but on either side of this is an unbordered section amounting to one 1 / 4 of the length of the basal margin (Fig. 15 d). Anterior margin without any trace of a raised border. Surface with double punctation of variable strength. Larger punctures separated by 2–4 × their diameter, sometimes very strongly impressed and with the pronotal surface depressed immediately round their edges, but sometimes more moderate and with the pronotal surface evenly curved around them. Finer punctures dot-like, in some specimens separated from one another by ca 2 × their diameter but in other specimens much sparser, separated by 4–6 × their diameter. Pronotal surface between the punctures smooth, glossy. Scutellum: elongate, pentagonal, ca 10 % of elytral length, glossy black with brownish lateral and apical edges, and with sparse punctures medially. Elytra: glossy black but the interstices slightly duller than head and pronotum and with fine isodiametric reticulation (visible at × 40 magnification with bright diffuse illumination) (Fig. 16 v). Striae narrow (ca 1 / 5 the width of the interstices), vertical sided and with punctures separated by ca 2 × their diameter. In the two ♂♂ the punctures bulge into the interstices but in the three ♀♀ they hardly deflect the strial margins. Lateral margins of the elytra distinct, at base strongly upcurved in front of the humeral bulges; stronger basally and at apex ca as wide as stria 2. Interstices 4 × as wide as striae, with fine sparse punctation, this a bit stronger in the humeral area in front of abbreviated stria 9.
Metaventrite: median diamond-shaped plate fairly strongly punctate, concave to the depressed mid-line (2 ♂♂) (Fig. 21 f, k), flat with faint median impressed line to median concavity over middle 1 / 3 of the diamond-shaped area (3 ♀♀). Legs: black with dark brown tarsi and tibial spurs, rather long and slender, basal segment of hind tarsi as long as segments 2 + 3 + 1 / 2 of segment 4. Longer spur of mid tibiae longer than basal segment of mid tarsi, though sometimes the segment is almost as long as the spur (Fig. 18 p, q).
Aedeagus (Fig. 23 v, w): size and shape of parameres as A. niger, and spines of endophallus strong as in A. niger. Longest teeth on endophallus 45 μm long.
Etymology.
felix – Latin, happy, named from the type locality, Campo Felice.
Remarks.
As yet this species is known only from the type series. The beetles were taken at the edge of a pool below a grassy slope on Campo Felice (Fig. 29 a) in the Abruzzo mountains (Fig. 28 f) after a day of continuous heavy rain. A return visit a day or so later, after better weather, yielded no further specimens, so that it seems that this species lives at the roots of the grass and other herbs rather than in the mud at the water’s edge. Specimens from northern and central Italy mentioned in Maté and Angus (2005) are most likely A. felix. See Remarks after A. bellumgerens.
description: Published as part of Angus, Robert B., Maté, Jason F., Angus, Elizabeth M. & Král, David, 2024, Towards a revision of the Palaearctic species of Aphodius Hellwig, 1798, subgenus Liothorax Motschulsky, 1860 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Aphodiinae), pp. 205-299 in ZooKeys 1207 on pages 205-299, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1207.117225