Ligyrus (Ligyrus) ruginasus LeConte 1856
Creators: name: López-García, Margarita M.
name: Deloya, Cuauhtémoc
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Dynastidae
Ligyrus
Ligyrus ruginasus

description: Ligyrus (Ligyrus) ruginasus LeConte, 1856 revised status
(Figs. 1E, 15S, 18K, 26H; 39)
Ligyrus ruginasus LeConte, 1856: 20. Original combination.
Female holotype (MCZ) “Type / 3717 // L. ruginasus / Rg. Barracks / Hald. / Lec.” Type locality: Ringgold Barracks, Texas (near Rio Grande City, Starr County)
Oxygrylius pimalis Casey, 1915: 209. Synonym. Syntypes (USNM). Not examined.
Description. Habitus as in Fig. 26H. Length 14.2–18.7 mm; humeral width 7.2–10.0 mm. Color dark reddish brown. Head: Frons deeply rugopunctate, with large and sparse punctures, nearly smooth on vertex, only with sparse, small punctures. Frontoclypeal region with a straight, complete carina (Fig. 1E). Ocular canthus acute, with 10 ventral setae. Clypeal surface rugopunctate to transversely rugose, striae denser than those on frons. Clypeus triangular, ending in an acute tooth (Fig. 1E). Mandible with 2 apical and 1 lateral, acute tooth, tooth 1 longer and narrower than tooth 2. Maxilla rectangular; galea with 3 dorsal teeth. Apex of labrum straight. Interocular distance 3.5 times an eye width. Antennal club very long. Pronotum: Surface with large, dense punctures. Apex with a prominent tubercle and a deep, rounded fovea. Elytra: First interval punctate, punctures similar to other intervals. Inner surface of apex with small, transverse tubercles forming about 66 parallel lines. Abdomen: Apex of tergite IV with a diagonal line of 7 transverse, parallel, short carinae. Pygidial surface with small punctures, denser on base and anterior corners. Surface in lateral view strongly convex (male) to flat (female). Legs: Protibia tridentate; basal tooth slightly distant from others. Protibial surface sparsely punctate. Protarsus of male simple, inner claw simple. Metatibia strongly contracted at apex. Apex of metatibia entire, with 25 spinules. Female genitalia: Subcoxite subrectangular (2 times wider than long). Coxite subquadrate (as long as wide); surface strongly concave. Subcoxite wider and subequal in length to coxite. Male genitalia: Spiculum gastrale thin, apex truncate. Parameres without ventral teeth; apex widely expanded (Figs. 15S, 18K). Internal sac with lamellar spiny belt short (2.5 times longer than copulatory lamellae); accessory lamella thickened, elongate.
Diagnosis. Ligyrus ruginasus can be recognized by the triangular clypeus, with 1 central tooth; frontal carina straight, not interrupted (Fig. 1E); pronotum with prominent tubercle and deep, rounded fovea (Fig. 26H); pronotal punctation deep and large; metatibia elongate with apex strongly narrowed; parameres without ventral teeth; apex widely expanded (Figs. 15S, 18K); internal sac with accessory lamella thick and elongate; coxite of female strongly concave.
Taxonomic remarks. The species was originally described as Ligyrus ruginasus but then transferred in the genus Oxygrylius (Casey 1915). More details are provided in taxonomic remarks of L. peninsularis.
Distribution. This species inhabits the Sonoran Desert and drier areas of the southwestern United States (except most of California) and northern and western Mexico (Hardy 1964).
Locality records. 21 specimens examined from CERPE, FSCA, IEXA, MN/UFRJ, MZUSP, UNSM. Mexican localities from Ratcliffe et al. (2013) and United States of America counties from Ratcliffe & Cave (2017). MEXICO (1,801). Chihuahua (81): Chihuahua; Ciudad Camargo; Ciudad Jiménez; Ciudad Juárez; Crell; Nueva Casas Grandes; Ojo del Lucero; San Pedro; Santa Eulalia. Coahuila (26): Cuatro Ciénagas; Dolores; Saltillo; San José de la Niña; San Pedro de las Colonias; Torreón. Durango (85): Ciudad Lerdo; Cuencamé; El Entroque; Reserva de la Biosfera Mapimí; San Ignacio. Estado de México (4): San José Villa de Allende. Jalisco (16): Ameca; Guadalajara; Hostotipaquillo; Zapopan. Nayarit (73): Jesús María; Los Sabinos; Pochotitlan; Tepic; Volcán Ceboruco. Nuevo León (89): Apodaca; Cañón de la Huasteca; El Álamo; Linares; Monterrey; Punta de la Loma; San Nicolás de los Garza; Parque Ecoturístico Cola de Caballo. San Luís Potosí (1): Ciudad Valles. Sinaloa (405): Choix; Concordia; Culiacán; El Dorado; El Zapotillo; Elota; Escuinapa; Guamúchil; Isla La Chiva; Isla Macapule; Isla Mazocahui; Isla Niscoco; Isla Pájaros II; Isla San Ignacio; Isla Tesobiare; Isla Vinorama; Los Mochis; Mazatlán; Mesa El Carrizal; Río Piaxta; Rosario; San Blas; Tierra Blanca; Vado Hondo; Venados; Villa Unión. Sonora (963): Agua Caliente; Agua Pietra; Álamos; Bahía Kino; Benjamin Hill; Caborca; Cananea; Carbó; Cerro Basura; Cerro Masiaca; Ciudad Obregón; Esperanza; Estación Don; Estación Llano; Estación Luís; Guaymas; Hermosillo; Imuris; Isla Tiburón; La Sandía; Magdalena; Moctezuma; Navajoa; Nogales; Pitiquito; Poza; Puerto Peñasco; Rosario del Tesopaco; Santa Ana; Saric; Sonoita; Tónichi; Valle de Yaqui; Yécora. Tamaulipas (53): Ciudad Mante; Ciudad Victoria; Güemez; Llera; Nuevo Laredo; Rancho San Felipe; Santander Jiménez. Zacatecas (10): Apazol; Jalpa. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (3,807). Arizona (3,017): Apache; Cochise; Coconino; Gila; Graham; Greenlee; La Paz; Maricopa; Mohave; Pima; Pinal; Santa Cruz; Yavapi; Yuma. California (105): Imperial; Riverside. Colorado (8): La Plata. Kansas (2): Morton. New Mexico (108): Doña Ana; Eddy; Grant; Hidalgo; Luna; Otero; Sierra; Socorro. Texas (554): Bexar; Brewster; Cameron; Culberson; Dimmit; Duval; El Paso; Hidalgo; Hudspeth; Jeff Davis; Kimble; Kleberg; Maverick; Nueces; Presidio; Starr; Terrell; Uvalde; Val Verde; Webb; Zapata.
Natural history. The adults are attracted to lights and found from May to December, but are most abundant in August (Hardy 1964).
description: Published as part of López-García, Margarita M. & Deloya, Cuauhtémoc, 2022, Cladistic analysis reveals polyphyly of Tomarus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae): new classification and taxonomic revision, pp. 1-119 in Zootaxa 5211 (1) on pages 50-51, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5211.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7345007