Ochodaeus meridialis Paulsen 2019, new species
Creators: name: Paulsen, M. J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Ochodaeidae
Ochodaeus
Ochodaeus meridialis

description: Ochodaeus meridialis Paulsen, new species
Type material. Holotype male (CASC; Fig. 1a), labeled: a) “ MADAGASCAR: Tulear Prov. / Berenty Special Reserve, / elev 35 m; 8 km NW / Amboasary; 15–22.XI.2003 / 25° 01.26′ S, 46° 18.33′ E ”; b) “ California Acad of Sciences / colls: M. Irwin, F. Parker, / R. Harin’Hala, malaise trap / spiny forest MA-02-22A-03”; c) on red paper, “ Ochodaeus / meridialis / Paulsen / HOLOTYPE”. (Fig. 1e).
One male, one female paratypes (CASC) labeled: a) “ MADAGASCAR: Tulear Prov. / Berenty Special Reserve, / elev 35 m; 8 km NW / Amboasary; 10–19.VI.2003 / 25° 01.26′ S, 46° 18.33′ E ”; b) “ California Acad of Sciences / colls: M. Irwin, F. Parker, / R. Harin’Hala, malaise trap / spiny forest MA-02-22A-01”. Paratype female (CASC) labeled: a) “ MADAGASCAR: Tulear Prov. / Berenty Special Reserve, / elev 35 m; 8 km NW / Amboasary; 22–30.VI.2003 / 25° 01.26′ S, 46° 18.33′ E ”; b) “ California Acad of Sciences / colls: M. Irwin, F. Parker, / R. Harin’Hala, malaise trap / spiny forest MA-02-22A-04”. Paratype female (JBHC) labeled: a) “ MADAGASCAR: Tulear / Province, Berenty Special / Reserve, elev 35 m, / 8 km NW Amboasary / 4–5 April 2004 ”; b) “ 25° 01.26′ S, 46° 18.33′ E ” / “ California Acad of Sciences / colls: M. Irwin, F. Parker, / R. Harin’Hala, malaise trap / spiny forest MA-02-22A-16”. Paratype male (CASC) labeled: a) “ MADAGASCAR: Tulear / Province, Berenty Special / Reserve, elev 35 m, / 8 km NW Amboasary / 23 June–4 July 2004 / 25° 01.26′ S, 46° 18.33′ E ”; b) “ California Acad of Sciences / colls: M. Irwin, F. Parker, / R. Harin’Hala, malaise trap / spiny forest MA-02-22A-20”. Paratype male (MJPC) labeled: a) “ MADAGASCAR: Tulear Prov. / Berenty Special Reserve, / elev 35 m; 8 km NW / Amboasary; 18–31. VII.2004 / 25° 01.26′ S, 46° 18.33′ E ”; b) “ California Acad of Sciences / colls: M. Irwin, F. Parker, / R. Harin’Hala, malaise trap / spiny forest MA-02-22A-22”. Two paratype females (CASC, FSCA) labeled: a) “ MADAGASCAR: Tulear / Province, Berenty Special / Reserve, elev 85 m, 8 km NW / Amboasary; 7–14.XII.2002 / 25° 00.40′ S, 46° 18.20′ E ”; b) “ California Acad of Sciences / colls: M. Irwin, F. Parker, / R. Harin’Hala, malaise trap / gallery forest MA-02-22-08”. Paratype female (CASC) labeled: a) “MADA- GASCAR: Tulear / Berenty Special Reserve, / elev 85 m, 8 km NW / Amboasary; 16–27.XII.2002 / 25° 00.40′ S, 46° 18.20′ E ”; b) “ California Acad of Sciences / colls: M. Irwin, F. Parker, / R. Harin’Hala, malaise trap / gallery forest MA-02-22-10”. Paratype female (MJPC) labeled: a) “ MADAGASCAR: Tulear / Berenty Special Reserve, / elev 85 m, 8 km NW Amboa- / asary; 30.XI–7.XII.2002 / 25° 00.40′ S, 46° 18.20′ E ”; b) “ California Acad of Sciences / colls: M. Irwin, F. Parker, / R. Harin’Hala, malaise trap / gallery forest MA-02-22-07”. Paratype male (MNHN) labeled: a) on blue paper, “ Museum Paris / Madagascar / Ambovombe / R. Decary 1925”.
All paratypes (n = 11) with label: on yellow paper, “ Ochodaeus / meridialis / Paulsen / PARATYPE ”.
Description. Holotype male (Fig. 1a). Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Ochodaeidae. Length 7.3 mm. Width 3.7 mm. Color: Uniformly dark reddish brown; surface shiny. Head: Surface granulate; granules transverse, setose. Eyes large, globose; lacking ventral projection of canthus. Antennal club subequal to eye in size. Mandibles broadly concave, basal angle prominent (ventral portion strongly produced); apices blunt; left mandible with apex blade-like, distal internal tooth triangular; right mandible with simple apex and distal internal tooth triangular and closer to apex. Frons weakly convex. Clypeus trapezoidal, short (at most 1/3 as long as wide), with central tubercle; anterior margin lacking bead medially. Labrum shallowly emarginate. Mentum (as in Fig. 1d) 2 × wider than long, broadly excavated anteriorly; anterolaterally with knobby protuberance on each side. Pronotum: Form convex. Surface densely granulate; granules shiny, setose. Elytra: Form convex, somewhat elongate, elytra together slightly longer than wide. Surface with striae moderately impressed, punctate, surface smooth between punctures (except sutural stria with connecting groove); strial punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters, lacking setae. Intervals smooth, with small, setose punctures; setae longer than diameter of strial punctures. Legs: Protibia tridentate externally, with short, acute pollex directed anteriorly (Fig. 1b). Profemur with apical tooth strong, acute. Mesofemur and metafemur with apical tooth reduced to rounded lobe. Metatibia cylindrical near base. Venter/Abdomen: Metasternum and abdomen sparsely punctate; punctures large with long, erect, golden setae. Pygidium punctate, setose; setae sparse. Stridulatory peg strongly bent, rasp-like, produced posteriorly (Fig. 1c). Male genitalia: Sclerotized lobe on internal sac between parameres broadly triangular, internal sac with complex armature including a large sclerotized denticle. Paratype variation. Males (n = 4; length 8.7–10.2 mm; width 4.5–8.4 mm), females (n = 7. length 7.3–9.5 mm; width 3.5–5.0 mm). This species exhibits minimal sexual dimorphism, the protibiae being equal in the sexes and females apparently differing only by having the seta of the last abdominal segment recumbent rather than erect.
Remarks. The dark, knobby protuberance (Fig. 1d) on each side of the mentum anteriorly will immediately distinguish O. meridialis from all other Ochodaeus species in Madagascar. Both males and females have a strong apical tooth on the profemur. This is a moderately large species, and at a glance it could be confused with smaller specimens of O. isoanalensis.
Etymology. The name is a Latin masculine adjective in the nominative singular meaning ‘southerly, to the south’.
Distribution. This species thus far is known only from the extreme southern tip of the island in the vicinity of the type locality, Berenty Private Reserve (Fig. 9).
description: Published as part of Paulsen, M. J., 2019, New species of Ochodaeus Dejean from Madagascar II (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Ochodaeidae), pp. 1-10 in Insecta Mundi 706 (706) on pages 2-4, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3673403