Phanaeus rzedowskii Moctezuma & Halffter 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Moctezuma, Victor
name: Halffter, Gonzalo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Phanaeus
Phanaeus rzedowskii

description: Phanaeus rzedowskii sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: A98B849A-4240-4DD3-9997-D0B3CB7B00C2
Figs 1O, 2K, 13, 15, 18P, 19P
Diagnosis
This is the only species within the P. endymion species group where major males show a pronotal disc with a superficially impressed midline (Fig. 2K).
Etymology
We are honoured to name the new species after Jerzy Rzedowski, to recognise his outstanding contribution to the knowledge of the Mexican biodiversity, particularly to the flora from El Bajío region.
Tyepa material (2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀)
Holotype
MEXICO – Michoacán • ♂; “ Coalcoman. 24-VII-90. Fungus. Terry Taylor col”; TAMU.
Paratypes
MEXICO – Michoacán • 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; TAMU • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ Villa Victoria. 31-VIII- 95. 1550 m ”; VMC.
Type locality
Mexico, Michoacán, Coalcomán.
Description
Major male (holotype)
Length 18 mm.
HEAD. Clypeus bidentate, black on anterior margin, dark metallic blue-green on posterior portion, roughened sculpture. Genae dark metallic blue-green, with roughened sculpture. Front dark metallic blue-green on portions adjacent to cephalic horn. Cephalic horn black, curved posteriorly over pronotum (Figs 2K, 13A).
PRONOTUM. Uniformly dark metallic blue-green, becoming completely black on and beneath lateral margins of posterolateral angles, and on posterior margin. Keel absent in the middle of anterior pronotal margin. Disc triangular, flat, with two distinctly developed tubercles on anterior portion. Triangle lightly granulate, with midline superficially impressed, scabriculous, impunctate. Sides with smooth sculpture, scabriculous, with superficially impressed punctures. Lateral lines of pronotal triangle straight. Posterolateral angles sharply acute, projected posteriorly. Lateral fossae distinctly impressed. Basal fossae obtusely oval, distinctly impressed. Posterior margin with superficially impressed punctures (Figs 2K, 13A).
ELYTRA. Fine striae, dark blue-green, with superficially impressed punctures, scabriculous, impressed basally as distinct fossae. Interstriae black, scabriculous, partially roughened, with superficially impressed punctures. Sutural margin without apical tooth (Fig. 13A).
PROTIBIAE. Quadridentate with apical spine.
TERGITE VIII. Dark metallic blue-green, scabriculous; with rough, superficially impressed punctures. Basal margin with setae variable in size.
GENITALIA. Right lobe of endophallite copulatrix more developed than left lobe. Right lobe obtusely triangular in shape, sharply acute frontally, rounded superiorly. Left lobe strongly developed, obtusely lobed. Central ridge more developed than central column (Fig. 1O).
Minor male
Unknown.
Female
Similar to the male, except for the head showing a cephalic trituberculate carina; with almost aligned, conical tubercles, similar in size tubercles; frons distinctly impressed, rough punctures; pronotal sculpture completely smooth, with superficially impressed punctures; colour of pronotum as in P. endymion; pronotal process trituberculate, posteriorly concave; dentiform middle tubercle, strongly developed, more frontally projected than lateral tubercles; almost completely reduced lateral tubercles (Fig. 13B).
Variation
Mean length 17.4 mm (16.5–18.2 mm). Chromatic variation was not observed in the type series.
Distribution
Sierra Madre del Sur, southern Michoacán (Fig. 15).
Remarks
This new species was previously confused with P. endymion (Edmonds 1994). Nevertheless, the distribution areas for P. endymion and P. rzedowskii sp. nov. are completely different, and they are easily recognized by external and genital morphology.
description: Published as part of Moctezuma, Victor & Halffter, Gonzalo, 2021, Taxonomic revision of the Phanaeus endymion species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), with the descriptions of five new species, pp. 1-71 in European Journal of Taxonomy 747 on pages 45-47, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2021.747.1333, http://zenodo.org/record/4836744