Macroderes nitidus Harold / 1877
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 nitidus

description: Macroderes nitidus Harold, 1877
(Figs. 14, 69)
Macroderes nitidus Harold, 1877: 97; Preudhomme de Borre 1880: 11; Péringuey 1901: 302; Janssens 1939: 28; Ferreira 1969: 322; Frolov & Scholtz 2005: 384.
Type locality. O[o]rlog Rivier.
Type material examined. Lectotype, present designation, ♀ (ZMHB): “O[o]rlog Rivier / Meyer / Nr.57079 [pale blue label] // Lectotype / Macroderes nitidus Harold / 1877 / des Deschodt & Abdalla / 2018 [red label, printed]”. Paralectotypes: 6 ♀♀ (ZMHB): “Promont. b. sp. Meyer / Nr.50568 [printed] // Paralectotype / Macroderes nitidus Harold / 1877 / des Deschodt & Abdalla / 2018 [red label, printed]”; 5 ♀♀ (ZMHB): “O[o]rlog Rivier / Meyer / Nr.57079 [printed] // Paralectotype / Macroderes nitidus Harold / 1877 / des Deschodt & Abdalla / 2018 [red label, printed]”.
Additional material examined. 5 ♀♀ (UPSA): “ RSA: Western Cape Province / Nieuwoudtville 12km E; 20.vii.2017 / 31°22'37.69"S 19°13'51.51"E / 745m / Baited pitfall trap: pig dung / leg. C. Deschodt, W.P. Strümpher ”.
Size range. Females length: 8.2–11.5 mm, width: 6.3–7.3 mm.
Differential diagnosis. This species appears to M. soleiana new species but is easily separated from it by being smooth and not shagreened on the interstriae (Fig. 67). The habitus is shiny black in appearance (Fig. 14).
Redescription. Lectotype, ♀ (Fig. 14). Body length 10.3 mm, body width 7.1 mm.
Head. Genae right–angled. Frontal suture indistinct, more pronounced medially. Genal sutures very faint. Dorsal surface of clypeus punctate posterior of frontal suture, rugose anteriorly.
Pronotum. Convex. Base without depression in the middle. Anterior angles obtuse, posterior angles rounded. Lateral border not punctate. Dorsal surface with small, round, regular punctures; close together at base, becoming shallower and further apart anteriorly; surface smooth and very shiny.
Elytra. Elytral interstriae 1–8 flat and shiny punctate, punctures shallow, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters, margins smooth. Striae punctate with punctures separated by 2–4 puncture diameters, sides very straight, narrower than punctures (Figs. 14, 69). Stria 9 is 3/4 the length of elytron, close to stria 10; interstria 9 1/4 as wide as interstria 8 in the middle.
Habitat and distribution. Mucina and Rutherford (2006) describe the area around Calvinia where the Oorlogskloof River flows and where the species was recovered as Hantam Karoo in the Succulent Karoo biome (Fig. 2). This area is around 1000 m a.s.l.
Remark. Frolov & Scholtz (2005) examined the type series of M. nitidus. They concluded that the Cederberg specimens were M. nitidus, included them as additional material examined, and based their redescription of M. nitidus partly on this material. Those specimens actually belong to M. soleiana new species described earlier in this paper.
The specimens in the type series (collected by Meyer) are probably from two localities: “Promont. b. sp.” and “Orlog Rivier”. Meyer practiced medicine at Calvinia [S31°28’ E19°46’] and has sent plant and insect specimens collected from that area to Berlin (Gunn & Codd 1981). “Orlog Rivier” thus most likely refers to the Oorlogskloof River that flows past Calvinia. The locality Cap bon. spei [Cape of Good Hope] given in Harold (1877) is probably derived from the Promont. b. sp. [Promontorii Bon Spei] specimens in the type series and most likely those specimens are also from the same area close to Calvinia. Following this information, Deschodt and Strümpher collected a large series of M. nitidus in an area close to the Oorlogskloof River [31°22'37.69S 19°13'51.51E] on 20th of July 2016 (Fig. 101). Heavy rain was recorded on the previous day in that specific area. These recently collected specimens (in UPSA) and the type series housed in the ZMHB are the only specimens known for the species.
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 pages 64-66, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4504.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/2606164