Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 62 No. 2: 3 Apr. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-04-03
DOI: 10.12976/jib/2025.62.2.3
Page range: 55-66
Abstract views: 160
PDF downloaded: 6

Taxonomic and nomenclatural issues revisited in the New World Scarabaeinae dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Scarabaeidae)

Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, 90070, Mexico.
Boreocanthon Pseudocanthon Phanaeus scarabaeine taxonomy.

Abstract

In this work I treat and revise some taxonomic and nomenclatural issues that arose in recent years. The current phylogenetic hypothesis considers Canthon Hoffmannsegg, 1817, Boreocanthon Halffter, 1958 stat. rev. and Pseudocanthon Bates, 1887 stat. nov. forming a monophyletic group, with the two latter taxa monophyletic and nested within the former. Consequently, both Boreocanthon and Pseudocanthon are proposed as subgenera within the genus Canthon Hoffmannsegg, 1817. Accordingly, the following new combinations are established: Canthon (Boreocanthon) halffteri (Edmonds, 2022) comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) caeranus (Matthews, 1966) comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) chaquensis (Nazaré-Silva & Silva, 2021) comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) chlorizans Bates, 1887 comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) iuanalaoi (Matthews, 1966) comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) jamaicensis (Matthews, 1966) comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) pantanensis (Nazaré-Silva & Silva, 2021) comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) perplexus LeConte, 1847 comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) sylvaticus (Matthews, 1966) comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) vazdemelloi (Nazaré-Silva & Silva, 2021) comb. nov., Canthon (Pseudocanthon) vitraci Fleutiaux & Sallé, 1889 comb. nov., and Canthon (Pseudocanthon) xanthurus Blanchard, 1847 comb. nov. Based on recently published phylogenetic surveys, the subgenus Notiophanaeus Edmonds, 1994 stat. rev. is proposed as a junior subjective synonymy of Phanaeus MacLeay, 1819. Finally, new morphological evidences help to consider Phanaeus panamensis Moctezuma & Halffter, 2021 stat. rev. as a valid species, while Phanaeus dionysius Kohlmann, Arriaga-Jiménez and Rös, 2018 syn. rev. is confirmed to be a junior subjective synonymy of Phanaeus zapotecus Edmonds, 2006.

References

  1. Arellano L., León-Cortés J. L. & Halffter G. 2008. Response of dung beetle assemblages to landscape structure in remnant natural and modified habitats in southern Mexico. Insect Conservation and Diversity 1: 253–262.

  2. Arellano L., León-Cortés J. L., Halffter G. & Montero J. 2013. Acacia woodlots, cattle and dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) in a Mexican silvopastoral landscape. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 84: 650–660.

  3. Arnaud P. 1982. Liste des types de Phanaeini du Muséum National D’Histoire Naturelle de Paris [Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae]. Revue Française d’Entomology (Nouvelle Série) 4(3): 113–118.

  4. Arnaud P. 2001. Description de nouvelles espèces de Phanaeides. Besoiro 6: 2–8.

  5. Arnaud P. 2002. Phanaeini. Dendropaemon, Tetramereia, Homalotarsus, Megatharsis, Diabroctis, Coprophanaeus, Oxysternon, Phanaeus, Sulcophanaeus. Hillside Books, Canterbury, United Kingdom. 151 pp.

  6. Arnaud P. 2018. Description d’une nouvelle espèce de Phanaeus d’Équateur et revalidation de l’espèce Coprophanaeus (C.) edmondsi Arnaud (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae). Besoiro 26: 3–7.

  7. Bach A., Mateus L. A. F., Peres C. A., Haugaasen T., Louzada J., Hawes J. E., Azevedo R. A., Lucena E. F., Ferreira J V A. & Vaz-de-Mello F. Z. 2023. Bait attractiveness changes community metrics in dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). Ecology and Evolution 13(4): e9975. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9975

  8. Bates H. W. 1887. Tribe Lamellicornia, 25–64 pp. In: Biologia Centrali-Americana. Insecta. Coleoptera. Vol. II. Part 2. Pectinicornia and Lamellicornia (H. W. Bates, editor). London, R.H. Porter.

  9. Beynon S. A., Wainwright W. A. & Christie C. 2015. The application of an ecosystem services framework to estimate the economic value of dung beetles to the U.K. cattle industry. Ecological Entomology 40(1): 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12240

  10. Blanchard E. 1847. Livraison 79, pp. 153–168. In: Voyage dans L’Amérique Méridionale (le Brésil, la République orientale de L’Uruguay, la République Argentine, la Patagonie, la République du Chili, la République de Bolivia, la République du Pérou), exécuté pendant les années 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832 et 1833, par Alcide d’Orbigny. Tome Sixième. 2.e partie: Insectes (É. Blanchard & G. A. Brullé, editors). Paris, P. Bertrand, 222 pp.

  11. Cambefort Y. 1991. Biogeography and Evolution, pp. 51–54. In: Dung beetle ecology (I. Hanski and Y. Cambefort, editors). Princeton, Princeton University Press, 481 pp.

  12. Carvalho R. L., Andresen E., Barônio G. J., Oliveira V. H. F., Louzada J. & Braga R. F. 2019. Is dung removal a good proxy for other dung beetle functions when monitoring for conservation? A case study from the Brazilian Amazon. Ecological Indicators 109: 105841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105841

  13. Cupello M., Silva F. A. B. & Vaz-de-Mello F. Z. 2023. The Taxonomic Revolution of New World dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11: 1168754. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1168754

  14. Daniel G. M. & Davis A. L. V. 2023. Dung beetle tribal classification (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae): progress, problems, and prospects. Annals of the Entomological Society of America saad032. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saad032

  15. deCastro-Arrazola I., Hortal J., Noriega J. A. & Sánchez-Piñero F. 2020. Assessing the functional relationship between dung beetle traits and dung removal, burial, and seedling emergence. Ecology 101(10): e03138. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3138

  16. Edmonds W. D. 1979. A new species of Phanaeus from Mexico (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 55(2): 99–105.

  17. Edmonds W. D. 1994. Revision of Phanaeus MacLeay, a New World genus of Scarabaeinae dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae). Contributions in Science of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 443: 1–105.

  18. Edmonds W. D. 2006. A new species of Phanaeus Macleay (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Phanaeini) from Oaxaca, Mexico. Zootaxa 1171: 31–37.

  19. Edmonds W. D. 2022. Taxonomic review of the North American dung beetle genus Boreocanthon Halffter, 1958 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Deltochilini). Insecta Mundi 952: 1–65.

  20. Edmonds W. D. & Zídek J. 2012. Taxonomy of Phanaeus revisited: Revised keys to and comments on species of the New World dung beetle genus Phanaeus MacLeay, 1819 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Phanaeini). Insecta Mundi 274: 1–108.

  21. Favila M. E. & Halffter G. 1997. The use of indicator groups for measuring biodiversity as related to community structure and function. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (Nueva Serie) 72: 1–25.

  22. Fleutiaux E. & Sallé A. 1889. Liste des Coléoptères de la Guadeloupe et descriptions d’espèces nouvelles. Annales de La Société Entomologique de France, Paris 9: 351–484.

  23. Gillett C. P. D. T. & Toussaint E F A. 2020. Macroevolution and shifts in the feeding biology of the New World scarab beetle tribe Phanaeini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 130: 661–682. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa058

  24. González-Alvarado A. & Vaz-de-Mello F. Z. 2021. Taxonomic revision of the Deltohyboma Lane, 1946 gilli species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Deltochilum). European Journal of Taxonomy 775: 86–106. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.775.1551

  25. Halffter G. 1958. Dos nuevos géneros de Canthonini (Col., Scarabaeidae). Ciencia 17(10–12): 207–2012.

  26. Halffter G. & Favila M. E. 1993. The Scarabaeinae (Insecta: Coleoptera) an animal group for analysing, inventorying and monitoring biodiversity in tropical rainforest and modified landscapes. Biology International 27: 15–21.

  27. Halffter G. & Martínez A. 1977. Revisión monográfica de los Canthonina americanos, IV parte. Clave para géneros y subgéneros. Folia Entomológica Mexicana 38: 29–107.

  28. Halffter G. & Matthews E. G. 1966. The natural history of dung beetles of the subfamily Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae). Folia Entomológica Mexicana, 12–14: 1–312.

  29. Halffter G., Espinosa de los Monteros A., Nolasco-Soto J., Arriaga-Jiménez A. & Rivera-Gasperín S. 2022. Bajacanthon, a new subgenus for the Mexican Deltochilini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) fauna. 14: 109. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14020109

  30. Howden H. F. 1966. Notes on Canthonini of the “Biologia Centrali-Americana” and descriptions of new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). The Canadian Entomologist 98(7): 725–741.

  31. Iwasa M., Mori Y. & Takahashi J. 2015. Effects of the activity of coprophagous insects on greenhouse gas emissions from cattle dung pats and changes in amounts of nitrogen, carbon, and energy. Environmental Entomology 44(1): 106–113. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvu023

  32. Kohlmann B., Arriaga-Jiménez A. & Rös M. 2018. Dung beetle vicariant speciation in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, with a description of a new species of Phanaeus (Coleoptera, Geotrupidae, Scarabaeidae). ZooKeys 743: 67–93. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.743.23029

  33. Kohlmann B., Arriaga-Jiménez A. & Mora-Aguilar E. F. 2023. An annotated checklist of the dung beetles (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae and Scarabaeidae, subfamilies Aphodiinae and Scarabaeinae) of Oaxaca, Mexico. Insecta Mundi 981: 1–34.

  34. Kohlmann-Cuesta B. C. 2022. Escarabajos estercoleros (Aphodiidae, Geotrupidae y Scarabaeidae), pp. 61–72. In: La biodiversidad en Oaxaca. Estudio de estado. Volumen 3 (CONABIO and Gobierno del Estado de Oaxaca, editors). Mexico City, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, 305 pp.

  35. LeConte, J. L. 1847. Fragmenta Entomologica. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (Second Series) 2(1): 71–93.

  36. Lizardo V., Moctezuma V. & Escobar F. 2022. Distribution, regionalization, and diversity of the dung beetle genus Phanaeus MacLeay (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) using species distribution models. Zootaxa 5213(5): 546–568. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5213.5.4

  37. Lumaret J. P., Kadiri N. & Martínez-M I. 2020. The global decline of dung beetles, pp. 553–562. In: Imperiled: The Encyclopedia of Conservation (D. A. DellaSala & M. I. Goldstein, editors). Amsterdam, Elsevier, 2608 pp.

  38. Moctezuma V. 2021a. El género Onthophagus Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) de México. Dugesiana 28(2): 175–220.

  39. Moctezuma V. 2021b. Spatial autocorrelation in a Mexican dung beetle ensemble: Implications for biodiversity assessment and monitoring. Ecological Indicators 125: 107548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107548

  40. Moctezuma V. & Halffter G. 2017. A new species of Phanaeus MacLeay (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) from Los Chimalapas, Oaxaca, Mexico. The Coleopterists Bulletin 71(1): 47–56.

  41. Moctezuma V. & Halffter G. 2019. Una especie nueva de México y un nuevo registro para Guatemala del complejo de especies Onthophagus dicranius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 90: e903015. https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2019.90.3015

  42. Moctezuma V. & Halffter G. 2021. Taxonomic revision of the Phanaeus endymion species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), with the descriptions of five new species. European Journal of Taxonomy 747: 1–71. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.747.1333

  43. Moctezuma V., Sánchez-Huerta J. L. & Halffter G. 2017. Two new species of the Phanaeus endymion species group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae). ZooKeys 702: 113–135. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.702.14728

  44. Moctezuma V., Deloya C., Sánchez-Huerta J. L. & Halffter G. 2019. A new species of the Phanaeus endymion species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), with comments on ecology and distribution. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (Nouvelle Série) 55(3): 249–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/00379271.2019.1577170

  45. Moctezuma V., Halffter G. & Lizardo V. 2021. The Phanaeus tridens species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea): a dung beetle group with genital morphological stasis but a changing ecological niche. Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 61(2): 447–482. https://doi.org/10.37520/aemnp.2021.025

  46. Moctezuma V., Espinosa de los Monteros A. & Halffter G. 2024. Phylogenetic analyses of the subfamily Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) provide new insights into the Mexican Transition Zone theory. Zootaxa 5415: 501–528. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5415.4.1

  47. Nichols E., Spector S., Louzada J., Larsen T., Amezquita S., Favila M. E. & The Scarabaeinae Research Network. 2008. Ecological functions and ecosystem services provided by Scarabaeinae dung beetles. Biological Conservation 141: 1461–1474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2008.04.011

  48. Price D. L. 2007. A phylogenetic analysis of the dung beetle genus Phanaeus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) based on morphological data. Insect Systematics and Evolution 38: 1–18.

  49. Price D. L. 2009. Phylogeny and biogeography of the dung beetle genus Phanaeus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Systematic Entomology 34: 137–150.

  50. R Core Team. 2023. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. Available from: https://www.R-project.org/ (Accessed 22 Dec 2023).

  51. Sánchez-Hernández G., Chamé-Vázquez E. R. & Gómez B. 2023. Diversidad de escarabajos micetófilos a lo largo de un gradiente altitudinal de la región central de Chiapas, México. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (Nueva Serie), 39: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.21829/azm.2023.3912589

  52. Schoolmeesters P. 2025. Scarabs: World Scarabaeidae database. Available from: https://doi.org/10.48580/dfgnm-38g (Accessed 14 March 2025).

  53. Solís A. & Kohlmann B. 2023. New synonyms and records of Costa Rican and Panamanian dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). Insecta Mundi 972: 1–21.

  54. Spector S. 2006. Scarabaeine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae): an invertebrate focal taxon for biodiversity research and conservation. The Coleopterists Bulletin, Monograph 5: 71–83.

  55. Wheeler Q. D. & Platnick N. I. 2000. The phylogenetic species concept (sensu Wheeler and Platnick), pp. 55–69. In: Species concepts and phylogenetic theory: a debate. (Q. D. Wheeler and R. Meier, Editors), Columbia University Press, New York, NY, USA. 230 pp.