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Issue: Vol. 4290 No. 2: 7 Jul. 2017
Type: Article
Published: 2017-07-07
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4290.2.1
Page range: 201–243
Abstract views: 155
PDF downloaded: 13

Two new genera of Australian dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) with the description of six new species and transfer of six described species

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.
Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Research Collections Australia, Black Mountain, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Coleoptera Matthewsius Monteithocanthon Lepanus Aptenocanthon Sauvagesinella

Abstract

A complex of small scarabaeine dung beetles related to Lepanus Balthasar, 1966 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) is described, based on morphological and molecular characters. There are two new genera, six new species, and seven new combinations, including the transfer of one species to a pre-existing genus, as follows. Matthewsius Gunter & Weir new genus includes two new species, M. stricklandensis Gunter & Weir new species from central New South Wales, Australia and M. vanleeuweni Gunter & Weir new species from Pilbara region of Western Australia, Australia; two species formerly included within Aptenocanthon Matthews, 1974, M. rossi (Matthews, 1974) new combination and M. speewah (Storey & Monteith, 2000) new combination; and two species formerly included within Lepanus, M. illawarrensis (Matthews, 1974) new combination and M. penelopae (Matthews & Weir, 2002) new combination. Monteithocanthon Gunter & Weir new genus includes six species: Monteithocanthon elliotensis Gunter & Weir new species, Monteithocanthon koombooloomba Gunter & Weir new species, and Monteithocanthon paraarator Gunter & Weir new species from northern Queensland, Australia; Monteithocanthon peckorum Gunter & Weir new species from southwestern Western Australia; and two species formally included within Lepanus, Monteithocanthon arator (Matthews, 1974) new combination and Monteithocanthon glaber (Matthews, 1974) new combination. Sauvagesinella loftyensis (Matthews & Weir, 2002) new combination is transferred from Lepanus on the basis of genetic and morphological similarities.

 

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