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Issue: Vol. 5866 No. 1: 10 Aug. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-08-10
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5866.1.8
Page range: 111-123
Abstract views: 380
PDF downloaded: 16

Eliottocanthus umbricola, a new genus and species of Scarabaeinae from the relict scarp forest of oNgoye, KwaZulu‑Natal, South Africa (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Institut Systématique; Evolution; Biodiversité (ISYEB); UMR 7205; CNRS; MNHN; SU; EPHE; UA; Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle; CP 50; 45 rue Buffon; F-75005 Paris; France; UMR 5199 du CNRS; PACEA; De la Préhistoire à l’Actuel : Culture; Environnement & Anthropologie; Université de Bordeaux; Bât. B 8; allée Geoffroy St Hilaire; CS 50023; 33615 Pessac Cedex; France
Département AVIV; UMR 7179; MECADEV; MNHN/CNRS; Entomologie; Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle; 45 rue Buffon; F‑75005 Paris; France
Ditsong National Museum of Natural History; 432 Paul Kruger Street; Pretoria 0001; Gauteng; South Africa; School of Life Sciences; University of KwaZulu‑Natal; Private Bag X01; Scottsville 3209; South Africa
Coleoptera Taxonomy Scarabaeinae relict scarp forest litter-dwelling beetles Pleistocene refugia KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

Eliottocanthus Huchet, gen. nov., with Eliottocanthus umbricola Huchet & Montreuil, sp. nov. as its type species, is described from the oNgoye Forest Reserve, KwaZulu‑Natal, South Africa, and compared with morphologically similar genera traditionally assigned to Deltochilini. The new taxon is readily distinguished by its strongly convex, sublenticular body, quadridentate clypeus with the median teeth markedly more developed than the lateral ones, eyes deeply emarginate by a broad, inwardly expanded canthus, and elytra bearing 10 striae, including seven dorsal striae and three lateral striae situated between the pseudepipleural and epipleural carinae. It is further characterized by a remarkable sexual dimorphism, the male bearing a robust, apical hook‑like projection at the inner angle of the metatibia. The aedeagus exhibits strongly asymmetrical parameres, the right paramere extending anteriorly as a flattened, rounded chitinous plate. This litter‑dwelling species appears to be strictly restricted to the relict scarp forest of oNgoye. A distribution map showing the type locality is provided.

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How to Cite

Huchet, J.-B., Montreuil, O. & Strümpher, W.P. (2026) Eliottocanthus umbricola, a new genus and species of Scarabaeinae from the relict scarp forest of oNgoye, KwaZulu‑Natal, South Africa (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Zootaxa, 5866 (1), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5866.1.8