Taxonomic revision of the Dichotomius speciosus (Waterhouse, 1891) species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Abstract

The Dichotomius speciosus species group, endemic to the highlands of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and included in the subgenus Luederwaldtinia is taxonomically revised. Dichotomius alvarengai new species and D. malyi new species are described. Dichotomius bucki is here considered to be a new synonym of D. opalescens, for which a lectotype is designated. The group, as well as its species, is diagnosed. A taxonomic key, illustrations and discussions on systematics and conservation of the group are provided.

Dung beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeinae) from high-altitude grasslands in São Joaquim National Park, Santa Catarina, southern Brazil

“…They were identified using dichotomous keys and species diagnoses (Harold 1867, 1869b, Schmidt 1922, Luederwaldt 1929, Boucomont 1932, Balthasar 1939, Pessôa and Lane 1941, Edmonds 2000, Edmonds and Zídek 2010, Maldaner et al 2015. A leading specialist in scarabaeine taxonomy, Dr Fernando Vaz de Mello (Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil) confirmed all identifications.…”

“…Coprophanaeus (M.) saphirinus is attracted to herbivorous feces (Martínez 1959), humans feces, rotten meat, rotten fruit (Almeida and Louzada 2009, 2012b, Lima et al 2015 Martínez, 1951, and Selenocopris Burmeister, 1846(Martínez 1951Vaz-de-Mello et al 2011). The subgenus Luederwaldtinia has 65 valid species assigned to 13 species-groups (Nunes and Vaz-de-Mello 2013;Maldaner et al 2015;Nunes et al 2016). Some Dichotomius species show extremely restricted distributions (Nunes and Vaz-de-Mello 2013;Maldaner et al 2015;Nunes et al 2016).…”

“…The subgenus Luederwaldtinia has 65 valid species assigned to 13 species-groups (Nunes and Vaz-de-Mello 2013;Maldaner et al 2015;Nunes et al 2016). Some Dichotomius species show extremely restricted distributions (Nunes and Vaz-de-Mello 2013;Maldaner et al 2015;Nunes et al 2016). That is the case of Dichotomius (Luederwaldtinia) opalescens (Felsche, 1910), the only species of this genus sampled in the SJNP so far.…”

“…That is the case of Dichotomius (Luederwaldtinia) opalescens (Felsche, 1910), the only species of this genus sampled in the SJNP so far. This species belongs to the D. (L.) speciosus (Waterhouse, 1891) species group, which comprises four species restricted to areas above 1,000 m altitude in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Maldaner et al 2015). Dichotomius (L.) opalescens is restricted to the Serra Geral mountain range (the northern Rio Grande do Sul and southern Santa Catarina states), and thus it is considered as Endangered (EN), according to the conservation status based on the extent of occurrence applied by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (Maldaner et al 2015).…”

“…Dichotomius (L.) opalescens is restricted to the Serra Geral mountain range (the northern Rio Grande do Sul and southern Santa Catarina states), and thus it is considered as Endangered (EN), according to the conservation status based on the extent of occurrence applied by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (Maldaner et al 2015). However, its distribution covers at least three national conservation units in southern Brazil: São Joaquim National Park, Aparados da Serra National Park, and São Francisco de Paula National Forest (Maldaner et al 2015). The biology of this species is poorly known.…”