Lepanus lingziae Gunter & Weir, 2019

Gunter, Nicole L. & Weir, Thomas A., 2019, Revision of Australian species of the dung beetle genus Lepanus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae): key to species groups and description of 14 new species from the L. pygmaeus species group, Zootaxa 4564 (1), pp. 41-80 : 69

Lepanus lingziae Gunter & Weir , new species

( Figs. 6A , 8G , 11B , 14 )

Type series. Holotype: ♂ “NEQ:19°01'Sx 146°24'E, BalgalBeach 4-12 Feb 1998, 5m Monteith & Cook, 1734, dung pitfall, openfor” / “ANIC Database No. 25- 060389 ” / “ Lepanus NQ27 det. T.A.Weir 2012” / “ANIC Image” / “T244824” in QM. Paratype: Queensland: Windsor Tableland , 30 km from main road, [16°17'S, 145°5'E], 28.xi– 20.xii.1985, R.I. Storey & Brown, (25- 060388 × 1 ♀ in ANIC) .

Description. Bicoloured, head is dark brown and rest of the body is a lighter brown. Antennal clubs grey.

Total length: 2.4 mm. Holotype measurements: Total length 2.4 mm, elytral width 1.7 mm.

Male: Head: Broad U-shaped between clypeal teeth, which are short and slightly upturned. Margin slightly angulate at clypeogenal suture. Genal angle weakly defined. Basal carina obsolete. Dorsal part of eyes narrow in size, separated by an interocular space approximately 16 times eye width (32: 2); eye canthus dividing eye. Head 1.3 × wider than long (43:33).

Prothorax: Basal margin slightly angulate. Hypomeral surface smooth with light punctation. Hypomeral striae about half the length of hypomeron. Pronotum 1.65 × wider than long (66:40).

Elytra: Surface smooth. Striae 1–4 narrow and double, with very fine punctate edges; striae 5–7 single. All striae not equal width, striae 5–7 are weaker and narrower. Elytra 1.05 × wider than long (85:80).

Legs: Front edge of protibiae deeply angulate; apical digit somewhat elongate and sharp; 2 teeth on outer edge. Inner edge of metatibiae almost straight. Metatarsi with 2nd tarsomere subequal to the 5th. Tarsal claws minute, appearing simple.

Abdomen: Pygidium with a broad U-shaped smooth depression with angulate upper edge. Depression occupies more than half size of disc and extends under the concave upper edge of pygidium. No tubercle is present in depression. Abdominal surface reticulate. Abdominal ventrites finely reticulate right across. Segment 6 punctate.

Pterothorax: Medial lobe of metaventrite finely punctate and broadly margined between mesocoxae. Lateral lobe of metaventrite smooth and punctate with setae. Meso-metaventral suture slightly arched. Mesoventrite with slight notch anteriorly. Mesoventrite and mesepimeron smooth. Metanepisternum reticulate.

Female: Depression on pygidium slightly larger than in male, otherwise as per the L. pygmaeus species group.

Etymology. Named for Lingzi Zhao, a visiting scientist at the ANIC.

Distribution. Known from only two specimens collected from open forests of the WET bioregion ( Fig. 14 ). Its rarity in collections may reflect the limited sampling or rarity in the environment.

Comments. This species has previously been referred to as “ Lepanus NQ27” under the informal nomenclature sensu Yeates et al. (2011).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Habitus of species within the Lepanus pygmaeus species group. A, Lepanus lingziae; B, Lepanus mckenziei; C, Lepanus menendezae; D, Lepanus pecki; E: Lepanus podocarp; F, Lepanus pungalina. All specimens in comparative scale. Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 8. Pygidial configuration of species within the Lepanus pygmaeus species group. A, Lepanus andersonorum; B, Lepanus crenidens; C, Lepanus feehani; D, Lepanus gubara; E, Lepanus guthrieae; F, Lepanus lentil; G, Lepanus lingziae; H, Lepanus mckenziei; I, Lepanus menendezae. All specimens in comparative scale. Scale bar 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 11. Left, dorsal, and right view of aedeagi of species within the Lepanus pygmaeus species group. A, Lepanus lentil; B, Lepanus lingziae; C, Lepanus mckenziei; D, Lepanus menendezae; E, Lepanus pecki. Not in comparative scale, given size difference aedegi are roughly grouped in three size classes as per lower left schematic and scaled accordingly. Size class indicated by shaded silhouette and 0.2 mm scale bar.

FIGURE 14. Map of known records for 10 species within the Lepanus pygmaeus species group overlaid with predicted distribution boundary of L. pygmaeus (dashed line) taken from Fig. 13 map.