Tehuacania howdeni Endrödi, 1975

Bitar, Alberto & Morón, Miguel Ángel, 2009, Description of the female of Tehuacania howdeni Endrödi (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Oryctini), with a key to the genera of Oryctini from Mexico, Zootaxa 2048, pp. 65-68 : 65-66

Tehuacania howdeni Endrödi, 1975

( Figs. 1–5 )

Material examined: “ MEXICO: Puebla, Santa Maria Coapan; Junio, 2000. L. García” (1 female) ( ITCV); “ MEXICO: Puebla, Santa Maria Coapan; Julio, 2000, L. García.” (1 female) ( CABS); “ MEXICO: Puebla, Tlacotepec de Juárez, Santa Maria La Alta, 18-VI-1998, 1960 m, luz fluor. V. Sánchez” (1 female) ( MXAL); “ 20 m NW Tehuacan Pueb. Mexico, VIII.10.61. [Edward] Greenwood” (1 male holotype) ( CMNC).

Description. Female ( Figs. 1–4 ): Total body length 31.7–33.7 mm; maximum elytral width: 17.3–17.8 mm. Head, pronotum and elytra dark reddish black; legs and ventral region reddish black to almost black. Head: Clypeus strongly contracted, not reflexed; surface rugose; apex truncated. Frons with 2 small transverse protuberances, not connected; surface strongly punctate. Mandibles simple, emarginated; apex not incised. Surface of mentum with strong punctation to sparse smaller punctation, with long setae at sides, glabrous medially. Galea ventrally without setae, with dense setae dorsally. Antennae with 10 antennomeres, club short. Pronotum: broader than longer, convex; base bordered; sides curved; without tubercles; anterior marginal bead incomplete; punctures small, wrinkled at side and apical region; without setae. Prosternum: Prosternal process laminate. Elytra: shape longer than broad, with rows of small punctures; elytral sutural striae not well defined throughout its extension, with rows of small punctures. Metathoracic wings well developed. Legs: protibia tridentate, apical teeth triangular, closer together in relation to basal teeth, mesotibia and metatibiae triangularly dilated toward apex, both with transverse carina distinct and setose. Protarsi not thickened. Basal metatarsomere clearly enlarged. Abdomen: Pygidium convex with sparse micropunctation. Propygidium without stridulatory area; densely punctate with sparse, short setae. Genital plates ( Fig. 3 ), ventromesial plates broad with shallow, circular impressions on surface, sides convergent, apex rounded with scattered setae; laterodorsal plates narrowed with apical border coarsely tridentate, without setae.

Male ( Fig.5 ): Similar to female, except that the small transverse protuberances of the frons are slightly conical, with pointed apex. Basal border of last abdominal sternite weakly emarginate medially.

Type locality: 20 mi NW Tehuacan, State of Puebla, Mexico (approximately 18° 24‘ N, 96° 50‘ W).

Distribution: Known only from three localities in the Valley of Tehuacan, in the vicinity of the following towns: Tlacotepec de Díaz, Santa María La Alta and Santa María Coapan ( Fig. 6 ).

Biological data: This species inhabits xerophilous shrub located between 1,600–1,960 m in elevation. The adults have been collected sporadically at light traps in June, July and August. Feeding habits of adults and larvae are unknown.

It is possible that the species are not commonly attracted to lights because their main activity occurs in the evening. Intense searching during day hours under rotten vegetal matter, on the stalks of plants, as well as with light traps did not turn up more specimens. The sites where the specimens were collected are located near the borders of the Tehuacan- Cuicatlan Biosphere Reserve (CONABIO-RTP-121), which is well known for the richness of xerophilous endemic plants, mainly cacti ( Arriaga et al. 2000). We hope that a large population of T. howdeni lives in the reserve.

Remarks: Weak sexual dimorphism, lack of complex cephalic or pronotal structures and the lack of projections in the external border of the mandibles of T. howdeni may be indications of a primitive species of the Oryctini.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Distribution of Tehuacania howdeni. 1 — type locality, 1961; 2 — Santa María La Alta, 1998; 3 — Santa María Coapan, 2000. Base map adapted from Roji & Roji (2008).

FIGURES 1 – 5. Tehuacania howdeni Endrödi. Female. 1 — Dorsal view; 2 — Head and pronotum, 3 — Genitalia plates, 4 — Lateral view. Male. 5 — Lateral view holotype. Scale bar for Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5 = 1 cm; Fig. 3 = 1 mm.