Stiptopodius brancoi Strümpher & Daniel, 2021

Strümpher, Werner P. & Daniel, Gimo M., 2021, A new dung beetle species of the genus Stiptopodius Harold, 1871 (Coleoptera Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) recorded from xeric savanna in Namibia, Zootaxa 4999 (4), pp. 335-342 : 336-340

Stiptopodius brancoi Strümpher & Daniel , new species

( Figs. 1–5 , 9 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:28B9704C-5D11-4BFA-AC09-5558AC5242EE

Type locality: Gocheganas , Khomas District, Namibia .

Type material. Holotype, ♂ ( TMSA, aedeagus extracted) ( Figs. 1–5 ): Rectangle , faded white cardstock: “Go- cheganas [Nature Reserve] 26 | 22°50′S., 17°11′E. | WINDHOEK DISTRICT [Khomas District, Namibia] | 22Feb.- 20March 1982 | Preserv. traps | M.-L.Perinth ” || Rectangle, white cardstock: “Line 1 | Banana bait” || Rectangle, white: “H56379” || Rectangle, red cardstock: “ HOLOTYPE | Stiptopodius brancoi | Strümpher & Daniel 2021”.

Description. Size: Length: 4.4 mm, width across humeri: 2.3 mm.

Colour ( Figs. 1–3 ): Head and pronotum metallic green, elytra brown with brassy reflection, ventral side dark brown with a green metallic reflection. Legs dark brown. Body setae yellow unless stated otherwise below.

Head ( Figs. 1–3 ): Surface sculpted with discrete punctures, punctation varying from fine to large, surfaces between punctures smooth with shiny reflection, sparsely setose. Clypeus broadly rounded, anteriorly sinuated, strongly bidentate, teeth slightly recurved, apically rounded, notch between medial clypeal teeth deeply concave, clypeal edge laterad of teeth recurved and somewhat sinuate; frontoclypeal carina well-defined ( Fig. 3 , red arrow); clypeogenal suture visible. Genal protuberance roughly triangular, angles acute. Frontal carina distinct, entire, not interrupted medially ( Fig. 3 , yellow arrow). Antennae with eight antennomeres; labium setose. Setae around mouthparts dense, yellow to rust brown. Eyes in dorsal view small, slit-shaped.

Pronotum ( Figs. 1–2 ): Convex, slightly wider than long; surface densely punctate, punctation varying from fine (dorsally) to large (laterally), surfaces between punctures smooth with shiny reflection. Pronotum marginate all around, anterolateral sides setose, with central disc mostly glabrous; anterior margin as wide as posterior; lateral edges strongly sinuate before posterolateral angles (in lateral view), lateral sides of pronotum strongly concave from posterolateral angles onward.

Elytra ( Fig. 1 ): With distinct narrow and shallow striae, striae weakly punctate, punctures regularly spaced. Interstriae very slightly convex, interstria I–VI with two rows of punctures aligned on either side leaving middle of interstria impunctate, surface smooth, punctation on interstria VII and VIII irregularly and not aligned in two rows; all interstriae sparsely setose with only some puncture bearing a short seta; all interstriae starting from the basis of elytra except interstria VII which starts from the middle of the humeral umbone. Humeral umbone weakly defined. Lateral margins straight, marginate, bearing row of setae; elytral margin concave proximally, somewhat convex distally.

Pygidium: Marginate , moderately convex, surface with discrete, round punctures, punctation ocellate, surfaces between punctures smooth, shiny, each puncture bearing a short seta.

Metathoracic wings: Complete.

Prosternum: Surface setose, anterior angles of prosternum slanted forward and inward.

Propleuron ( Fig. 2 ): Dull, finely punctate, punctures with long seta, surface between punctures faintly textured.

Mesoventrite ( Fig. 2 ): Dull, finely setose, with closely set large but shallow punctures.

Metaventrite ( Fig. 2 ): Shiny, with metallic green reflection, gibbose anteriorly then sloping forwards; disc glabrous, slightly convex; fairly densely punctate, punctures irregular in size, punctures small or fine medially and on anterior slope, laterally punctures larger on sides and along metaventral margins, larger punctures setiferous, each bearing a long seta.

Abdominal ventrites ( Fig. 2 ): Shiny, with faint metallic green reflection, ventrites with ocellate punctures arranged in rows laterally, punctures setiferous, each with a long seta, glabrous medially; last abdominal ventrite narrowed medially (male character).

Legs ( Figs. 1–2 ): Profemora dorsally and ventrally sparsely punctate, punctures bearing long setae, surfaces smooth; upper fore edge crenulated by closely set punctures bearing very long stiff setae; lower fore edge strongly marginate; hind edge weakly marginate. Meso- and metafemora dorsally and ventrally sparsely punctate, punctures fine, surfaces shiny; a row of widely spaced punctures present between the upper and lower hind edges, punctures bearing long setae; fore and lower hind edges not marginate, upper hind edge marginate. Protibiae with four prominent teeth on outer margin, margin distinctly crenulate basally and between prominent teeth, first two apical teeth very strongly developed, the third tooth intermediate between the second and forth, the forth tooth only slightly larger than basal crenulations; a single row of aligned setae running parallel to outer margin visible in dorsal view; ventrally with two carinae, a median one smooth, running nearly parallel to the outer margin, the other close to the inner margin, crenulated by setiferous closely set punctures. Protibial spur long and inwardly curved. Meso- and metatibiae triangular and strongly widened apically, with strong spur internally projected. Protarsi with five tarsomeres and clearly visible pair of claws; protarsomere V at least 3x longer than others (each individually). Meso- and metatarsomeres I–IV triangular, longer than wide, with internal line of strong setae on tarsomere I, strongly concave medially, bilobate distally, external lobe strong, internal lobe weak; tarsomere V cylindrical and longer than others, followed by pair of very tiny apical claws.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 4 ): Dissection of the aedeagus by previous workers left the phallobase distorted, fortunately parameres were left intact. Parameres symmetrical, somewhat extended, distal portion with acute tips.

Female: Unknown.

Diagnosis. Stiptopodius brancoi new species belongs to the singularis species group based on the shape of the lateral edge of the pronotum, which is strongly sinuate before posterolateral angle (in lateral view; for details see Branco 1991 and Daniel et al. 2020). In the singularis species group the new species is morphologically most similar to Stiptopodius singularis ( Péringuey, 1901) ( Figs. 6–8 ) however, the new species can easily be distinguished from the latter by the distinctive metallic green sheen on the pronotum ( Fig. 1 ), whereas Stiptopodius singularis is predominantly black/brown with metallic sheen ( Fig. 6 ). Furthermore, Stiptopodius brancoi has well-defined frontal carina ( Fig. 4 ), whereas the frontal carina is weak to obsolete in Stiptopodius singularis ( Fig. 6 ). Lastly, the male genitalia of the two species are distinctive. Stiptopodius brancoi have the tips of the distal portion of the parameres more acute, while in Stiptopodius singularis the tips are more rounded or blunt (as shown in Fig. 4 versus Fig. 7 ).

Stiptopodius brancoi new species also bear superficial resemblance to Stiptopodius mullerae Daniel & Deschodt, 2020 . These are the only two species in the group with green metallic pronota. However, the two species can easily be separated as follows: Stiptopodius mullerae is much larger (> 7 mm) and is the single species of the genus which have the head, pronotum and elytra fully/densely setose, whereas Stitopodius brancoi is small (<5 mm) and mostly glabrous in comparison. Male genitalia of both species are distinctive (for a more detailed treatment see Daniel et al. 2020).

Distribution. Stiptopodius brancoi new species is only known from type locality in Namibia ( Fig. 9 ).

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to Tristão Branco (Porto, Portugal), a specialist in Palaearctic and

Afrotropical Scarabaeoidea who worked extensively on Stiptopodius and related genera.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Type locality of Stiptopodius brancoi Strümpher & Daniel, new species in Namibia.

FIGURES 1–5. Stiptopodius brancoi Strümpher & Daniel, new species, holotype male (TMSA). 1, habitus, dorsal view; 2, habitus, ventral view; 3, head and clypeus, dorsal view; red arrow indicate frontoclypeal carina, yellow arrow indicate frontal carina; 4, aedeagus, lateral view; 5, holotype labels.

FIGURES 6–8. Stiptopodius singularis (Péringuey, 1901) (SANC: South African National Collection of Insects, Pretoria, South Africa). 1, habitus, dorsal view; 2, aedeagus, lateral view; 3, labels.