Goliathus (Fornasinius) klingbeili Zöller, Fiebig, & Schulze, 1995

Maquart, P. O. & Malec, P., 2017, On the distribution and natural history of a rarely encountered species: Goliathus (Fornasinius) klingbeili Zöller, Fiebig, & Schulze, 1995 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), Zootaxa 4341 (3), pp. 441-444 : 441-442

On the distribution and natural history of a rarely encountered species: Goliathus (Fornasinius) klingbeili Zöller, Fiebig, & Schulze, 1995 ( Coleoptera : Scarabaeidae : Cetoniinae )

P.O. MAQUART 1,3 & P. MALEC 2

1 52 chemin du fief du magny, 85210, Sainte-Hermine, France. E-mail: [e-mail] 2Absolonova 2a, 62400 Brno, Czech Republic. E-mail: [e-mail] 3 Société d’Histoire Naturelle de l’Yonne, 59 rue de la république, 89150 St Valérien, France.

Mudge et al. (2012) surveyed the Cetoniinae ( Coleoptera : Scarabaeidae ) of Ghana and recorded Goliathus (Fornasinius) higginsi Westwood, 1874 , but no other species from this subgenus. We add the rare species Goliathus (Fornasinius) klingbeili Zöller, Fiebig, & Schulze, 1995 as a new country record for Ghana from the dense forests of the Volta and Eastern Regions. The species was previously reported as very rare in Togo ( Zöller et al. 1995) in the northern dry part of the Bafilo Region. We record that the larvae develop in hyrax ( Dendrohyrax dorsalis (Fraser, 1855) (Mammalia: Procaviidae ) middens and can be locally common in this microhabitat. The purpose of this note is to record the new distributional and natural history data, discuss the taxonomy and bionomy of the subgenus Goliathus (Fornasiniu s) Bertoloni, 1852, and provide a key to species.

Flower beetle larvae are typically detritivores and can be found in soil, thatch, compost, rotten wood, tree holes, mammal and bird nests, ant and termite mounds ( Ritcher 1966; Krikken 1984; Holm & Marais 1992). However some of the most notable exceptions are the larvae of Desicasta laevicostata (van de Poll, 1886) , which were found in Panama feeding in plant tissue ( Krell et al. 2002) and the larvae of Anthracophora rusticola Burmeister, 1842 , which are known to feed on dead animal tissue in nests of birds ( Koshiyama et al. 2012). In Ghana, Pachnoda marginata Drury, 1773 larvae were reported from a guano pit in a bat cave at Shai Hills (Orozco & Philips 2012).

Vendl & Šípek (2016) suggested that the natural history and morphology of Goliathus (Goliathus) larvae (e.g., the shape of the mandibles and pretarsus, presence of well-developed stemmata) indicate a shift from pure saprophagy to a predaceous way of life in order to satisfy the need for protein. Le Gall (2010) recorded the saprophagy of Goliathus goliathus (Linnaeus, 1771) larvae in Benin by observing them in decayed trunks of Hildegardia barteri (Mast.) Kosterm. (Malvaceae) . Saprophagy in Goliathus (Fornasinius) larvae has not been recorded, but larvae have been found in hyrax middens (T. Garnier, Montpellier, France, personal observation). In Bafilo, Togo, we here report that larvae and adults of Goliathus (Fornasinius) klingbeili were easily found by digging within the first 30 cm of hyrax middens. Di Gennaro (2014) observed similar larval natural history for Goliathini species in the genera Argyrophegges Kraatz, 1895 (confirmed by P.M., personnal observation) and Hegemus Thomson, 1881 in hyrax middens from the species Heterohyrax brucei (Gray, 1868) and Dendrohyrax dorsalis (Fraser, 1855) , respectively.

Despite their large size and interest among insect collectors, very little is known on the ecology of Goliathus (Fornasinius) . Material in collections typically lack any bionomic or ecological data with the majority of specimens being gathered by local collectors and labelled at most with their country of origin. Adults visit fruits and sap flows and males engage in dominance fights at feeding sites while vying for females. Most species are restricted to rainforest where the genus has reached its peak of expansion and diversification ( Lachaume 1983). The species Goliathus (Fornasinius) fornasini , is the most frequently collected species and lives in dry areas, especially in savanna-type vegetation. According to local collectors from Mara region ( Tanzania), this species occurs in savannah forest from October to December, but may also appear from February to April in the case of sufficient rains. They can be found feeding on sap of Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. (Bignoniaceae) and Acacia zanzibarica (Moore) Taub. (Fabaceae) . Lachaume (1983) also reported G. fornasini adults living, and resting on Acacia trees. In Thika, Kenya, G. fornasini were found on leaves of small trees with a trunk diameter of about 10 cm, in a rather mosaic landscape with absence of old decomposing trees (P. Legrand, Dammarie sur Loing, France, personal observation). Goliathus (Fornasinius) russus has been found on Funtumia africana (Benth.) Stapf (Apocynaceae) ( Moore & Orozco 2014). One male of this species was captured on the ground after a heavy rain in Budongo forest in Uganda (P.M., personal observation).

Goliathus (Fornasinius) klingbeili material examined. Label data verbatim: TOGO: 2 ♀♀: Bafilo, Kara Region, X/2015, local collector (found in Dendrohyrax dorsalis ’s middens). 1 ♂: Badou Forest, Plateaux Region, in a cave, 11/ XII/2015 Gadbugi T. leg (found in Dendrohyrax dorsalis ’s middens). 1 ♂: Badou forest, Plateaux Region, in a cave 21/I/ 2016, Gadbugi T. leg (found in Dendrohyrax dorsalis ’s middens). GHANA: 1 ♂: Getlido village (Afadjato Mountains), Volta Region, lower altitude, 20/X/2015, local collector (found in Dendrohyrax dorsalis ’s middens). 2 ♂♂: Mount Afadjato, 10/IX/2015, local collector. 1 ♂: Ho, Eastern region, IX/2015, local collector (collected by a bird trap) (voucher specimens are deposited in the collection of Le Musée des Confluens, Lyon, France). All the other specimens are deposited in the collection of the Petr Malec (Brno, Czech Republic).

Total length male (from the apex of the clypeal apophysis to the apex of the elytra): TOGO: holotype 67 mm ( Zöller et al. 1995), examined material: 47–56 mm. GHANA: 45–61 mm. Total length female: TOGO: examined material: 51– 57 mm. GHANA: 53–55 mm.