Mecopelidnota rabinovichi ( Martínez, 1971 ) Mondaca & Seidel, 2019

Mondaca, José & Seidel, Matthias, 2019, Taxonomic review of the genus Catoclastus from Peru (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) 59 (2), pp. 561-567 : 565-566

Mecopelidnota rabinovichi ( Martínez, 1971) comb. nov.

( Figs 4A–D )

Catoclastus rabinovichi Martínez, 1971: 79–82 (original description).

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: J ( MACN), labeled: a) ‘HOLO- TYPUS’ [red typeset label]; b) ‘ PERU / D° CUZCO / Ollantaytambo / Nov: 952 / F. Monrós. leg- / Coll. Martínez’ [beige handwritten label]; c) ‘ Catoclastus / rabinovichi / sp. nov. / A. MARTÍNEZ-DET. 1970’ [red handwritten and typeset label]; d) ‘MACN-En / 1432’.

Diagnosis. Mecopelidnota rabinovichi is distinguished from all other Mecopelidnota Bates, 1904 by the symmetrical parameres that lack ventral projections (asymmetrical parameres with ventral projections in M. arrowi Bates, 1904 , M. cylindrica (Waterhouse, 1876) and M. marxi Soula, 2008 ). Additionally, Mecopelidnota rabinovichi is distinguished from other Mecopelidnota species by the apices of parameres widely rounded and diverging laterally leaving a wide gap between them (apices of parameres pointed with a narrow gap between them in M. gerardi Soula, 2008 , M. dewynteri Soula, 2008 , M. witti Ohaus, 1913 and M. mezai Soula, 2008 ). The aedeagus of M. obscura (Taschenberg, 1870) remains undescribed, but the species is likely endemic to Colombia and Ecuador and does not overlap with the distribution of M. rabinovichi .

Comments to classification. The habitus of Catoclastus rabinovichi matches that of Mecopelidnota rather than the type species of Catoclastus . The large eyes with an interocular width of 2.3 transverse eye diameters (ca. 2–3 in Mecopelidnota ; 4.7 in Catoclastus ), the finely punctured head, pronotum and elytra (rugosely punctured in Catoclastus ) and the compact head (more elongated in Catoclastus ) support the placement in Mecopelidnota . A semicircular notch at the base of the metatibia was suggested as a diagnostic character for Mecopelidnota but never evaluated for all species of the genus ( MOORE et al. 2017). The holotype of Catoclastus rabinovichi lacks that character and a detailed species-level analysis of Mecopelidnota will be required to confirm the importance of this character for the generic attribution. Furthermore, the poorly resolved genus level systematics of ‘pelidnotine’ leaf chafers and the lack of a phylogenetic framework do not allow us to rule out that a new genus will need to be established for C. rabinovichi .

As a result of this transfer, the genus Mecopelidnota is now composed of nine valid species that are distributed in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru ( MOORE et al. 2017).

Distribution. Peru: Cusco department (Ollantaytambo, 3500 m).

Figures

Fig. 4. Morphology of Mecopelidnota rabinovichi (Martínez, 1971). A–B – holotype of Catoclastus rabinovichi (dorsal and lateral habitus). C – male specimen (dorsal view). D – parameres (holotype, frontal view). E – holotype labels.