Tesserodoniella meridionalis, Vaz-De-Mello & Halffter, 2006

Vaz-De-Mello, Fernando Z. & Halffter, Gonzalo, 2006, A new dung beetle genus with two new species from Chile (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), Zootaxa 1193 (1), pp. 59-68 : 65-66

Tesserodoniella meridionalis sp. nov.

( Figs. 6–10 )

Holotype

♂. CHILE: VII Región del Maule: Constitución, Pantanillos , 17 December 2003, “Tramp barber bosque de Nothophagus (sic) glauca ”, leg. W. Navarrete leg. ( MNNC).

Paratypes

4♂, 2♀. CHILE: VII Región del Maule: same as holotype (2 ♂ JMEC, 1 ♀ MNNC, 1♂ UNSM); Constitución, Pantanillo, Empedrado , September 2002, Wilson Navarrete leg., barber trap. (1♂ FVMC) . CHILE: VIII Región del Biobío: Ñuble: Cerro Cayumanqui , 5 December 2004, 36º42’08’’ S, 72º30’36’’ W, “barber”, J. Mondaca E. leg. (1 ♀ CMNC) .

Description

Holotype male. Head ( Fig. 6 ) clypeus with two elongated triangular teeth separated by U­shaped emargination; each tooth with small, obtuse, external lobe. Clypeo­genal border sharply angulate. Dorsal eye surface ovoid, twice as long as wide; interocular region more than 15 eye widths wide. Prothorax rhomboidal, almost one and a half times wider than long. Median longitudinal line absent. Posterior angles completely rounded. Elytra ( Fig. 7 ) with discal striae weak but conspicuous. Interstriae with small rounded shiny spots on microgranulated surface. Seventh interstria with conspicuous discal tubercle, tubercle located where seventh interstria meets sixth. Fifth interstria with tubercle in apical third, third and fourth interstriae each with one conspicuous apical tubercle. Lateral carina absent, but pseudoepipleuron conspicuously delimited. Legs. Protibia internally curved with external border bearing three conspicuous and apically narrowed teeth, internal border with apical tooth directed forward and downward. Metaemur ( Fig. 8 ) with posterior ventral carina subapically forming rounded lobe. Internal border of metatibiae without tubercles. Venter with mesosternum approximately twice as long as wide. Pygidium with basal sulcus obtusely angulate medially. Parameres ( Fig. 9 ) half the length of phallobase.

Variation

Paratypes vary in size (5.1–6.1 mm) and width (widest at prothorax: 3.2–4.1 mm). Females differ from males in the following respects: protibial teeth wider and stronger, apical internal tooth almost lacking; hind femur with posterior apical lobe rounded; metatibia straighter and more widened apically, external serrations less conspicuous; abdominal ventrite 5 feebly narrowed medially.

Remarks

Specimens were caught in a region originally covered by Nothofagus forests, and both sclerophyllous (in arid areas) and hygrophyllous riparian vegetation. This distribution is within the Maule Biogeographical Province (as defined by Morrone 2001, 2006). The northernmost distributions of austral biotic elements are found in this region ( Fig. 10 ).

Figures

FIGURE 10. Map of central Chile showing distribution of Tesserodoniella elguetai n. sp. (circles) and T. meridionalis n. sp. (triangles).

FIGURES 1–9. 1–5. Tesserodoniella elguetai n. sp.: 1. head; 2. elytron; 3. hind leg; 4. parameres; 5. protibia; 6–9. Tesserodoniella meridionalis n. sp.: 6. head; 7. elytron; 8. hind leg; 9. parameres.