Ligyrus villosus ( Burmeister, 1847 )

Ratcliffe, Brett C., Cave, Ronald D. & Mondaca, José, 2021, The Dynastine Scarab Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) of Chile, The Coleopterists Bulletin 75 (2), pp. 279-309 : 289-291

Ligyrus villosus ( Burmeister, 1847) ( Figs. 18–22 )

Podalgus villosus Burmeister 1847: 120 (original combination).

Oryctes nitidicollis Solier 1851: 79 (synonym).

Ligyrus patagonus Steinheil 1872: 560 (synonym).

Redescription. Length 13.0– 19.2 mm; width 6.6–9.9 mm. Color light to dark reddish brown ( Fig. 22 ). Head: Frons coarsely rugopunctate. Frontoclypeal carina arcuate, slightly depressed at middle, not reaching sides of head. Clypeus rugopunctate to transversely rugose, tapering to narrow, emarginate apex with 2 reflexed teeth. Mandibles with broadly rounded basal lobe and 2 teeth, apical tooth acute. Interocular width equals 5.0 transverse eye diameters. Pronotum: Surface with small, sparse punctures, punctures denser on lateral margins.Anterior margin with small, median tubercle (may be obsolete in small specimens), fovea absent. Elytra: Surface punctate-striate, punctures small to moderately large, dense, ocellate. Pygidium: Surface with punctures small to moderate in size, dense, weakly ocellate, with minute and tawny setae. In lateral view, convex in male, weakly convex in female. Legs: Protibia tridentate, basal tooth slightly removed. Male protarsus simple. Metatibial apex with about 18–22 spinules. Venter: Prosternal process tall, thick, apex rounded with long, dense, reddish brown setae. Parameres: As in Fig. 20 .

Distribution. Ligyrus villosus occurs in southern Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

Locality Records ( Fig. 21 ). 490 specimens from ABCB, AMNH, BYUC, CASC, CMNC, CMNH, CNCI, DEBU, FMNH, FSCA, INHS, JMEC, LEMQ, MAHC, MNNC, RHMC, SAGC, SLTC, UMSP, USNM, Ferrú and Elgueta (2011), and Neita-Moreno and Ratcliffe (2017) .

REGIÓN DE ANTOFAGASTA (31): EL LOA (2): Guatín, San Pedro de Atacama; TOCOPILLA (29): Quillagua. REGIÓN DE LA ARAUCANÍA (14): CAUTÍN (4): INIA Carrillanca, Licán Ray, Temuco, Termas de Río Blanco; MALLECO (10): Angol, Reserva Nacional Lago Galletué; REGIÓN DE ARICA Y PARINACOTA (32): ARICA (32): Camarones, Molinos, Río Lluta, Valle de Azapa. REGIÓN DE ATACAMA (6): COPIAPÓ (5): Caldera, Copiapó, Río Pulido, Totoral; HUASCO (1): Vallenar (15 km N). REGIÓN DEL BIOBÍO (66): ARAUCO (9): Cerro La Gloria, Contulmo; BIOBÍO (2): Salto del Laja; CONCEPCIÓN (55): Concepción, Estación de Ferrocarril Escuadrón, Fundo Pinares, Hualqui, Reserva Nacional Nonguén, Río Andalién, Talcahuano. REGIÓN DE COQUIMBO (136): CHOAPA (84): Agua Dulce, Los Vilos (7 km N), Playa El Ñague, Salamanca; ELQUI (34): El Molle, Hacienda El Tangue, La Serena, Los Choros, Monte Grande, Playa Totoralillo, Playa Guanaqueros, Río Los Choros, Tongoy, Valle del Elqui, Vicuña (8.5 km S, 11 km S); LIMARÍ (18): Altos de Talinay, Caleta El Toro, Combarbalá, Corral de Julio, Guampulla, La Ternera, Punitaqui, Punta Teatinos, Quebrada Seca, Valle de Limarí. REGIÓN DEL LIBERTADOR GENERAL BERNARDO O’HIGGINS (30): CACHAPOAL (18): Doñihue, El Manzano, Rosario, San Francisco de Mostazal, San Vicente de Tagua Tagua (6 km SW). CARDENAL CARO (8): Las Cruces, Matanzas, Pichilemu; COLCHAGUA (4): Los Maquis. REGIÓN DE LOS LAGOS (2): CHILOÉ (1): Reserva Natural Río Bravo Lodge; LLANQUIHUE (1): Maullín. REGIÓN DE LOS RÍOS (5): RANCO (2): Coñaripe, Fundo Chollinco Lodge; VALDIVIA (3): Reserva Costera Valdiviana, Rincón de la Piedra. REGIÓN DEL MAULE (51): CAUQUENES (5): Cauquenes, Chanco, Curanipe, Pelluhue, Sauzal; CURICÓ (35): Curicó (4, km E, 12 km SW), El Colgo, Los Niches (2 km W), Los Queñes (6 km E), Potrero Grande (35 km SE), Reserva Nacional Laguna Torca, Río Claro at Ruta 5, Río Teno; LINARES (2): San Javier, Villalobos; TALCA (9): Carrizalillo, La Mina. REGIÓN DE ÑUBLE (27): DIGUILLÍN (27): Quillón, Recinto, Río Pinto (E of Chillán). REGIÓN METROPOLITANA DE SANTIAGO (50): CHACABUCO (6): Caleu, Colina, Cuesta La Dormida, Portezuelo Hondo, Tiltil; CORDILLERA (7): El Canelo, El Toyo, Puente El Yeso, Reserva Nacional Río Clarillo, San Alfonso; MAIPO (2): San Bernardo, Túnel Angostura; MELIPILLA (8): Alhué, Pallocabe; SANTIAGO (26): Cerro San Cristóbal, La Cisterna, La Florida, Lampa, Las Condes, Lo Prado, Macul, Pilay, Pudahuel, Quebrada de la Plata, Renca, Santiago; TALAGANTE (1): Talagante. REGIÓN DE TARAPACÁ (4): IQUIQUE (1): Iquique; TAMARUGAL (3): Campamento Refresco, Quebrada de Tarapacá, Reserva Nacional Pampa del Tamarugal. REGIÓN DE VALPARAÍSO (36): MARGA MARGA (4): Limache, Villa Alemana; PETORCA (9): Catapilco, Cuesta El Melón, Los Molles, Los Perales, Zapallar; QUILLOTA (2): Parque Nacional La Campana, Quillota; SAN ANTONIO (16): El Convento, El Quisco, El Tabo, Las Cruces, Playa El Canelo, Punta de Tralca, San Antonio, San Sebastián; VALPARAÍSO (5): Caleta Horcón, Mantagua Village, Valparaíso.

Temporal Distribution. January (23), February (108), March (57), April (5), May (3), July (3),

August (20), September (50), October (96), November (32), December (36).

Diagnosis. Ligyrus villosus is easily recognized by the nearly smooth pronotal surface or with micropunctures only ( Fig. 18 ); presence of long, dense setae on the metaventrite and margins of the metatibiae; and form of the parameres ( Fig. 20 ).

Natural History. Adults are attracted to lights at night. Some specimens have been taken in coastal sand dunes near the ocean. Gutiérrez (1945) observed the mating behavior of L. villosus in Chile in which the males flew searching for females and copulation occurred below the soil surface in the same hole from where the females emerged.

Figures

Figs. 18–21. Ligyrus villosus. 18) Lectotype at MLUH; 19) Lectotype labels; 20) Parameres; 21) Distribution. Images in Figs. 18–19 courtesy of Karla Schneider (Zentralmagazin Naturwissenschaftlicher Sammlungen der Martin- Luther-Universität Halle, Germany).

Fig. 22. Ligyrus villosus. Photograph by Patrich Cerpa, Santiago, Chile.