Digitonthophagus gazella ( Fabricius, 1787 )

Hielkema, Auke J. & Hielkema, Meindert A., 2019, An annotated checklist of the Scarabaeoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera) of the Guianas, Insecta Mundi 732 (732), pp. 1-306 : 89-90

§ Digitonthophagus gazella ( Fabricius, 1787)

Scarabaeus gazella Fabricius 1787b: 377 ( Zimbabwe - NEOTYPE)

Distribution. Brazil: Vaz-de-Mello 2000: 193; Pulido Herrera and Zunino 2007: 120; Noriega et al. 2010: 452; Génier and Krell 2017: 78; Génier and Moretto 2017: 39. Venezuela: Noriega et al. 2010: 452; Ferrer-Paris et al. 2013: 109; Génier and Krell 2017: 78. Other: Fabricius 1787b: 377 (none - as Scarabaeus gazella ); Gillet and Boucomont 1927: 138, 170 (central and southern Africa, Madagascar, Arabian Peninsula, India - as Onthophagus gazella ); Blackwelder 1944 (not mentioned); Balthasar 1963b: 365 (eastern, western and southern Africa, Arabian Peninsula, India, Madagascar - as Onthophagus (Digitonthophagus) gazella ); Barbero and López-Guerrero 1992: 115 (Mexico, U.S.A., Afrotropical region, Arabian Peninsula, Australia, Easter Island, India, Madagascar, Oceania); Pulido Herrera and Zunino 2007: 120 (Antilles, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, U.S.A.); Noriega et al. 2010: 452 (Antilles, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, U.S.A., Uruguay, Indoafrican); Génier and Krell 2017: 78 (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, U.S.A., West Indies, Africa, Australia, Easter Island, Japan, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe - designation NEOTYPE Onthophagus gazella ); Génier and Moretto 2017: 39 (West Indies, Mexico, U.S.A., Australian, Afrotropical, Madagascar, Oceania).

Note. Digitonthophagus gazella was first introduced in the New World ( U.S.A.) in 1972 as a means to enhance manure degradation in pastures ( Barbero and López-Guerrero 1992). It has since been released in various locations, while it disperses by its own means as well. Boilly and Vaz-de-Mello (2013: 106) state that this species is “sûrement présent dans les pâturages côtiers [de Guyane française]” (“surely present in the coastal pastures [of French Guiana]”), but we are unaware of actual records from the research area. Because the species is still expanding its range, its arrival in the research area, if not already a fact, may just be a matter of time.