Parachorius javanus (Boucomont, 1914)

Tarasov, Sergei, 2018, Two new synonyms in the dung beetle genus Parachorius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) from the Oriental Region, Zootaxa 4462 (1), pp. 139-140 : 139

Parachorius javanus (Boucomont, 1914)

Cassolus javanus Boucomont, 1914: 251 (type locality: Sokabumi [West Java]); Balthasar 1963: 263

Parachorius javanus: Tarasov 2017: 128

Parachorius singgalangensis Ochi, Kon & Hartini, 2017: 68 (type locality: Mt Singgalang , West Sumatra), new synonymy

The original description treats P. singgalangensis to be the closest relative of P. javanus . The authors of the original description did not examine the types of P. javanus and misidentified it, which caused them to conclude that P. singgalangensis is a new species. The shape of parameres (which are medially narrowed and apically acute), of what the authors consider to be the aedeagus of P. javanus (Figs. 10–12 in Ochi et al. 2017a), clearly indicates that their “ P. javanus ” represents another but closely related species P. pseudojavanus Tarasov, 2017 . At the same time the aedeagus illustrations of P. singgalangensis (Figs. 7–8 in Ochi et al. 2017a), where parameres are notched basally and claw shaped in lateral view, belong to the true P. javanus (see Fig. 14A, E in Tarasov 2017). Besides the shape of aedeagus P. javanus differs from P. pseudojavanus by the first tooth of protibia notably modified in males and approximately twice as wide as the second tooth. This diagnostic character is also mentioned and illustrated for P. singgalangensis (Fig. 3 in Ochi et al. 2017a). Thus, based on these evidence, I can confidently conclude that P. singgalangensis is a junior synonym of P. javanus .

Parachorius javanus has been only known by one male holotype from West Java, the study of Ochi et al. (2017a) provides a new distribution record of this species, based on three specimens, for West Sumatra (Mt. Singgalang).