Ochodaeus Dejean, 1821

Ziani, Stefano, 2020, The genus Ochodaeus in Italy: taxonomy and distribution (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Ochodaeidae), Insecta Mundi 2020 (805), pp. 1-16 : 2-3

Genus Ochodaeus Dejean, 1821

Ochodaeus Dejean 1821: 56 . Ádám 1980: 187; Burakowski et al. 1983: 27; Koch 1991: 356; Král 1993: 67; López-Colón 1993: 289; Krell and Fery 1998: 210; Bunalski 1999: 9; Martín-Piera and López-Colón 2000: 100; López-Colón 2003: 140; Gueorguiev and Bunalski 2004: 269; López-Colón et al. 2006: 95; Smith 2006: 155; Bouchard et al. 2011: 235; Nikolajev and Bezděk 2016: 67.

Psephus Kirby and Spence 1826: 678 . Erichson 1848: 922 (as synonym of Ochodaeus Megerle ); Westwood 1852: 61 (attributed to Macleay, as synonym of Ochodaeus Megerle ); Gemminger and Harold 1869: 1073 (attributed to Kirby alone, as junior synonym of Ochodaeus Serville ); Arrow 1912: 21 (as junior synonym of Ochodaeus Serville ); Nikolajev and Bezděk 2016: 67 (as junior synonym of Ochodaeus Dejean ).

Type species.

• Ochodaeus Dejean, 1821 : Melolontha chrysomelina Fabricius, 1792 (under Article 67.7 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999) – cited as “ Ochodaeus Chrysomelinus ”), junior synonym of Scarabaeus chrysomeloides Schrank, 1781 , by monotypy.

• Psephus Kirby and Spence, 1826 : Scarabaeus chrysomeloides Schrank, 1781 (under Article 67.7 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999) – cited as “ Melolontha chrysomeloides Schranck [!]”) by monotypy.

Historical review. The name Ochodaeus was first used by Dejean (1821), without a description, to include the single species O. chrysomeloides ( Schrank, 1781) . Subsequently, Le Peletier de St. Fargeau and Serville (1828) provided a description of the genus. Dejean’s name was considered “ nomen nudum ” by all the authors who during the next 150 years and more, dealt with the subject, and Ochodaeus was therefore considered available from Le Peletier de St. Fargeau and Serville (1828). After Reitter (1892), nearly all the authors simply quoted the genus as “ Ochodaeus Serville ” which was maintained until Ádám (1980) who recognized the authorship of Dejean. As explained by López-Colón (1993), even if Dejean (1821) did not describe the genus, he included under it an available specific name. For this, and for Article 12.2.5. of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999), the generic name is available from Dejean (1821). After Ádám (1980), virtually all the subsequent authors cited the right authorship and year for the genus.

Some old authors, as Dejean (1821) himself, attributed the authorship of Ochodaeus to Johann Carl Megerle von Mühlfeld, an Austrian entomologist who lived between 18 th and 19 th century. According to Woodruff (1973), Megerle used the name in a manuscript that was never published. Ochodaeus Megerle is a “ nomen in litteris ”, hence not available.

For a short time, Ochodaeus has been considered as junior synonym of Codocera Eschscholtz, 1821 ( Reitter 1883; Baudi di Selve 1889), until Reitter (1891) who deemed Ochodaeus a valid name again.

The name Psephus is available from Kirby and Spence (1826) (Article 12.2.5. of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999)), but having as type species Scarabaeus chrysomeloides Schrank , the same of Ochodaeus Dejean, 1821 , is a junior objective synonym of the latter.

Natural history. As happens with some other Scarabaeoidea , such as Glaresidae , little is known about the biology of the Ochodaeidae . The genus Ochodaeus is definitively not coprophagous, either in larval or adult stages. Adults fly at sunset and night-time and are usually attracted to light in small numbers. Nevertheless, several dozen specimens were collected at sunset, netted on short grass in a meadow, as reported by Melloni and Landi (1997). Paulian (1959) supposed that O. chrysomeloides could feed on fungi, and Woodruff (1973) suggested the American species of Ochodaeidae could feed on subterranean fungi. According to Griffini (1896), O. chrysomeloides can be collected in carrion, which was confirmed by Ádám (1979) who reported an unidentified Ochodaeus species being collected in a trap baited with rotten meat in Tunisia.