Ateuchus benitojuarezi Moctezuma, Sánchez-Huerta, 2019

Kohlmann, Bert, 2019, A new Ateuchus guatemalensis (Bates, 1887) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) synonym from Mexico, Zootaxa 4624 (4), pp. 593-593 : 593

Recently, Moctezuma et al. (2018) described a new species from Oaxaca named Ateuchus benitojuarezi Moctezuma, Sánchez-Huerta , & Halffter, 2018. The characters they used to diagnose their new species were the existence of an apical spiniform process of the “canoe-shaped” copulatory accessory lamella (only known in A. guatemalensis ; homologous to the frontolateral peripheral sclerite (FLP) of Tarasov & Génier 2015), which is part of the normal variation of accessory copulatory lamellae in Ateuchus ; and a slightly V-shaped clypeus (their photograph shows a specimen with a highly eroded clypeus), where the A. benitojuarezi paratypes I examined show the typical broadly V-shaped clypeus (just like in A. guatemalensis ). A decisive and basically invariant character in the identification of Ateuchus is the shape of the copulatory hooks of the internal sac of the aedeagus, which is identical in A. benitojuarezi and A. guatemalensis . Additionally, A. guatemalensis is the only Mesoamerican species that has a distinctly punctate thorax, a distinctly convex pygidium, and an almost effaced anterior pronotal margin, which were all observed in the A. benitojuarezi paratypes I examined. Moctezuma et al. (2018) cite 8.1 mm as the mean length for A. benitojua rezi; however, the measurements of the four studied paratypes have a mean of 7.25 mm (it is unclear if the originally published mean was incorrect of if I only had smaller paratypes available for study). Lastly, Moctezuma et al. (2018) did not mention any specific specimens of A. guatemalensis used for making comparisons, so it is unclear if their observations were based on specimen comparisons or only based on previously published descriptions. After examining paratypes (kindly provided by G. Halffter) of A. benitojuarezi and comparing them with A. guatemalensis material from Las Flores, Masaya, Nicaragua; El Zumbador, San Marcos, Guatemala; and Unión Juárez, Chiapas, Mexico; the following synonym is established: Ateuchus benitojuarezi Moctezuma, Sánchez-Huerta , & Halffter, 2018 = Ateuchus guatemalensis ( Bates, 1887) new synonymy.