Onitis subopacus Arrow, 1931

Karimbumkara, Seena Narayanan & Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan, 2024, Study on the genus Onitis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) of the Indian Subcontinent, with three new species from India, European Journal of Taxonomy 956, pp. 1-61 : 45-46

Onitis subopacus Arrow, 1931

Figs 12C , 13A–D , 20

Onitissubopacus Arrow, 1931: 395 (original description).

Onitis subopacus – Balthasar 1935: 94 (monograph); 1963: 53 (monograph). — Janssens 1937: 51 (revision). — Biswas & Chatterjee 1986a: 67 (distribution). — Chandra 2000: 360 (distribution); 2005: 150 (distribution). — Mittal 2005: 46 (list). — Chandra & Ahirwar 2005: 149 (distribution). — Bezděk & Krell 2006: 159 (distribution). — Sabu et al. 2006: 5 (list); 2011: 34 (list). — Chandra & Ahirwar 2007: 276 (distribution). — Sewak 2009b: 60 (key, diagnosis, distribution). — Thakare et al. 2012: 75 (distribution). — Chandra & Gupta 2011: 274 (distribution); 2012a: 889 (list) Chandra et al. 2012a: 52 (list); 2012b: 33 (distribution). — Chandra & Gupta 2013a: 349 (diagnosis, distribution); 2013b: 4667 (distribution). — Chandra et al. 2011: 67 (distribution). — Gupta et al. 2014: 230 (distribution); 2015: 1037 (list, distribution). — Siddiqui et al. 2014: 300 (distribution). — Bezděk 2016: 179 (distribution). — Ghosh et al. 2020: 239 (distribution). — Schoolmeesters 2022 (online catalogue).

Onitisphilemon – Lansberge (nec Fabricius) 1875: 133. — Boucomont 1914: 336 (distribution). — Boucomont & Gillet 1921: 19 (distribution).

Differential diagnosis

Onitissubopacus belongs to Group III and closely resembles O. virens of the same group but differs in that the former has a less strongly punctured pronotum and broadly interrupted frontal carina.

Type material examined

Holotype

SRI LANKA • ♂; “Kalupahani, Haldumulle Ceylon, 1904–171, Onitis subopacus type, Arrow (aedeagus point-mounted and attached with specimen)”; BMNH (E) 1237174 .

Additional material examined (39 specimens)

INDIA • ♀; “ Kashmir; Haran Pltn . 5500, Sindh Valley , 18.v.1928, C.F.C. Beeson; ex. coll., Dehradun, B.M. 1928-472; Onitissubopacus co-type, Arrow”; BMNH (E) 1237175 • ♂; “ Roorkee, Arrow Collection , Det. G.J. Arrow ”; ZSIM • ♀; ZSIM • 4 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; Kerala, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Rockwood grassland; 08°51ʹ41.8ʺ N, 77°08ʹ00.5ʺ E; elev. 839 m a.s.l.; 8 May 2009; open cow dung bait traps; Seena Narayanan Karimbumkara leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000711 to 1000716 • ♀; Kerala, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Kattilappara evergreen forest; 08°54ʹ45.6ʺ N, 77°05ʹ45.3ʺ E; elev. 566 ft, 4 Dec. 2009; AIMB / Co/Sc1000717 • 2 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀; Kerala, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary; Kattilappara moist deciduous forest; 08°54ʹ54.7ʺ N, 77°06ʹ28.7ʺ E; elev. 185 m a.s.l.; 3 Dec. 2009; open cow dung bait traps; Seena Narayanan Karimbumkara leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000718 to 1000724 • 9 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀; Kerala, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Kattilapara degraded forest; 08°55ʹ05.6ʺ N, 77°05ʹ44.7ʺ E; elev. 207 m a.s.l.; 3 Dec. 2009; open cow dung bait traps; Seena Narayanan Karimbumkara leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000725 to 1000738 • ♂; Kerala, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Pandimotta montane evergreen; 08°49ʹ39.1ʺ N, 77°13ʹ01.9ʺ E; elev. 1234 m a.s.l.; 29 Nov. 2009; open cow dung bait traps; Seena Narayanan Karimbumkara leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000739 • ♂; Karnataka, Nagarhole National Park, Sungathakatte dry deciduous forest; 11°58ʹ27.12″ N, 76°11ʹ8.16″ E; open cow dung bait traps; Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan leg.; AIMB /Co/Sc1000740 • ♀; Sarathi Nulla dry deciduous forest; 12°3ʹ48.24″ N, 76°10ʹ40.8″ E; open cattle dung baited trap; Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan leg.; AIMB / Co/ Sc1000741 • ♀; Tripura, Eden of Bison, South Tripura , forest; 18 Feb. 2019; hand-picked from cow dung; Harsha Malhotra leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000742 • 2 ♂♂, ♀; Nagaland, Singphan Elephant Reserve, Forest ; 24Apr. 2021; hand-picked from cow dung; Seena Narayanan Karimbumkara leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000743 to 1000745 .

Description

MEASUREMENTS (in mm). TL=16–23, BW= 8–12.

Male

Black with a slight metallic lustre; clypeus elliptical, rugulose, vertex granular, more shining; frontal carina widely interrupted in the middle with a conical tubercle behind and a curved clypeal carina in front; pronotum not strongly but rather closely punctured, with an incomplete smooth median longitudinal line, basal foveae deep; pygidium opaque scarcely punctured; elytra finely striate with sutural, 3 rd and 5 th intervals slightly convex; metasternal shield smooth and shining, the front angles and sides of metasternum closely clothed with reddish hairs. Protibia toothed, mid femur lobed near middle with tooth on posterior edge, trochanter of the hind leg sharply toothed.

AEDEAGUS (in mm) ( Fig. 13A–D ). LP=3, Lp=2.5; BP=1.25, BpB= 0.5, BpT =0.4. Phallobase longer than parameres. Parameres curved outwards at the base and then curved inwards with the tip pointed.

Female

Protibia toothed, middle and hind legs not toothed.

Distribution

India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, New Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal. Other countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malay Peninsula, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam. ( Biswas & Chatterjee 1986a; Chandra 2000, 2005; Chandra & Ahirwar 2005, 2007; Bezděk & Krell 2006; Sabu et al. 2006, 2011; Sewak 2009b; Thakare et al. 2012; Chandra & Gupta 2012a, 2013a, 2013b; Chandra et al. 2012a, 2012b; Siddiqui et al. 2014; Gupta et al. 2014, 2015; Bezděk 2016; Ghosh et al. 2020; Schoolmeesters 2022).

Figures

Fig. 12.A. Onitissinghalensis Lansberge, 1875, holotype, ♂, MNHN EC4812, (image:Antoine Mantilleri, MNHN.) B. Onitissiva Gillet, 1911, holotype, ♀, (image: Jonathan Brecko, IRSNB). C. O. subopacus Arrow, 1931, holotype, ♂, BMNH(E)1237174, (image: BMNH). D. O.virens Lansberge, 1875, paralectotype, ♂, (image: Jonathan Brecko, IRSNB). E–F Onitisvisthara sp. nov., holotype, ♂, NIM/ NBAIR/COL/ONIT/H-271023C (images: AIMB). E. Habitus, dorsal view. F. Habitus, ventral view.

Fig. 13. Aedeagus, lateral, dorsal, ventral and apical views. A–D. Onitissubopacus Arrow, 1931, AIMB/ Co/Sc1000711. E–H. O. virens Lansberge, 1875, AIMB/Co/Sc1000765. (Images: AIMB).

Fig. 20. Map showing the distribution of Onitissiva Gillet, 1911; O. subopacus Arrow, 1931; O. virens Lansberge, 1875 and O. visthara sp. nov. in the Indian Subcontinent.