Macroderes fornicatus Sharp, 1880

Abdalla, Ishtiag H., Deschodt, Christian M., Scholtz, Clarke H. & Sole, Catherine L., 2018, An update to the taxonomy of the genus Macroderes Westwood 1842 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) with descriptions of new species from South Africa, Zootaxa 4504 (1), pp. 41-75 : 52-53

Macroderes fornicatus Sharp, 1880

( Figs. 7 , 54 , 65, 67 )

Macroderes fornicatus Sharp, 1880: 37 ; Péringuey 1901: 303; Janssens 1939: 28; Ferreira 1969: 320; Frolov & Scholtz 2005: 381.

Type locality. Cape Peninsula .

Type material examined. None. Type series is deposited in MNHN ( Frolov & Scholtz 2005).

Additional material examined. 1 ♂ ( UPSA): “ S. Africa / SW / Cape / Cape of Good Hope / NR / 34 1734° S 18 2546° E / 13 Oct. 1987 / A L V Davis” ; 1 ♂: “ S. Africa / SW / Cape / Good Hope / Nat. Res / 34 18' S 18 27' E / 15.VII.1987 / ALV Davis // ex cattle dung baited pitfall / in 2–3ry fynbos // Macroderes fornicatus Sharp / Frolov det / 2003” ; 1 ♂ with same data but date of collection: 3. VII. 1987 . 2 ♀♀ ( SANC): “UNIONDALE / E / CP / (10 Kms NE) / 4.V.76 / 970 m / Davis & Aschenborn // Ex Coll. CSIRO / Div / Entomology / S. AFRICAN STATION // Macorderes sp / det. CSIRO / DBRU” ; 1 ♀ ( UPSA): “ RSA. Western Cape Province / Cape Peninsula / Cape Town / 34°13'19.21"S 18°24'38.49"E / 100 m / 17. vii. 2016 / baited pitfall trap: pig dung / leg. C. Deschodt, W. P. Strümpher ” ; 1 ♂ ( SAMC): “ Tafelberg / 18. 4. 48 // Macroderes fornicatus Sharp // SAM-Col-A 062970 ” .

Size range. Males length: 8.2–11.2 mm, width: 5.4–7.3 mm; females length: 9.7–11.9 mm, width: 6.9–7.0 mm.

Differential diagnosis. Close to M. mutilans and M. bias in having flattened and matte elytral intervals ( Fig. 67 ), but can easily be distinguished by having a different shape of the internal sac sclerite and also by stria 9 widely separated from stria 10 ( Fig. 54 ).

Habitat and distribution. This species is known only from the Cape Peninsula ( Fig. 2). The area forms part of the southwest Fynbos Bioregion located within the Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos vegetation unit ( Mucina & Rutherford 2006). The unit extends from the top of Lions’ Head and Table Mountain to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. The vegetation cover encompasses a mixture of proteoid and ericoid-leaved shrubland with mainly proteoid, ericaceous and restioid fynbos and some asteraceous fynbos. The mean annual precipitation ranges between 520 and 1690 mm (mean 780 mm) with a maximum peak from May to August.

Figures

FIGURES 7–10. Habitus of Macroderes species. 7, M. fornicatus Sharp, 1880; 8, M. foveatus Frolov & Scholtz, 2005; 9, M. bias (Olivier, 1789); 10, M. greeni (Kirby, 1818).

FIGURES 52–57. Lateral side of pronotum (52, 53, 57), lateral elytra intervals (54, 55) and head in dorsal view (56) of Macroderes species. 52, M. politulus Preudhomme de Borre, 1880; 53, M. minutus Frolov & Scholtz, 2005; 54, M. fornicatus Sharp, 1880; 55, 57, M. bias (Olivier, 1789); 56, M. undulatus Preudhomme de Borre, 1880.

FIGURES 64–69. Punctuation of the base of pronotum (64, 65) and sculpture of second elytra intervals (66–69) of Macroderes species. 64, M. amplior Frolov & Scholtz, 2005; 65, 67, M. fornicatus Sharp, 1880; 66, M. bias (Olivier, 1789); 68, M. undulatus Preudhomme de Borre, 1880; 69, M. nitidus Harold, 1877.