Termitodius coronatus Wasmann, 1894

Skelley, Paul E., Clavijo-Bustos, Julian & Keller, Oliver, 2022, Extinct or extant? A new species of Termitodius Wasmann, 1894, (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae: Rhyparini) with a short review of the genus, Insecta Mundi 2022 (915), pp. 1-14 : 5-6

Termitodius coronatus Wasmann

Figures 1–2

Termitodius coronatus Wasmann 1894: 220 ( Venezuela) . Kolbe 1909: 62; Schmidt 1910a: 92; Schmidt 1910b: 133; Schmidt 1922: 534 (description); Hinton 1934: 340, 342; Blackwelder 1944: 216; Martínez 1950: 172; Krikken 1970: 470; Dajoz 1971: 139–140; Reyes-Castillo and Martínez 1979: 120; Chalumeau 1981: 13, 15–16, f.2 (holotype photograph); Krikken and Huijbregts 1987: 100; Dellacasa 1988: 37, 267, 426; Bordat 1996: 86; Howden 2003: 393; Skelley 2007: 7–8 Diagnosis. The only known species of Termitodius with the pronotal paramedian costa having the anterior lobe circular in dorsal view and almost the same size as anterior lobes on other pronotal costa. Other distinguishing characters include the posterior part of discolateral pronotal costa absent medially, glossy intercostal areas lacking punctures, the globe-like caudal bulbs on the elytra, and in distribution ( Brazil and Venezuela).

Type. According to Chalumeau (1981, holotype fig. 2) the holotype label data: “ Venezuela, Meinert; Las Trichéas Don Elias Hacienda 31.12.91; B. Eutermes meinerti m.” Deposited in Muséum d’Historie Naturelle de Maastricht (not examined) .

Materials examined. BRASIL: Acre: Rio Branco, Faz. Caluaba, II-1997, FZ. Vaz-de-Mello ( CEMT). VENEZU- ELA: “/ Collection W.M. Mann /[cursive handwriting] Termitodius coronatus Wasm. Cotype, Las Trincheras , Venezuela 31/12 1891, by termites F. Meinert leg. /” ( Fig. 1–2 ). Deposited in the USNM.

Distribution. The locality ‘Las Trincheras’ is more likely to correspond to the Bolívar state in Venezuela. Therefore, T. coronatus is distributed in the Brazilian subregion, precisely in the Pantepui and the Rondonia provinces of the Borean and South Brazilian dominions, respectively ( Fig. 33 ).

Comments. Based on the new record from Brazil, T. coronatus is likely more common and widespread than previously understood. Focused collecting on host termites will likely yield many new records.

Figures

Figure 33. Distribution of Termitodius species.

Figures 1–10. Termitodius species dorsal habitus and lateral pronotum. 1–2) T. coronatus, cotype. 3–4) T. araujoi. 5–6) T. chaki, paratype. 7–8) T. woodruffi, copal paratype. 9–10) T. woodruffi, holotype.