Scarabaeus galenus westwood, 1847

Deschodt, Christian M., Davis, Adrian L. V. & Scholtz, Clarke H., 2016, Three new species, a synonymy and taxonomic notes on southern African members of the dung beetle genera Scarabaeus s. str. Linnaeus, 1758 and Escarabaeus Zídek & Pokorný, 2011 (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), Journal of Natural History 51 (5 - 6), pp. 299-316 : 301

Scarabaeus galenus westwood complex – history and revision

Scarabaeus galenus Westwood, 1847 , was described as Scarabaeus (Sebasteos) galenus Westwood, 1847 , from ‘ Africa meridionali, between 25° and 26° degrees south lat. and 27° and 28° degrees east long. ’ [Primarily North West Province, South Africa]. Subsequently several synonyms were described: Ateuchus (Actinophorus) paradoxus Boheman, 1857 ; from ‘ prope fluvium Limpopo ’ [near the Limpopo River] (synonymized by Péringuey, 1901) and Sebasteos adelphus Kolbe, 1895 from ‘ River Mkatta, Usagara ’ [eastern central Tanzania] (synonymized by Zur Strassen, 1967).

A further synonym of S. galenus Westwood was added by Péringuey, 1901 who misidentified a species that he believed to be Scarabaeus westwoodi Von Harold (1869) [described as Scarabaeus (Ateuchus) westwoodi Von Harold (1869) from ‘ Africa austr. inter. ’]. Although he later reinstated it as a valid species (but still erroneously as Scarabaeus westwoodi Von Harold (1869)) , his description ( Péringuey 1908) differs from that of Von Harold, 1869 for the true S. westwoodi . This misidentified species is actually Scarabaeus geminogalenus sp. nov that is described below. This misidentification explains why Péringuey (1901) follows his description of S. galenus Westwood with that of Scarabaeus laticeps Péringuey, 1901 , which is currently an accepted synonym ( Janssens 1940) of the true S. westwoodi Von Harold (1869) .

In the redescription of his misidentified S. westwoodi Harold, Péringuey (1908) mentions that he saw one specimen amongst some S. galenus Westwood from the Z[S]outpansberg. This could only be a specimen of Scarabaeus geminogalenus sp. nov. This provides strong support for the misidentification as S. westwoodi Harold shows a highland distribution along the central and northeast Drakensberg escarpment.

Subsequently, Janssens, 1940 again, synonymized Peringuey ’ s misidentified S. westwoodi (= Scarabaeus geminogalenus sp. nov.) with S. galenus Westwood [cited as a synonym under S. galenus : ‘ Sebasteos Westwoodi PERINGUEY (non HAROLD), Trans. s. Afr. Phil. Soc., XIII, 1908, p. 555 (nov. syn.) ’], an erroneous decision that was followed by all subsequent authors.

Although we have been unable to locate type material for the misidentified S. westwoodi Harold , the description in Péringuey (1908) corresponds very well with that for a species that occurs on coastal sands of northeast South Africa, southeast Mozambique and along the Limpopo river valley. This new species is not a synonym of S. galenus Westwood but a very close relative that would require a new name ( Scarabaeus geminogalenus sp. nov.) as S. westwoodi is unavailable.