Isocopris hypocrita ( Lucas, 1857 ) Rossini & Vaz-de-Mello, 2017

Rossini, Michele & Vaz-de-Mello, Fernando Z., 2017, A taxonomic review of the genus Isocopris Pereira and Martínez, 1960 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), with description of a new Brazilian species, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 51 (19 - 20), pp. 1091-1117 : 1103-1105

Isocopris hypocrita ( Lucas, 1857) comb. nov., stat. rev.

( Figures 2 and 8 (c))

Copris hypocrita Lucas, 1857: 104

Description

Large-sized individuals, length 20 – 30 mm, body completely black and shining, elytra either normal or base sericeous, with bluish and whitish iridescences, antennal club yellow to orange. Head: clypeus elongated forward and distinctly narrower at middle, clypeal margin always weakly sinuated at middle and barely reflexed, lateral margins usually straight, obtusely angulated at the clypeo-genal junction. Cephalic horn and lateral carinae of male located between fronto-clypeal and frontal regions, horn high, rectangular and transversally developed apical and posterior side of the horn strongly excavated, apex truncated. Female with a frontal carina straight and transversal, with a rounded to acuminated tubercle at middle. Male with clypeus shallowly wrinkled, anterior side of horn and carinae smooth to finely punctuated, frontal and genal surface with coarse punctures, head of female slightly convex (in lateral view) and completely wrinkled, frons with coarse punctures. Thorax: pronotum robust and convex, anterior side almost vertical above the head, superior margin with two rounded and close humps separated by a median depression, pronotal humps flanked by two concavities, pronotal protuberance weaker in female. Anterior side of pronotum with very shallow and transverse punctures evenly distributed, disc of pronotum with obsolete punctures, dorsum with a longitudinal and shallow sulcus at middle. Bead of the anterior margin of pronotum with posterior margin always concave between eyes, pronotal surface behind the bead with few and scattered granules, posterior margin of pronotum with a series of small and rounded granules. Elytra convex and swollen, striae not very impressed, interstriae weakly convex, with fine and scattered punctures. Prosternum with shallow punctures associated to short setae, mesosternum finely shagreened, with a coarse and setose punctuation, metasternum mostly bare, long and greyish setae along the inner margin of mesocoxae, metasternal surface with a longitudinal and medial sulcus, inferior side depressed at middle (near metacoxae). Abdomen: pygidial margin completely bordered. Legs: fore tibiae with superior and inner surface coarsely punctuated, apical spur acuminated and distinctly curved downward and inward, apical spur of the hind tibiae truncated at the apex. Male genitalia: parameres and endophallic lamellae as represented in Figure 2 (c – f).

Distribution

Brazil: Maranhão, Bahia, Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais ( Figure 8 (c)). Species of cerrado, found in transitional forests, between the Amazon forest and Caatinga .

Remarks

Luederwaldt (1929) considered Copris hypocrita Lucas, 1857 to be a junior synonym of Pinotus inhiatus ( Germar 1824) but the examination of the type specimens of both species names allowed us to resurrect hypocrita as a valid species name to be included within the American dung beetle fauna. However, the eight-segmented antennae led us to transfer this species to the genus Isocopris as follows: Isocopris hypocrita ( Lucas 1857) comb. nov., stat. rev.

The external morphology and, particularly, male genitalia (i.e. parameres and endophallic lamellae) support the hypothesis of a close relationship between I. hypocrita and I. inhiatus . Indeed, both species have two transverse humps on the anterosuperior region of the pronotum, the male ’ s cephalic horn flanked by two distinct carinae and the female ’ s cephalic carina with a central tubercle. The superior and internal margin of the parameres of I. inhiatus and I. hypocrita are obtusely curved and pincers-like, while the lamella copulatrix has both sides much more slender than those observed on the other species here included in the genus (see Figures 1 and 2 ). All of these morphological characters are exclusive within Isocopris . We did not find any significant difference in the female genitalia of these species.

Type specimens examined

Lectotype here designated (1 ♂ MNHN): 1: 6, 47 (handwritten on rounded and cream label). 2: Museum Paris, Goyaz á Cuyaba, de Castelnau, 6 – 47 (printed on cream label). 3: Copris hypocrita s. nov. (handwritten on cream label). 4: TYPE (printed in red on white

label). 5: LECTOTYPE, Copris hypocrita Luc. , ♂, des. F.Z. Vaz-de-Mello, 2011 (printed and handwritten on red label with black border). Paralectotypes (1 ♂, 1 ♀ MNHN): 1: Museum Paris , Goyaz á Cuyaba, de Castelnau, 6 – 47 (printed on cream label) . 2: Copris hypocrita s. nov. (handwritten on cream label). 3: TYPE (printed in red on white label).

Other specimens examined

BRAZIL: Bahia: Barreiras (5 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ CEMT) . Mato Grosso: Cáceres (2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ CEMT) . Nobres. I – 1978 (1 ♂ CEMT) . Chapada dos Guimarães . Parque Nacional (5 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀ CEMT) . Cuiabá (2 ♀♀, CEMT). Same locality. Fazenda Mutuca (2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ CEMT) . Tangará da Serra (1 ♂, 1 ♀ CEMT) . Itiquira. Fazenda Araras . 17°14 ʹ 49 ” S, 53°41 ʹ 07 ’ W. 05 – III – 2012 (2 ♀♀ CEMT) . Maranhão: Caxias. Reserva Ecológica de Inhamum . 04°54 ʹ 43 ” S, 43°25 ’ 30 ’ W (2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ CEMT) . Mirador. Parque Estadual do Mirador . 06°41 ʹ 06 ” S, 45°00 ʹ 26 ’ W (1 ♀ CEMT) . Minas Gerais: Três Marias . XI – 1991 (1 ♂ CEMT) . Januária. APA Pandeiros. (5 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ CEMT) . Jequitaí. 17°17 ʹ 43.5 ” S, 44°22 ʹ 21.7 ” W. 34 – 03 – 2008 (1 ♀ CEMT) . Rio Grande do Norte: Natal . IV – 1950 (erroneous locality, 2 ♂♂ CEMT) No locality: (1 ♂, 1 ♀ CEMT) .

Figures

Figure 1. Isocopris inhiatus. (a–b) Dorsal habitus of male and female. (c–d) Dorsal and lateral side of the parameres. (e–f) Lamella copulatrix and secondary accessory lamella.

Figure 2. Isocopris hypocrita. (a–b) Dorsal habitus of male and female. (c–d) Dorsal and lateral side of the parameres. (e–f) Lamella copulatrix and secondary accessory lamella.

Figure 8. Distribution maps of the genus Isocopris. (a) I. foveaolatus and I. xacriaba. (b) I. imitator and I. tarsalis. (c) I. hypocrita and I. nitidus. (d) I. inhiatus.