Odontorrhina maraisi, Perissinotto, 2012

Perissinotto, Renzo, 2012, Description of a new species and a new subspecies of Odontorrhina Burmeister, 1842 (Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae), with ecological notes on the genus, African Invertebrates 53 (2), pp. 733-733 : 735-736

Odontorrhina maraisi sp. n.

Figs 1 , 2 , 5

Etymology: The species is named after Andre P. Marais of Cape Town, who pioneered observations on the species in the interior region of Namaqualand.

Diagnosis: O. maraisi is essentially an intermediate form between O. hispida and O. pubescens . It shares several adult biological characteristics with O. hispida (see below), but can easily be separated from it because it has white instead of yellow setae, poorly developed elytral costae, and the anteroclypeal margin simply bidentate. Moreover, the dorsal side is much darker and the body size smaller than in the latter. O. maraisi can equally easily be distinguished from O. pubescens by its much darker colour and generally smaller size, its drastically reduced or absent white tomentum bands (pronotum), and by the presence of stripes (sternites) and spots (pygidium) ( Figs 1 , 5 , 7 ). Additional characters differentiating the two species include: (a) small and sharply upturned clypeal teeth in O. maraisi , which are larger and smoothly curved in O. pubescens ; (b) frons with dense tuft of long setae projecting forward in O. maraisi but reduced or absent in O. pubescens ; (c) well delimited, unsculptured medial band on scutellum of O. maraisi , but poorly defined in O. pubescens ; (d) elytral costae poorly developed in O. maraisi , but absent in O. pubescens ( Figs 1 , 5 , 7 ); (e) metatibia with simple denticles in O. maraisi , but distal denticle blade-like to bifurcate in O. pubescens ; and (f) aedeagal lobes shorter and more compact in O. maraisi ( Fig. 2 ) than in O. pubescens .

Description:

Male.

Size. Length 17.4–22.2 mm, width 9.8–11.9 mm (n =25).

Dorsum. Dark bronze to black; with long, white setae and dense, round punctation or crescent to horseshoe sculpture throughout surface ( Fig. 1a ).

Head. Bronze; with clypeal teeth small and sharply upturned; frons with dense tuft of long white setae projecting forward ( Fig. 1a ); anterior part of lateral clypeal declivity with outward expansion hardly noticeable; with dense but coarse punctation throughout; antennal clubs dark brown, flagellum and pedicel bronze-black.

Pronotum. Bronze; with narrow, white lateral lines not always present; with dense and fine hair and puncta throughout; no signs of tubercle or ridge on anterior margin; prescutellar margin smooth and lighter in colour.

Scutellum. Bronze-black; with well delimited, unsculptured medial band and apical part; with scattered setae and puncta on sides.

Elytra. Bronze-black; with unsculptured, poorly developed costae; crescent to horseshoe sculpture moderately dense, but sparse and shallow on humeral callus, apical declivity and around scutellum; white setae sparse but very long.

Pygidium. White marking extremely reduced to basal and lateral spots, or totally absent; with scattered but long setae emerging from fine puncta.

Ventral surface. Dark olive green to shiny bronze; with white marks on pro-, meso-, and metafemora and abdominal sternites reduced to absent; with fine punctation and extremely dense and long setae throughout, except at posterior end of median sulcus, base of metafemora and inner half of abdominal sternites 1–5 ( Fig. 1b ).

Legs. Protibia tridentate, with long and sharp apical denticle; mesotibia and metatibia with upper denticle on outer ridge smaller than the lower denticle.

Aedeagus. Parameres with small tuft of short setae at apex; paramere lobes moderately short and blunt at apex ( Fig. 2 ).

Female. Differences from male very minor: with broader protibia and denticles; white markings generally more developed than in male, especially on pronotum, pygidium and metafemora; convexity of abdominal sternites uninterrupted at middle.

Holotype: ♂ SOUTH AFRICA: Northern Cape: Namaqualand, Witwater [30°24'S 18°11'E], 7.x.1995, A.P. & M.E. Marais ( TMSA).

Paratypes: SOUTH AFRICA: Northern Cape: 1♂ same data as holotype ( PCBM) ; 1♂ same data but 1.x.1994 ( PCRP) ; 1♂ same data but 3.x.1994 ( PCBM) ; 3♂ same data but 3.x.2005 ( PCBM) ; 1♂ same data but 9.x.1995 ( PCBM) ; 2♂ same data but 10.x.1995 (1 PCBM, 1 PCRP) ; 1♀ same data but 1.x.2010, on koringbos shrub ( PCRP) ; 6♂ same data but in flight ( PCRP) ; 16♂ same data but 2.x.2010, dead on social spider web [in varying degrees of mutilation/consumption] (2 SAMC, 1 TMSA, 13 PCRP) ; 1♂ Springbok [29°40'S 17°53'E], 14.x.[18]90, “ Odontorrhina pubescens ♂ (Olivier) det. E. Marais 1987” ( SAMC, SAM-COL-A068466 ) ; 1♂ same data but x.[18]90, Odontorrhina hispida (Ol.) det. E. Holm ( SANC) ; 1♀ Nababeeb , 29°36'S 17°47'E, 11.ix.1983, R. Oberprieler, “ Odontorrhina pubescens (Ol.) det. E. Holm ” ( SANC) ; 1♂ Ookiep [= O’Kiep, 29°36'S 17°53'E], 8.ix.[18]86, “ Odontorrhina pubescens (Ol.) det. E. Holm ” ( SANC) .

Figures

Fig. 1. Odontorrhina maraisi sp. n., male dorsal (a) and ventral (b) side.

Fig. 2. Odontorrhina maraisi sp. n., frontal (a) and side (b) view of male aedeagus.

Fig. 5. Odontorrhina maraisi sp. n., female perched on koringbos plant (Witwater, October 2010).

Fig. 7. Odontorrhina p. pubescens, male feeding on sap of a freshly barked Melianthus sp. branch.