Enracius longipes Dechambre, 1999

Hutchinson, Paul M. & Allsopp, Peter G., 2021, Revision of Anomalomorpha Arrow, 1908 and Enracius Dechambre, 1999, with Erbmahcedius new genus from southeastern Australia (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Pentodontini: Cheiroplatina), Zootaxa 5072 (5), pp. 439-462 : 441-443

Enracius longipes Dechambre, 1999

Enracius longipes Dechambre, 1999: 38 ; Dechambre 2005: 53.

Type series. Holotype male (by original designation): “ Western Australia, 40 km W of Caiguna 125°05´E, 32°20´S [32.33°S, 125.08°E], 30.IX.1978 ”; in “coll. S. Gaudaire-Thore ” [label data taken from Dechambre 1999].

Paratype ( Figs. 1–4 ). 1♂, “ 40 km W of Caiguna , W.A. 125°05´E, 32°20´S, 30 Sep. 1978 M.S. & B.J. Moulds ” (white label) | “new genus, P.B. Carne det. 1983” (white label) | “ Enracius n. gen. ♂ longipes n. sp. mihi PARATYPE R.-P. Dechambre det. 1999” (white label, PARATYPE written in red) | mouthparts glued to a piece of card; in FD (images examined) .

Other material examined. AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA: 1♂, same data as paratype ( ANIC) ; 1♀, “ 12 km e[ast] of Eucla West. Aust. [31.64°S, 129.00°E Western Australia / South Australia border] 18.Feb.2011 | Enracius longipes | PMH Coll# Dyn 0422” ( PMH) ; 2♀, “ Possibly ♀ of Orthocavonus occidentalis P.B. Carne det. 1981 | W.A.M Reg. No 78/68 or 78/69 | outside N59 or Horseshoe Cave N.E. of Madura [31.68°S, 127.43°E] W. Australia 18–28.iii.1970 M. Archer et al.” ( WAM) ; 1♀, “10 N Rawlinna [31.00°S, 125.33°E] WA Jan 1969 J. Bywater ” ( ANIC) .

Description of female ( Figs. 5–7 ). Body 13.7–17.5 mm long, pronotum 6.1–7.2 mm wide at widest point, elytra 7.8–9.6 mm wide (n = 3); dorsal surface shiny, head, pronotum, scutellum and pygidium brown, ventral surfaces and legs brown with black suffusions, elytra dark brown to black with suture brown, clypeus with pair of black paramedian maculae. Maxillary palpomeres 1–3 subequal in length, palpomere 4 longest and subequal to palpomeres 2 and 3 combined, tear-drop shaped and 2.5 times longer than greatest width and bearing shallow, oval sensorium on basal half; mandibles with lateral margin bearing stout setae; mentum narrow, bearing long setae over entire surface. Antenna with 9 antennomeres, club with antennomeres 8 and 9 1.5 times width of antennomere 7 and longer than antennomeres 2–6 combined, scape and pedicel bearing long setae, inner margin of club setose. Clypeus transverse almost trapezoidal with anterior angles rounded, anterior margin emarginate, anterior face truncate, vertical and glabrous, surface rugose, setose; clypeofrontal ridge linear, slightly raised. Frons rugose; ocular canthi angulate to clypeus, dorsal surface rugulose, anterior margin bearing stout setae. Pronotum widest basally, subparallel on basal half, angulate medially, linear and tapering to acute anterolateral angles, broadly recurved linear, transverse anterior margin, anterior margin membranous, lateral and anterior ridges complete, basal ridge obsolete across medial two-thirds, disc evenly convex, bearing fine punctures, becoming rugulose along lateral and anterior margins, anterior margin weakly raised medially, preceding small flat area and narrow impunctate midline. Scutellum sparsely micropunctate on disc. Elytral striae weakly impressed, linear-punctate, intervals abundantly micropunctate to rugulose, laterally and apical declivity coarsely rugulose, suture punctate-striate, epipleura nonemarginate, continuous and bearing lateral setae to apical calli; pygidium almost flat, glabrous, disc punctate, becoming denser and becoming finely rugulose at basolateral angles, apical ridge setose. Prosternal process long, slender, apex angled posteriorly and setose. Metasternum and metepisternum finely rugulose, bearing dense, long, light-brown setae.Abdominal sternites at midlength bearing a row of sparse setae across entire width, suture between sternites 6 and 7 wide and yellow, sternite 7 apically bearing a row of long setae and sparsely on disc. Protibia tridentate, medial and basal denticles closest; meso- and metatibia bicarinate (basal carina ill-defined in smaller specimens), apical cilia long, sharp, widely set; metafemur broad with anterior margin broadly arcuate; metatibia with concave dorsal margin apically and post-medial carina, inner surface broad and flat, metatibial inner spur 1.5 times length of outer spur, inner parallel and curved, outer spur narrow and straight, apices rounded; metatarsomeres combined 1.5 times length of metatibia.

Male ( Figs. 1–4 ). Description by Dechambre (1999). Males differ from females by the following characters: bicolorous brown and black (male dark brown); protarsal claws simple (male internal claw larger and thicker than external claw); anterior margin of pronotum non-tuberculate (male bears a feeble tubercle); metatarsomeres 1.5 times length of tibia (male metatarsomeres 2.0 times length of tibia).

Remarks. Before his death in 1989, Carne passed some dynastines that he thought were undescribed to Dechambre (Fabien Dupuis, personal communication). Dechambre (1999) later recognised Carne in naming the new genus as Enracius . Both male specimens that make up the type series of Enracius longipes were listed by Dechambre as housed in the “coll[ection] S. Gaudaire-Thore” ( Dechambre 1999), which was at Étigny (Yonne), France ( Dechambre 2003a, 2003b) and had specimens named from it by Endrődi (1980) (including Aspidolea gaudairethorei Endrődi, 1980 ). The holotype at least should have been returned to ANIC but it is not there (https:// www.csiro.au/en/Research/Collections/ANIC/Collection-Resources/ANIC-primary_types, accessed 19 August 2021). A third specimen collected at the same time was retained in ANIC and is, presumably, the one illustrated by Weir et al. (2019; Plate 54I); it was loaned to and imaged by PMH. The ‘Gaudaire-Thore collection’ was apparently a euphemism for part of Dechambre’s collection (Fabien Dupuis, Olivier Montreuil and Antoine Mantilleri, personal communications) at his family home at Étigny.After Dechambre’s death, most of his type specimens were transferred to the MNHN, as was his wish, but the Enracius longipes holotype was not part of that donation. What was left of the collection was either destroyed by dermestids or sold, and its current location(s) is unknown. However, the paratype was gifted to and is now housed in FD (Fabien Dupuis, personal communication). Given that we can unambiguously associate the name with a known form, there is no need for a designation of a neotype ( International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1999, Article 75.3). The image of the holotype in Dechambre (1999, 2005) is obviously of a different specimen than the paratype or the male in ANIC (different arrangement of legs).

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the southeastern area of Western Australia ( Fig. 14 ) (Köppen-Geiger climate of BSk, cold semi-arid; Beck et al. 2018). The type series would have been captured at light (M.S. Moulds. personal communication), and the locality is open grassland with groups of 1–6 small Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) and some sparse Acacia (Fabaceae) over limestone.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Known distribution of Enracius longipes Dechambre, 1999 and E. richardsi Hutchinson & Allsopp new species in Western Australia.

FIGURES 1–4. Enracius longipes Dechambre, 1999, paratype male. 1, Dorsal view; 2, pygidium; 3, phallobase and parameres, lateral view; 4, labels (photograph by Fabien Dupuis).

FIGURES 5–7. Enracius longipes Dechambre, 1999, female. 5, Dorsal view; 6, ventral view; 7, lateral view.