Atrichelaphinis (Eugeaphinis) rhodesiana ( Peringuey , 1907)

Rojkoff, Sebastien & Perissinotto, Renzo, 2015, Review of the genera Anelaphinis Kolbe, 1892 and Atrichelaphinis Kraatz, 1898 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae), ZooKeys 482, pp. 91-142 : 109-112

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Scarabaeidae

Atrichelaphinis (Eugeaphinis) rhodesiana ( Peringuey, 1907) Figure 11

Niphetophora rhodesiana Péringuey, 1907: 451; Schenkling 1921: 352; Antoine 1991: 2; Holm and Marais 1992: 53.

Anelaphinis rhodesiana ( Péringuey) Antoine & Holm, 1993: 102.

Type specimen.

Holotype male: "S. Rhodesia, Umtali " (ISAM).

Redescription

(n = 42). Size: length ♂, 10.2-12.6 mm; ♀, 10.4-12.2 mm; width ♂, 5.7-6.9 mm; ♀, 57-7.0 mm.

Body. Light brown mottle with dark marks from green to brown, dark color at times covering virtually entire surface; matt to shiny, white spots of tomentum scattered throughout; light pilisoty distributed on vertex, along lateral margins of pronotum, on mesepimeron, on elytra (mainly on sides and apex) and pygidium.

Head. Clypeus slightly transverse, anterior margin strongly upturned in male, reborded and slightly bilobed in female; disc convex; punctures scattered and superficial, striolated laterally and in front.

Pronotum. Transverse, lateral angles strongly rounded almost imperceptible to slightly discernible; lateral margin completely reborded; posterior margin concave in front of scutellum, laterally convex; anterior margin bluntly tuberculate at middle; punctuation sparse on disc, becoming denser and stronger laterally and in front.

Scutellum. With short setae and occasional round puctures at base; apex acute.

Elytra. With two pairs of striae between sutural costae; discolateral costae with lunulate punctures more or less complete and confluent, horseshoe sculpture also on lateral margins; apicosutural angle acute and more or less developed.

Pygidium. Parabolic with upturned posterior margin.

Underside. Shiny, generally with spots of white tomentum on abdomen and metasternum, sometimes also on metafemora; mesosternal apophysis transverse, compressed between the mesocoxae, anterior margin slightly convex; median part of metasternum and abdomen without pilosity and less sculpted.

Legs. Protibiae tri- to unidentate; meso and metatibae with tranverse carina under middle of external side slightly enlarged; metalegs more robust in female; second metatarsomere longer than third and fourth; with setae longer than in any other area; metatibial spurs thin and acute in male, slightly enlarged and blunt in female.

Aedeagus. Parameres (Figure 9D) about twice as long as wide (sometimes even longer), wider at apex than at base; laterally concave and not modified, apex convex with round angles; downturned part of apex from straight/convex to sinuate and slightly incised at middle.

Remarks.

A large number of specimens from Zimbabwe and South Africa was analysed for this sudy (in IRSN, MNHN, MNHU, PCRP, PCSR). The South African distribution of the species is restricted to the eastern, wetter part of the country ( Holm and Marais 1992). Although no supporting records were found, the species is likely to occur also in neighbouring Mozambique and Botswana. It is normally found on a variety of flowers, fermenting fruit and sap flows.