Polynoncus gemmifer ( Blanchard, 1847 )

Costa-Silva, Vinícius, Strümpher, Werner P., Thyssen, Patricia J. & Vaz-de-Mello, Fernando Z., 2024, Taxonomic revision of the South American genus Polynoncus Burmeister, 1876 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Trogidae), Journal of Natural History 58 (1 - 4), pp. 14-166 : 80-83

Polynoncus gemmifer ( Blanchard, 1847)

( Figures 27 , 31–32 )

Trox gemmiferus Blanchard, 1847: 187 (original description/misspelling); Lacordaire 1856: 152 (checklist); Harold 1872: 148, 190 (redescription and correction of the specific name)

Trox gemmifer : Burmeister 1876: 261 (redescription); Preudhomme de Borre 1886: 72 (checklist); Bruch 1911: 193 (checklist – as ‘gemmiferus’); Arrow 1912: 56 (catalogue); Blackwelder 1944: 218 (checklist)

Trox haafi Vaurie, 1962: 122 (new synonymy); Scholtz 1982: 16 (catalogue); Scholtz 1986a: 362 (systematics – as Polynoncus haafi ); Scholtz 1990: 1431 (redescription – as Polynoncus haafi ); Gómez 2008: 516 (key to Argentinean species – as Polynoncus haafi ); Zidek 2013: 11 (checklist – as Polynoncus haafi ); Zidek 2017: 102 (checklist – as Polynoncus haafi ); Smith 2017: 95 (records and comments – as Polynoncus haafi ); Costa-Silva and Diéguez 2020: 272 (records from Argentina – as Polynoncus haafi )

Type specimen examined. LECTOTYPE HERE DESIGNATED. (♀ MNHN – Figure 31 ) First label [white, aged, typeset]: ‘MUSEUM PARIS / PATAGONIE / (PATAGONES) / D’ORBIGNY 1834’. Second label [rounded, Alcides d’Orbigny’s handwriting]: ‘6033 / 34’. Third label [green with black bars on each side, Émile Blanchard’s handwriting]: ‘gemmiferus / Bl’. Fourth label [white, Patricia Vaurie’s handwriting]: ‘ Trox / haafi / Vaurie’. Fifth label: [white, typeset]: ‘ ♀ ’. Sixth label [red, printed]: ‘PARATYPE’. Seventh label [red with black frame, printed]: ‘ LECTOTYPE / Trox gemmifer / Blanchard 1847 / des. V. Costa-Silva, 2022’. Eighth label [white with black frame, Vinícius Costa-Silva’s handwriting]: ‘ Polynoncus / gemmifer / ( Blanchard, 1847) / Det. V. Costa-Silva, 2022’ ( Figure 31d ). Type locality: ‘Patagones’ [Village de Patagones] (= Viedma), Río Negro ( Argentina). The type specimen was collected by the French naturalist Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d’Orbigny (1802–1857) in 1829 during his famous ‘Voyage dans l’Amérique méridionale ’ between 1826 and 1833. The label ‘6033’ corresponds to a data entry in d’Orbigny’s collection catalogue (number 1034), where in his observations he mentioned that individuals of the species are common and can be found on the coast as well as inland. He also observed these beetles being active at night, although not very agile.

Type specimen examined of Trox haafi Vaurie, 1962 (NEW SYNONYM). HOLOTYPE. (♂ MNHN – Figure 32 ) First label [light green with black border, typeset]: ‘MUSEUM PARIS / PATAGONIE / GOLFE ST-GEORGES [San Jorge Gulf] / COLI-HUAPI / A. Tournoüer 1903 ’. Second label [red, Patricia Vaurie’s handwriting]: ‘TYPE [typeset] / Trox / haafi / Vaurie’. Third label [red with black border, Patricia Vaurie’s handwriting]: “ TROX / HAAFI / VAURIE / ♂ / HOLOTYPE [typeset]. Fourth label [white with black border]: ‘SCARABS OF / SOUTHERN / SOUTH AMERICA / SSSA3001568’ ( Figure 32e ). Type locality: ‘Golfe St.-Geoges, Coli-Huapi’ (= Colhué Huapi Lake), southern Chubut, Argentina. According to the type labels, the holotype was collected by the French André Tournoüer (1871–1929) on one of his paleontological expeditions in Patagonia between 1898 and 1903 ( Tournoüer 1903; Buffetaut 2020). In his work, Tournouër presents a map showing all localities that he explored during these expeditions (see Tournoüer 1903, p. 465, fig. 2), including the Colhué Huapi lake (called by Tournouër as ‘Coli-Huapi’).

PARATYPE (♀ MNHN) . The paratype is the same specimen of Trox gemmifer lectotype (see comments section).

Remarks. Blanchard (1847, p. 187) originally described Trox gemmifer from a single female specimen collected by d’Orbigny. Later, Vaurie (1962, p. 120), in her revision of South American Trogidae , stated the original type specimen could not be traced and was presumed lost or missing. However, we located this type specimen ( Figure 31 ) at MNHN. We found one female specimen bearing Émile Blanchard’s signature handwritten green type label – ‘gemmiferus Bl’. [= ‘gemmifer’ see Polynoncus gemmiferus ( Blanchard, 1847) for explanation] ( Horn et al. 1990b, p. 509), as well as carrying a round label corresponding to d’Orbigny catalogue entry ‘6033 / 34’ ( Figure 31d ). There can be no doubt that this specimen in MNHN is the original type and the one Blanchard had before him when he described Trox gemmifer . Much to our surprise, we found that this same specimen is also one of the paratypes in the type series of Trox haafi , which was described by Vaurie (1962, p. 122) in her revision of South American Trogidae , and even stating that this specimen was from Oberthür collection housed in MNHN. We think Vaurie failed to recognise Blanchard’s label designating this specimen as the type of Trox gemmifer .

Differential diagnosis. Polynoncus gemmifer is the only species of the genus that has long black setae in the hypomeron ( Figure 31c , white arrow) and antennae with back setae. For details of description, see Vaurie (1962, p. 122).

Geographic distribution. This species, rare even in collections, seems to be widely distributed in Argentina ( Figure 27 ). In addition, Scholtz (1990, p. 1431) mentioned two specimens from Monte Aymond (Santa Cruz), but these individuals could not be traced .

Examined non-type material (8 specimens) . ARGENTINA: Chubut, Epuyén , [N.-W. Patagonia (sic!)], 300–900 m, December 1919, H .E . Box leg . (1♂ and 1 unsexed BMNH) . Mendoza, San Carlos, 17 km E Refugio Alvarado, Reserva Natural Laguna del Diamante , 1704 m, 35.256°S, 69.201°W, 19 November 2012, horse carcass, G . Arriágada leg . (1 CEMT); San Carlos, 17 km E Refugio Alvarado, Reserva Natural Laguna del Diamante , 1704 m, 35.256°S, 69.201°W, 19 November 2012, horse carcass, G . Arriágada leg . (1♂ CVMD) . Neuquén, Los Lagos, Río Caleufú , November 1964, A . Giai leg . (1♀ CVMD); Río Collon Cura , 650 m, 10 February 1994, M . Gentili leg . (1 IADIZA); Salado River valley , cattle carcass, 950 m, 14 December 1974, M . Gentili leg . (1 IADIZA); without specific locality, 1907, Dr Adolf Lendl leg . (1♀ MNHN) .

Figures

Figure 27. Distribution map of Polynoncus erugatus (red circles), P. furcillifer (green triangles), and P. gemmifer (blue squares) in South America. The records with a black dot in the centre indicate the type locality of the respective species.

Figure 31. Lectotype of Trox gemmifer Blanchard, 1847 (now Polynoncus gemmifer) here designated: habitus in a, dorsal, b, lateral and c, ventral view (white arrow showing the setose surface of hypomeron); d, labels. Scale bar: 1 mm.

Figure 32. Holotype of Trox haafi Vaurie, 1962 (= Polynoncus gemmifer): habitus in a, dorsal and b, lateral view; male genitalia in c, dorsal and d, lateral view; e, labels. Scale bar: 1 mm.