Bolbaoeer bidenticollis Gussmann & Scholtz, 2001

Gussmann, S. M. V. & Scholtz, C. H., 2001, Systematic revision of the Afrotropical genus BolbaOEer Vulcano, Martinez and Pereira (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Bolboceratidae: Bolboceratinae), with descriptions of eight new species, Journal of Natural History 35 (7), pp. 1013-1084 : 1054-1057

BolbaOEer bidenticollis (Fairmaire) comb. nov.

(®gures 2d, 3p±s, 16a±f, 18)

Bolboceras bidenticolle Fairmaire, 1894: 652 ; Boucomont, 1902: 4; 1912: 8; Paulian, 1941: 24 (syn. of Bolboceras princeps ); Ferreira, 1965: 1226 (syn. of Bolboceras princeps, Cat. ); Nikolajev, 1982: 35 (incertae sedis).

BolbaOEer petrovitzi Nikolajev, 1982: 37 , ®gures 3, 5, 19; Krikken, 1984: 39. syn. nov.

Description male

Body length 18.2±22.3 mm (28 specimens). Colour light brown to dark brown. Outer margin of mandible distinctly sinuate (®gure 2d). Clypeus with feebly bituberculate, feebly arcuate, feebly to strongly developed transverse posterior carina; position of tubercles variable, from in line with antennal insertions (as in ®gure 2d) to in line with clypeo-frontal transition; length of posterior carina usually variable, from half the length of anterior carina to as long as but never longer than anterior carina. Frons feebly depressed posterior to posterior clypeal carina. Antennal club with glabrous area of basal segment about one-half of exposed surface. Pronotum with anterior margin in frontal view medially raised and feebly bisinuate to rarely feebly bituberculate, in dorsal view not projecting over head (®gure 2d); with three to ®ve protrusions along posterior margin (®gure 2a, c): major males either with long, inward curved outer pair of horns, pair of inner horns reduced to very small tubercles and with additional, very small, median tubercle (®gure 3p) or with long, inward curved outer pair of horns, lacking inner pair of horns but with very small median tubercle (not illustrated); minor males with reduced outer horns / tubercles and with inner pair of small horns / tubercles but without median tubercle (®gure 3q, r); surface with large, densely spaced and often conūent large punctures; punctures decreasing in size and density and increasingly interspersed with ®ne punctures usually in between and always on pronotal protrusions. Scutellum with surface coarsely punctate. Elytron with strial punctures separated by six to seven puncture diameters; intervals with approximatel y four to six punctures between two striae. Protibia ®ve-, rarely six-dentate. Protibial spur as long as or slightly longer than ®fth tarsomere, acuminate. Metatrochanter of unmodi®ed shape; entire surface with long, fairly dense setation. Metafemur in ventral view in posterior third with line of densely spaced moderately long and long setae; with dense, long setae in basal area and along basal third of posterior margin; with fairly dense, long setae in anterior third; remaining areas with sparse, long setation. Metatibia in lateral view with subapical carina mostly with only one well-developed lateral lobe in males, rarely bilobed; with unmodi®ed spurs. Underside with sternites 4 and 5 unmodi®ed; posterior margin of sternite 6 distinctly roundedly emarginate (®gure 16b); pygidium unmodi®ed (®gure 16a). Genitalia with aedeagus as in ®gure 16c±e; genital capsule apically with moderately long setation.

Description female

Body length 18.9±21.6 mm (24 specimens). Colour as in male. Outer margin of mandible feebly sinuate. Frons with distinctly raised bituberculate, transverse carina; position of carina variable, from slightly anterior to to in line with postero-lateral genal angle; carina straight and always shorter than anterior clypeal carina. Antennal club as in male. Pronotum with anterior margin in frontal view medially raised and feebly bisinuate, in dorsal view feebly arcuate; with transverse, feebly carinate swelling at median portion of disc; carina in frontal view more or less straight and laterally arcuate (®gure 3s); swelling either without or with very few ®ne punctures, but always with some large punctures; with large, mostly conūent punctures anterior, lateral and posterior to carinate swelling. Scutellum and elytron as in male. Protibia and protibial spur as in male. Metatrochanter of unmodi®ed shape; with sparse moderately long setation in apical third, with fairly dense moderately long setae along posterior margin; remaining surface with few isolated setae. Metafemur of unmodi®ed shape; in ventral view with line of densely spaced moderately long and long setae; with dense, moderately long setae along basal third of posterior margin; with fairly dense, long setae in anterior third; remaining areas with sparse, long setation. Metatibia in lateral view with subapical carina bilobed; with unmodi- ®ed spurs. Underside with sternites unmodi®ed; pygidium with small, densely setose lobe (®gure 16f).

Distribution (®gure 18). The species has been collected in the western parts of Angola, in the D.R.C., the Congo, Gabon and in Rwanda.

Type material examined. LECTOTYPE l(here designated), Bolboceras bidenticolle Fairmaire :` Congo francËais’ [handwritten by Fairmaire] /` Bolboceras bidenticolle n.sp. Congo fr.’ [handwritten by Fairmaire] /`Type ’ [printed on red label] /`Museum Paris, Collection LeÂon Fairmaire, 1906’ (MNHN); HOLOTYPE l[diss.], BolbaOEer petrovitzi Nikolajev :`MuseÂe du Congo, Kitobola [05.22S 14.31E], 1914, Feller’ /`R.det. 1179’ /`Holotypus BolbaOEer petrovitzi Nikolaijev 1979 ’ [printed on red label] (MRAC); 11 PARATYPES: 1m, same label data (MRAC); 1 l[diss.],`Coll.

Mus. Congo, Ruanda: Gabiro [01.33S 30.25E], 1300m, terr. Biu[b]ma, 5.ii.1953 , P.

Basilewsky’ ( MRAC) ; 1 l[diss.],` MuseÂe du Congo, Lomami [ambiguous], Van der Haegen’ /`R.det. P 503’ ( MRAC); 1m,`Coll. Mus. Congo, Bas Congo: [Inkisi-] Kisantu [04.38S 15.05E unlikely but 05.07S 15.05E seems correct], 29.-30.xi.1952, P. Basilewsky’ ( MRAC); 1m,`MuseÂe du Congo Belge, Mayumbe [02.30N 27.37E or Mayombe plat. at 04.30S 12.30E], Deleval’ /`R.det. R 503’ ( MRAC); 1m,`Coll .

Mus. Congo, Bas Congo: Lemfu [05.18S 15.13E], x.-xii.1914, ReÂv. P. de Beir’ ( MRAC); 1m,`MuseÂe du Congo, Bas-Congo, 1935, P. Licenne’ /`R. Det. B 4023’ ( MRAC); 1m,`MuseÂe du Congo, Kitobola, 1911, Rovere’ /`R. Det. R 503’ ( MRAC) ; 1,` MuseÂe du Congo, Kisantu, 1931, R.P. Vanderyst’ /`R. Det. i 2362 ’ ( MRAC) ; 1,`Coll. Mus. Congo, Bas-Congo : Mayidi [05.11S 15.09E], 1942, ReÂv. P. van Eyen’ ( GNCK) ; 1m,`Coll. Mus. Congo, Bas-Congo : Sanda [too vague, several localities by that name], 19?? [illegible, 19 or 61], Courtois’ ( GNCK) .

Additional material examined (39 specimens). Angola: 1, 1m, Caconda [Huila Prov., Huila, 13.43S 15.03 E] ( MNHN) ; 1, S. [SaÄo] Salvador [M’ Banza Congo, 06.18S 14.16E], Hayne V. ( ZMHB) ; 1, 1m, De Dongo au Cubango (Benguela) [ca 14.35S 16.00E], 1914, Mission Rohan-Chabot ( TMSA); 1m, District de Huilla, de Cutchi aÁ Cuelei [not traced], Mission de Rohan-Chabot, Janvier ( MNHN) ; 1 l [diss.], Congo [incorrect, Angola], San [SaÄo] Salvador, Nevinson Coll. 1918-14 .

(BMNH); 1m, Angola (A36), Chianga [Chiange, ca 15.41.25 S 13.56.25E], 21± 24 March 1972, B.M. 1972-1, at light ( BMNH) ; 2 ll, Benguella [Benguela, 12.34S 13.24E], W. Hauser lgt. ( RMCI) ; 1m, Angola ( BMNH) . Congo: 1m, Loudima [04.07S 13.04E] Niadi, 1889-1894, Cholet ( MNHN) ; 1, ReÂgion du Djoue [04.00S 15.30E], entre Brazzaville et Reneville, 1912, Mme J.M. Bel ( MNHN) ; 1, DieÃleà [DzieÂle stream, taken at 01.41S 14.45E], 1886, de Brazza ( MNHN) ; 1 l[diss.], LeÂkeÃti [not traced], 1886, de Brazza ( TMSA) . D.R.C.: 1, Stanley Falls [00.15N 25.32E] ( MNHN) ; 1, Kisantu [[Inkisi-] Kisantu, 05.07S 15.05E], 1908, Coll. P .

MoOEarts ( ISNB); 1m, same data but: 1909 ( ISNB) ; 1, Lukungu [Lukunga, 05.00S 14.17E], Ch. Haas ( ISNB) ; 1, Lemfu [05.18S 15.13E], 1968, ex Salve ( RMCI) ; 1, Mukimbungu [05.07S 14.04E], Laman, 9257 E92 ( NHRS) . Gabon: 1, Franceville [01.40S 13.31E] ( MNHN); 1m, Tchibanga [02.51S 11.02E], G. le Testu ( MNHN) . Mozambique: 1, Chupanga [18.02S 35.37E], S. Tavares ( ZMHB) .

Untraced/vague: 1, KvG (MNHN); 4 ll, 2mm MNHN), 1 l(ISNB), 1, 1m ( NHRS), 1m ( ZMHB) from` Congo’; 1, 1m from` Congo belge’ ( ISNB); 1m from` Gabon’ ( MRAC); 1m from` Katanga, La ?? [illegible]’ ( ISNB); paratype m, Bolboceras abditum Petrovitz :`Coll. Mus. Congo, Bas-Congo, Terr. Luozi, Mont MantseÂtsi [not traced], ii.1951, Mevr. Bequaert’ ( NHMG) .

Comments. Fairmaire (1894) described Bolboceras bidenticolle from both sexes but only one (intermediate) male specimen of the type material has been found and is here designated as the lectotype. A male specimen with the label data`[illegible] P...dHauterise...’ [handwritten] /`Bolbocera s bicornicolle Fairm type!’ [handwritten by unknown curator] /`Franceville [in Gabon, 01.40S 13.31E]’ [printed] /`Type’ [printed on red label] from MNHN is not considered to be a type of a valid species because ®rstly the handwriting is clearly not that of Fairmaire’ s, secondly the name`bicornicolle’ has not been published nor was it listed by Fairmaire or any other author. The specimen belongs without any doubt to B. bidenticollis .

BolbaOEer petrovitzi Nikolajev is here synonymized with B. bidenticollis (Fairmaire) . Nikolajev (1982) was not able to view the type material of B. bidenticollis and placed the latter as incertae sedis. This decision was certainly appropriate at the time, considering that the description of B. bidenticollis alone is insu cient to determine the species’ identity and also considering that Paulian (1941) had incorrectly synonymized B. bidenticollis with B. princeps . The type series of B. petrovitzi consists of males and females but only one pair shares identical label data thus allowing us to conclude that the female is indeed correctly associated with the male. We found two more matching male / female combinations in additional material and were then able to discover one character state that is shared by all the females of B. bidenticollis but is diOEerent to the females of the congeneric species: a small, densely setose lobe at the apex of the pygidium (®gure 16f).

We subsequently discovered that one of the unassociated female paratypes of B. petrovitzi from MRAC was incorrectly assigned to the latter species and is in fact a B. abditus female. The specimen is listed under B. abditus . It shows the distinct postero-media n angle on the metatrochanter, a typical character state for all members of the B. coriaceus species-group, and the apex of sternite 6 is feebly roundly emarginate while the pygidium is unmodi®ed.

Male B. bidenticollis have frequently been confused with male B. princeps probably due to their similarities in pronotal armature. However, male B. bidenticollis diOEer from B. princeps and other members of the B. princeps species-group by the: distinctly sinuate outer margin of the mandible versus a feebly sinuate outer margin; unmodi®ed abdominal sternite 5 versus an at least slightly modi®ed sternite 5 (compare ®gure 16b with 19b, g, 17b); roundedly emarginate posterior margin of sternite 6 versus a medially deeply divided, bilobed sternite 6 (compare ®gure 16b with 19b, g, 17b); and aedeagus (compare ®gure 16c±e with 19c±e, 19h±j, 17c±e).

The locality`Chupanga’, traced to Mozambique, seems dubious as it does not ®t the general distribution pattern of B. bidenticollis at all. It has therefore been excluded from the distribution map.