Coptorhina nitefacta Gillet, 1932

Frolov, Andrey V., Akhmetova, Lilia A. & Scholtz, Clarke H., 2008, Revision of the obligate mushroom-feeding African ‘‘ dung beetle’ ’ genus Coptorhina Hope (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), Journal of Natural History 42 (21 - 24), pp. 1477-1508 : 1506-1507

Coptorhina nitefacta Gillet

( Figures 5 , 13H , 22 )

Coptorhina nitefacta Gillet 1932:327 ; Ferreira 1972:357; 1939:34, 38.

Type material examined

Coptorhina nitefacta . Holotype „ with labels ‘‘AFR. OR. ANGL. (WA-TaïTA) BURA Alluaud and Jeannel Mars 1912 – 1050 m – St. 61’’, ‘‘ Coptorhina nitefacta Gillet type.’’, ‘‘Holotype’’ ( MNHN) .

Additional material examined

Kenya: Garissa env. [00 ° 279 S 39 ° 399 E], 30 November 1999, M. Snižek leg. 1 spm. ( JJCM) .

Diagnosis

This species differs from other similar Coptorhina species in having shiny, very sparsely punctate upper side of body.

Description

Strongly convex, black, shiny beetle. Body length 9.5–13.5 mm, width 6.5–9.5 mm. Dorsal surface without visible setae.

Head. Clypeus with protruding anterior angles separated by deep, right-angled sinuation ( Figure 5 ). Protruding angles acute to narrowly rounded apically, with longitudinal carinae on the upper side. Genae obtusely rounded. Genal sutures feebly distinct. Lateral margins of clypeus sinuate near genal sutures in some individuals. Frontal suture feebly visible, broadly interrupted in the middle. Head very densely and evenly punctuate, punctures sometimes adjacent and sculpture appears rugose. Antennal clubs dark-brown.

Pronotum. Trapezoidal, two times wider than long. Anterior margin and base finely bordered. Sides more or less evenly rounded. Lateral border relatively narrow, evenly tapering basally and apically. Pronotum divided into larger anterior part and smaller posterior part by a transversal carina. The carina is almost as wide as pronotum, narrowly interrupted medially, not serrate. Anterior part of pronotum punctate, excavated laterally in larger specimens. Posterior part sparsely punctate with minute punctures.

Elytra. Striae fine but distinct, punctate (punctures separated by 3–4 puncture diameters). Intervals flat, very sparsely punctate with minute punctures.

Underside. Pygidium with fine border, its disc densely punctate. Abdominal and thoracic sternites coarsely punctate except for disc of metasternum which is very sparsely to almost indistinctly punctuate.

Aedeagus. Parameres with widely rounded apices in lateral view.

Variability

The description above is based mostly on the holotype. The other specimen known to us is smaller and has less developed transversal pronotal carina and slightly or not excavated anterolateral sides of pronotum. It is however impossible to appreciate the interspecific variability from the material available.

Distribution

This species is known from two localities in Kenya ( Figure 22 ).

Figures

Figures 1–8. Coptorhina spp. 1, lateral view of body; 2–6, head and pronotum in dorsal view; 7–8, pronotum in dorsal view. 1–2, C. auspicata; 3, C. nitidipennis; 4, C. excavata sp. n; 5, C. nitefacta; 6, C. klugii; 7, C. angolensis; 8, C. davidi. Figures are not to scale.

Figures 9–14. Coptorhina spp. 9, wing; 10–11, aedeagus in dorsal and lateral view; 12, internal sac of aedeagus; 13, internal sac sclerite arrowed in Figure 12; 14, abdomen in lateral view (14A, female, 14B, male). 9, 10, 12, 13C–E, 14, C. auspicata (13C, lectotype, Enkeldoorn, Zimbabwe, 13D, Cinergy Game farm, RSA, 13E, Shesheke, Zambia); 11, 13I–J, C. nitidipennis (13I, Cinergy Game farm, RSA, 13J, paratype, ‘‘Caffraria’’); 13A–B, C. excavata sp. n. (13A, holotype, 13B, paratype, Mamathes, Lesotho); 13F, C. klugii, Blouberg, RSA; 13G, C. davidi, paratype, Mpika, Congo; 13H, C. nitefacta, holotype, Bura, Kenya. 9, 13 and 14 are not to scale.

Figures 20–22. Coptorhina spp., distribution map. 20, C. auspicata; 21, C. excavata sp. n.; 22, C. nitefacta.