Generic limits of the Rhyparini with respect to the genus Termitodius Wasmann, 1894 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae)
Author
Skelley, Paul E.
Florida State Collection of Arthropods Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services P. O. Box 147100 Gainesville FL 32614 - 7100
text
Insecta Mundi
2007
2007-08-24
2007
9
1
9
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.4532587
1942-1354
4532587
“
Termitodius
” (
sensu lato
)
The genus
Termitodius
was erected for an unusual beetle found living with termites in
Venezuela
,
T. coronatus
Wasmann (1894)
. Later,
Hinton (1934)
described and illustrated
Termitodius peregrinus
, a similar yet quite different beetle. The description of
Termitodius esakii
Nomura (1943)
from the
Caroline Islands
followed.
Nakane (1961)
recognized differences between
T. esakii
and
Termitodius
from the New World, and erected
Termitodiellus
Nakane
for
T. esakii
. Researchers afterward emphasize general characters and placed additional New and Old World species in
Termitodius
. To date, no one has critically examined these species, readdressing generic-level concerns.
Non-
Rhyparus
members of the Rhyparini are rare in collections and many taxa are described based on very few specimens. Careful study of original descriptions, illustrations, over 30 Old World specimens (representing 7 species), and 120 New World specimens (representing 5 species) of the genus “
Termitodius
” (
sensu lato
) revealed striking differences in tibial development and sexual dimorphism. All Old World members of “
Termitodius
” have tibial development similar to
Termitodiellus
and unlike all New World species. In addition, New World species can be split based on tibial characters, with
T. peregrinus
differing from the remaining species.
Makhan (2006)
described and illustrated a new genus and new species,
Aschnarhyparus soesilae
Makhan
, from a single female specimen. Makhan’s descriptions provide no characters that would distinguish his taxa from any other rhyparine. These descriptions clearly indicate he had little knowledge of existing literature, nor was he familiar with the genus
Termitodius
. The
holotype
of
A. soesilae
has yet to be deposited in the National Zoological Collection of
Suriname
at the University of
Suriname
, as designated by Makhan, and is presently unavailable for study. Careful study of Makhan’s photographs and comparison with materials at hand found no difference between
A. soesilae
and
T. peregrinus
. Thus, they are here synonymized. However,
T. peregrinus
does warrant generic distinction. Given the poor state of Makhan’s description, a new description of
Aschnarhyparus
is required, and is provided here.
Termitodiellus
and
Termitodius
are simply diagnosed and a list of all presently included species is presented.