Megasoma (Megasoma) hyperion, Prandi & Grossi & Vaz-De-Mello, 2020

Prandi, Massimo, Grossi, Paschoal C. & Vaz-De-Mello, Fernando Z., 2020, Revision of the Megasoma (Megasoma) gyas (Jablonsky in Herbst, 1785) species group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae), ZooKeys 999, pp. 109-145 : 109

Megasoma (Megasoma) hyperion sp. nov. Figures 22A-D , 25A-C

Type material.

Holotype ♂ (deposited in CERPE): Brazil, Minas Gerais, Águas Vermelhas, IV 2006. Paratypes (154 in total, 86 major ♂ [> 65mm]), 30 minor ♂ and 38 ♀), as follows: 1 paratype (allotype) ♀ same locality of holotype, III 2002 (CERPE); Minas Gerais, Salinas, V 2002 (1 ♂, CEMT); same locality, 2007 (1 ♂, CEMT); same locality, IV 2005 (1 ♂, 1 ♀, EPCG); Águas Vermelhas, V 2006 (1 ♂, MSNM); same locality, VI 1992 (1 ♂, EPCG); same locality III 2001 (1 ♂, EPCG); same locality, IV 2001 (8 ♂, 1 ♀, EPCG); same locality, III 2002 (5 ♂, EPCG); same locality, IV 2005 (1 ♂, MPC); same locality, V 2005 (1 ♂, 1 ♀, MPC); same locality, IV 2006 (35 ♂, EPCG, 11 ♂, 2 ♀, MPC); same locality, V 2006 (27 ♀, EPCG, 5 ♂, MPC); same locality, V 2008 (1 ♀, MPC); same locality, IV 2013 (18 ♂, EPCG); same locality, XII 1994 (2 ♂, KKC); same locality, III 2013 (1 ♂, MPC); same locality, IV 2013 (3 ♂, MPC); same locality, IV 2014 (1 ♂, KKC); same locality, VI 2014 (2 ♂, MPC); same locality, III 2016 (2 ♂, MPC); same locality, III 2018 (7 ♂, MPC); same locality, IV 2019 (4 ♂, MPC); Paracatú, VI 1981 (1 ♂, EPCG); Jaíba, V 1997 (1 ♂, EPCG); Montes Claros, II 2000 (1 ♂, EPCG); same locality, IV 2000 (1 ♀, EPCG); Capitólio, IV 2004 (1 ♂, EPCG); São Paulo, Boituva, VII 1991 (2 ♂, EPCG, 1 ♂ MPC).

Description of the holotype

(Fig. 22 ). Size. L: 70 mm; TL: 79 mm; PL: 18 mm; PW: 32 mm, EL: 43 mm; EW: 42 mm, CL: 22 mm; TH: 8 mm; FL: 21 mm; TF: 24 mm. General appearance. Uniformly dark ebony brown covered by sometimes dense, sometimes sparse rough pilosity; pubescence that turns from grey to yellowish brown color. Head, including horn, consistently black; base of horn towards pronotum with sparse bristles. Tip of pronotal horns, sutural and lateral edges of elytra and thorax shiny black as in legs. Head. Cephalic horn short, projecting forwards and curved upwards in lateral view. In dorsal view, narrower at base, 3 mm, and gradually broadens to a maximum of 7 mm towards the apex. Apex distinctly forked, V-shaped, distance between tips 10 mm (Fig. 22C ). Sides bordered with weak rim from base to apex, rim detectable on total length. Dorsal side at base with small but evident triangular tooth. In lateral view, apex of tooth blunt, projecting upwards; height of tooth from base 1 mm. Clypeus. Anterior edge slightly concave, less concave than in M. gyas , broader than width of cephalic horn at base, lateral angles with small tooth, projecting forward, surface punctate with sparse bristles. Mandibles. Each with two small lateral teeth. In ventral view, interocular minimum width (IW) 4 mm, transverse eye diameter (TE) 4.5 mm, IW/TE ratio 1.154. Antennal club, in dorsal view, 3.8 mm of length. Pronotum. Completely covered by rough pubescence, with distal part quite abraded. Anterior angles projecting as sharp, elongate, parallel horns, slightly bent outwards; width at base ca. 4.9 mm, length 8 mm, distance between apices of anterior horns 21 mm. Median thoracic horn longer than laterals, sickle-shaped, 11 mm long. PL/TH ratio 2.250. L/PL ratio 3.888, higher than in M. gyas . Scutellum. Subtriangular, 5 mm long, 7 mm wide, largely coarsely punctate, lateral edges and lower apex smooth. Elytra. Covered by rough pubescence, except for black glossy punctation around scutellum, along epipleura and elytral suture; EL/EW ratio 1.023. Pubescence quite abraded on the anterior part of elytra, close to pronotum. Sutural punctate black stripe limited by very fine, visible ridges, covered by pubescence; three or four ridges, almost equally spaced, on each elytron. Elytra in lateral view not bulging, with flat feature declining towards apex. L/EL ratio 1.628, significantly higher than in M. gyas , with bulker body and shorter, broader elytra. This provides M. hyperion sp. nov. with an obviously more “squared” feature. Pygidium. Convex, covered by yellowish pubescence. Abdomen. Laterally covered with very fine, short, yellowish brown pilosity, medially on sternites III-V almost glabrous. Legs. Fore tibia almost straight, inner edge rather dilated inwards at apex, 21 mm of length. Anterior edge V-shaped, just over first tarsomere. External sides of tibiae with three teeth, decreasing in length from basal to apical tooth; basal tooth more distant from subapical than the latter from apical. Basal and subapical teeth large, sharp, triangular, pointing rearwards; apical tooth sharp, pointing forwards. Inner apical spur strongly curved ventrally, as long as the basal tooth. Fore tarsus 24 mm of length. Mesotibia and metatibia with three very pointed teeth increasing in length from basal to apical teeth; first tarsomere in middle and hind tarsi very acute. Aedeagus. Intermediate between M. gyas and M. typhon , more massive than the former, shorter in frontal view and less massive with parameres laterally more rounded than the latter, as shown in Fig. 31E, F . Labels. 1 (white): "Brazil, Minas Gerais, Aguas Vermelhas IV 2006"; 2 (red): " Megasoma hyperion sp. nov. / Holotypus ♂ / M. Prandi, P.C. Grossi & F.Z. Vaz-de-Mello det. 2020".

Paratype variations, males.

The overall morphology is quite homogenous. Proportional to the body, the measured differences in CL are slight. The shape of the cephalic horn shows the most interesting variability, e.g., more elongate vs. more squared; triangular shape vs. subrectangular, even if all the paratypes always maintain the same V-shaped apex with regular/short tips, in both small and large specimens. The median thoracic horn is always longer than the laterals, often sickle-shaped as in holotype, but sometimes elongate as in other paratypes. The color of the pubescence changes from grey to yellowish to reddish brown. The elytra appear flat in lateral view in major and medium specimens, but small paratypes show an accentuated rounder body.

Measurements.

L: 45-71 mm; TL: 52-94 mm; PL: 14-24 mm; PW: 22-37 mm; EL: 34-52 mm; EW: 14-47 mm; CL: 5-25 mm; TH: 4-9 mm; FL: 14-25 mm; TF: 18-26 mm.

Description of the female

(allotype) from Brazil, Minas Gerais (Fig. 25 ). Size. L: 64 mm; PL: 18 mm; PW: 27 mm; EL: 42 mm; EW: 38 mm; HL: 8 mm. General appearance. Uniformly black; elytra with 3/4 of its surface covered by yellowish brown dense recumbent pilosity. Head. The middle of fronto-clypeal suture with a single tubercle. In ventral view, inter-ocular distance length 3.4 mm; transverse eye diameter width 3.5 mm. Clypeus. Finely punctate; anterior lateral angles projecting into a tooth directed forwards and upwards; distance between tips 2.5 mm; apical edge between the angles concave. Pronotum. Dull, coarsely punctate-rugose, strongly convex; posterior median carina 11 mm long, more than ½ of total length. Anterior angles projecting, obtuse, with blunt tips. Scutellum. Triangular, smooth, shiny, impunctate. Elytra. Surface glossy black, punctate-rugose anteriorly, near base coarser; punctate surface extending for 12 mm in length, almost 1/5 of EL. Elytral pilosity very uniform, yellowish brown, with easy detectable longitudinal ridges, three or more for each elytron, almost equidistantly spaced out. Dorsal sutural line and lateral edges glossy black, with very fine punctation. As in males, the distinct shape of a stocky body is a visible differential character (Fig. 25A ). Pygidium. In lateral view, concave, with very fine punctation. Surface in basal half-covered with short, fine, grey pubescence; in apical half with scattered, erected, brown-yellowish setae. Abdomen. Sternites very finely punctate, covered by short, yellowish brown pilosity, except for a small central portion in the middle of sternites III-V. Legs. Protibiae shorter than tarsi, shorter than in the males, tarsi shorter too; FL 17 mm, TF 20 mm. External sides with three strong teeth almost equidistant. Basal and subapical teeth almost equal in length; the apical tooth smaller. Inner side without a strong dilated apex. Inner spur curved ventrally and shorter than apical tooth. On mesotibiae and metatibiae three lateral sharp teeth, with the subapical and the apical weakly evolving in lateral carinae, with presence of basal embryonic spiny processes.

Measurements of female paratypes.

L: 48-71 mm; PL: 14-20 mm; PW: 21-33 mm; EL: 32-48 mm; EW: 27-38 mm; FL: 11-17 mm; TF: 16-20 mm; HL: 6-8 mm.

Bionomics.

Very little information is available on this beetle’s behavior. The beetle flies usually from 9-10 p.m. till 2 a.m. and it is attracted by white mercury lights. Males are encountered more frequently (EJ Grossi, pers. comm., 2019).

Etymology.

Noun in apposition. Following the example of Jablonsky who chose the name of a Titan, Gyas , we also follow Greek mythology and choose the name of another Titan, Hyperion, son of Uranus (the sky) and Gaia (the earth).

Remarks.

Grossi et al. (2008) were the first to remark on the disjunct distribution range of (alleged) M. rumbucheri (see also Prandi 2016; Santos et al. 2013). The type locality of the new species falls within the "mata seca ou de cipó” (dry forest) habitat, a crossroad of the three biomes: Caatinga, Cerrado, and Mata Altlântica. An interesting historical record (1908) from Be-Kuwa ( Kobayashi 2019) in the locality of Paranaíba (western Minas Gerais state, Brazil). The beetle’s external morphology is rather homogeneous, with the cephalic horn showing a certain degree of variability, but the species-specific characters here identified are constant and indicate this taxon as a separate species.

Figures

Figure 22. Megasoma hyperion sp. nov., holotype from Brazil, Minas Gerais, Aguas Vermelhas ♂ A dorsal habitus B cephalic horn lateral view C cephalic horn frontal view D lateral habitus.

Figure 25. Megasoma hyperion sp. nov. from Brazil, MG, Aguas Vermelhas, allotype ♀ A dorsal habitus B single head's tubercle C pronotum with carina.

Figure 31. Frontal view of aedeagi A aedeagus of M. gyas from Brazil, Pernambuco, Custodia B aedeagus M. gyas from Brazil, Sergipe C aedeagus of M. typhon typhon from Brazil, Bahia, Jaguaquara D aedeagus of M. typhon typhon from Brazil, Minas Gerais, Ipatinga E, F aedeagi of M. hyperion sp. nov. from Brazil, Minas Gerais, Aguas Vermelhas.