Christian M. Deschodt

Functional implications of temperature‐correlated colour polymorphism in an iridescent, scarabaeine dung beetle

Abstract 1. In many Coleoptera, iridescent colouration is generated by exoskeleton ultra‐structure, within which multilayer interference reflects only certain wavelengths. Published work indicates that the colour polymorphism shown by some iridescent beetles is under genetic control. However, the present study suggests environmental involvement in the polymorphic southern African dung beetle, Gymnopleurus humanus Macleay.

Dung beetle assemblage structure in Tswalu Kalahari Reserve : responses to a mosaic of landscape types, vegetation communities, and dung types

ABSTRACT Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is a private game reserve covering 1,020 km2 in the Northern Cape, South Africa. It has been created from a number of reclaimed farms and restocked with large indigenous mammals. Two surveys were conducted to inventory the dung beetle fauna (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) and determine their spatial patterns and food type associations. The spatial survey used pig dung—baited pitfall traps to examine dung beetle distribution across three main landscape types (plains, dunes, hills) comprising six principal vegetation communities. The food study examined their relative associations with carrion and four different dung types within a single vegetation community. A total of 70 species was recorded. Because the food association study was spatially restricted and conducted under drought conditions, abundance and species richness (47 species) were much lower than in the spatial study (64 species), which was conducted after substantial rainfall. Principal spatial differences in species abundance structure of assemblages were between the sandy southwest plains and dunes; the sandy northern dune fields and plains; and the rocky hills. Forty species analyzed in the food association study showed clear distributional biases to carrion or the dung of elephant (monogastric herbivore), pig (omnivore), cattle and sheep (ruminant herbivores), or pig and cattle. The results (1) show how dung beetle assemblage structure is locally diversified across the heterogeneous landscape of the reserve and (2) indicate how the different dung types dropped by a diverse assemblage of indigenous mammals may variously favor different species of dung beetles.

Systematics of South African forest-endemic dung beetles: new genera and species of small Canthonini (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Study of very small dung beetles, less than 5 mm long, belonging to the tribe Canthonini from Afrotemperate forests in South Africa revealed four new genera, three monotypic and one with two new species, and one new species of Peckolus Scholtz & Howden. We describe the new taxa here. They are: Aliuscanthoniola similaris gen et sp. n., Dwesasilvasedis medinae gen et sp. n., Parvuhowdenius harrisoni gen et sp. n., Nebulasilvius gen. n. with new species Nebulasilvius insularis sp. n. and N. johani sp. n., and Peckolus poenskopius sp. n. We provide an updated key to all the African genera in the tribe Canthonini and keys to the species in the genera Nebulasilvius and Peckolus.

Effects of cattle treatment with a cypermethrin/cymiazol spray on survival and reproduction of the dung beetle species Euoniticellus intermedius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

In a bioassay to determine non-target ecotoxicological effects of a pyrethroid spray (Ektoban) on dung beetles, dung from both cypermethrin/cymiazol-treated and control cattle was collected one, two, three, five, seven, 14, 21 and 28 days after treatment and fed to a treatment and control group (respectively) of beetles of the species Euoniticellus intermedius (Reiche). This was done to assess whether a spray formulation of cypermethrin may affect dung beetles differently than previously tested pour-on formulations. Following three beetle generations for two weeks each, the experiment retrieved no significant differences in adult or larval survival, egg production, fecundity and fertility between the control and treatment group. These results demonstrated that the used spray formulation of cypermethrin is likely to be far less detrimental to dung beetles than previously tested pour-ons.

New taxa of relictual Canthonini dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) utilizing rock hyrax middens as refuges in South-western Africa

Presently 21 canthonine genera with 89 species are presently known from Africa. In this paper we describe three new species collected in rock hyraxes ( Procavia capensis (Pallas)) dung middens. They are Dicranocara tatasensis Deschodt and Scholtz sp. n., Dicranocara inexpectata Deschodt and Scholtz sp. n., and Namakwanus davisi Deschodt and Scholtz sp. n. In addition, we describe the immature stages and provide new information on the biology of Dicranocara deschodti Frolov and Scholtz and Namakwanus davisi . The known distribution of all the south-west African endemic canthonine species is also updated. Additionally, a 743 base pair long fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (CO I) gene is used to construct a molecular phylogeny for the genus Dicranocara Frolov and Scholtz. In the resultant trees, D. tatasensis , D. inexpectata and D. deschodti form three monophyletic groups with high bootstrap support. Applying a molecular clock to the sequence divergences dates the separation of the three species to 3.2 – 2.47 million years before present.

Status changes, new synonymies, key and descriptions of seven new species in the subgenus Scarabaeus ( Scarabaeolus ) Balthasar 1965 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Distribution of the subgenus Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) Balthasar 1965 (tribe Scarabaeini) is centred on southern and south central Africa with only three out of 27 species recorded from West and northeast Africa. After taxonomic corrections and descriptions of seven new southern African species this somewhat controversial subgenus now comprises 33 valid species of which one is flightless. In this paper, Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) vansoni Ferreira 1958 syn. nov. is synonymized with Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) lucidulus (Boheman 1860) and Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) xavieri Ferreira 1968 syn. nov. is synonymized with Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) andreaei zur Strassen 1963. Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) reichei Waterhouse 1890 stat. rev. is removed from synonymy with Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) canaliculatus Fairmaire, 1888 and reinstated as a valid species. Distribution maps for S. (S.) reichei, S. (S.) canaliculatus and a third close relative, Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) fritschi Harold 1868 are provided. The seven new species comprise: Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) soutpansbergensis Deschodt and Davis spec. nov., Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) megaparvulus Davis and Deschodt spec. nov., Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) niemandi Deschodt and Davis spec. nov., Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) carniphilus Davis and Deschodt spec. nov., Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) ermienae Deschodt and Davis spec. nov., Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) planipennis Davis and Deschodt spec. nov. and Scarabaeus (Scarabaeolus) nitidus Davis and Deschodt spec. nov. A key is provided for all the known winged species together with notes on some of the previously described species.

New dung beetle (Coleoptera : Scarabaeidae : Scarabaeinae) taxa from arid south-western Africa

In this paper we describe new dung beetle taxa (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) and discuss others previously described from arid south-western Africa. Descriptions are provided for a new monotypic genus (Versicorpus Deschodt, Davis and Scholtz gen.n.) and three new species, Versicorpus erongoensis Deschodt, Davis and Scholtz sp.n., Namakwanus endroedyi Deschodt, Davis and Scholtz, sp.n., and Scarabaeus (Kheper) kalaharicus Davis, Deschodt and Scholtz, sp.n. The type material of Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) hottentorum Peringuey is examined and spelling errors on the labels are discussed. Inconsistencies between the published type locality, type locality labels, and the known geographical range are also discussed. The recently described Kheper namibicus Krajcik 2006 is synonymised with Scarabaeus (Kheper) cupreus (Castelnau 1840). Distribution records are provided for the new species described here while some closely related species are discussed.

Two new species of Garreta Janssens, 1940 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) from Southern Africa

Two new, putative, closely-related species of dung beetles are described in the genus Garreta Janssens, 1940 (tribe Gymnopleurini). Garreta australugens new species, is known from various dung types in the southeast lowlands of Africa (validated for South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe with a probable record from Botswana). It is, here, separated at species level from its putative closest relative, Garreta lugens (Fairmaire, 1891), recorded from the lowlands of northeast Africa (validated for Kenya with additional records from Ethiopia, Somalia and Tanzania). These two taxa were formerly considered to comprise a single species. All specimens in the type series of Garreta namalugens new species, were recorded at low altitude in arid, rocky mountains from west central to northwest Namibia, mostly on dung in communal middens of the Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766)).

An update to the taxonomy of the genus Macroderes Westwood 1842 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) with descriptions of new species from South Africa

The genus Macroderes Westwood, 1842 (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae, tribe incertae sedis) is practically endemic to South Africa with only one species that is found little north in southern Namibia. The ranges of the species are limited to the winter-fall and bimodal biomes of South Africa comprising the regions of Richtersveld as extreme points of its northerly distribution, and extending to the south through Namaqualand to Cape Agulhas. The taxonomy of the genus is revised. Fourteen valid species are recognised and three others are of doubtful validity. Seven new species are described, these are: M. cederbergensis Abdalla Deschodt, new species, M. tortuosus Abdalla Scholtz, new species, M. gifboomi Abdalla Scholtz, new species, M. leipoldti Abdalla Deschodt, new species, M. oreatus Abdalla Deschodt, new species, M. porselinus Abdalla, new species, and M. soleiana Abdalla Deschodt, new species. Macroderes nitidus Harold, 1877 is redescribed and its lectotype is designated. The diagnostic characters as well as an updated geographic distribution of each species are summarised. An updated key of the genus, photographs of habitus, sclerites of internal sac, pronotum, pronotal punctures and elytra also are provided.

New deltochiline (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) taxa associated with hyrax dung in arid south western Namibia

A survey of rock hyrax dung middens along the arid escarpment of southwest Namibia has filled a gap in the range shown by members of the Byrrhidium group of flightless dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) belonging to the tribe Deltochilini. The survey discovered a new genus and species, Ausmontins jacobsi new genus and species, and a further four new species in two previously described genera, Namakwanus kamfferi new species, Namakwanus minutus new species, Namaphilus nubibmontanus new species and Namaphilus tirasmontanus new species. They are described and illustrated in the present paper. This addition of new taxa raises the total complement of the Byrrhidium group to seven genera and 19 species. An updated key to all the known species is also provided. It is probable that further taxa await discovery.