Namaphilusgen, 2017

Deschodt, Christian M. & Davis, Adrian L. V., 2017, Transfer of three species of Namakwanus Scholtz & Howden to Versicorpus Deschodt, Davis & Scholtz or to Namaphilus gen. nov., with descriptions of two new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), Annals of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History 7 (7), pp. 109-114 : 110

Namaphilusgen . nov., Figs 1–2

TYPE SPECIES. Namakwanus endroedyi Deschodt, Davis & Scholtz, 2011 , here designated.

Gender of new name: masculine.

DESCRIPTION. Small (7.1–9.7 mm long × 4.5–5.8 mm wide) dark brown, rounded and convex beetles.

Head: with two small and short, slightly upturned clypeal teeth; one much smaller tooth medially on lower margin of clypeus.

Pronotum: dark brown, convex with ovoid to round punctures.

Protibia: tridentate in last one-third of outside margin, more or less smooth in first two-thirds.

Elytra: strongly convex, dark brown.

Sterna: mesometasternal suture straight.

Scutellum not visible.

Pygidium: shagreened with small punctures.

DISCUSSION. Morphologically this new genus can easily be separated from Versicorpus by lacking serrations on the outside margins of the front tibiae and by being smaller (7.1–9.7 mm long) and more convex than the larger (10.1 mm) and more elongate Versicorpus . The clypeus of Namakwanus has much more pronounced clypeal teeth than Namaphilus . The known species in the genus thus currently comprise Namaphilus davisi ( Deschodt & Scholtz, 2007) comb. nov., Namaphilus endroedyi ( Deschodt, Davis & Scholtz, 2011) comb. nov. and Namaphilus ameibensis spec. nov.

Figures

Fig. 1 Plate showing the habitus and aedeagus of one new species and habitus of all other species treated in this paper:A: Namakwanus irishi Scholtz & Howden,1987;B: Namakwanus scholtzi spec.nov.;C: Aedeagus of Namakwanus scholtzi spec.nov.;D: Namaphilus davisi (Deschodt & Scholtz,2007) comb.nov.;E: Namaphilus endroedyi (Deschodt,Davis & Scholtz,2011) comb.nov.;F: Namaphilus ameibensis spec.nov.;G: Versicorpus streyi (Frolov,2005) comb.nov.;H: Versicorpus erongoense Deschodt,Davis & Scholtz,2011.

Fig. 2 Map showing the collecting localities of all the known species of the Byrrhidium group.The black outline indicates the distribution of rock hyraxes (shapefile supplied by IUCN). See online version for map in colour.