Lepanus topend Gunter & Weir, 2019

Gunter, Nicole L. & Weir, Thomas A., 2019, Revision of Australian species of the dung beetle genus Lepanus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae): description of 10 new species from the L. australis, L. monteithi, and L. villosus species groups, Zootaxa 4695 (3), pp. 201-252 : 234-236

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4695.3.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:32E17629-F29A-47C8-ACCB-69A32C17B147

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/11156C2E-F659-4834-BCE8-6FC35DB934C1

taxon LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:act:11156C2E-F659-4834-BCE8-6FC35DB934C1

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Lepanus topend Gunter & Weir
status

sp. nov.

Lepanus topend Gunter & Weir View in CoL , new species

( Figs 8A, D View FIGURE 8 ; 9D View FIGURE 9 ; 10D View FIGURE 10 ; 11D View FIGURE 11 )

Type series. Holotype: ♂ “ 12.28S 131.03E Howard Springs, N.T. 24km S of Darwin 10.xi.72, rainforest, at light, E. Britton ” / “ ANIC Database No. 25 065546” / “ ANIC image” / “ Lepanus NT1 det TA Weir 2012” in ANIC, (12°28’0”S, 131°3’0”E) GoogleMaps . Paratypes (71 ♂, 91 ♀, 7 sex undetermined): Howard Springs , Northern Territory, 24 km S of Darwin, 12.28°S, 131.3°E, 10.xi.1972, E. Britton (25-054107 3 specimens ♂, 2 specimens ♀ 6 specimens sex GoogleMaps undetermined in ANIC) (12°28’0”S, 131°3’0”E); Howard Springs, 12°28’5”S, 131°2’31”E, 30 m, 20–21.ii.2012, G.B. Monteith (25-053904 1 specimen also as COL2389 ♂ in ANIC); Howard Springs (general), [12°27’0”S, 131°3’0”E], 7.iv.1980, M.B. Malipatil (25-053857 1 specimen ♂ in NTMD) GoogleMaps ; Humpty Doo (general), [12°37’0”S, 131°15’0”E], 28–29.xi.1974, R.I. Storey (25-058485 1 specimen ♂ in QM) GoogleMaps ; Darwin Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, McMillans Road, [12°24’42”S, 130°55’19”E], 25.xii.1993 – 10.i.1994, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030409-00030410 1 specimen ♂, 1 specimen ♀ in CMNC) GoogleMaps ; Darwin Commonwealth Scien- tific and Industrial Research Organisation, McMillans Road, [12°24’42”S, 130°55’19”E], 1–25.xii.1993, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030411 1 specimen ♂, 00030413–418 4 specimens ♂, 2 specimens ♀ in CMNC) GoogleMaps ; Kakadu Na- tional Park South Alligator River, Gungaree Rainforest Trail, [12°40’22”S, 132°28’53”E], 22.xii.1993, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030544–564 5 specimens ♂, 14 specimens ♀, 1 specimen undetermined,CMNEN-0003056566–567 2 specimens ♀, CMNEN-0003056573–579 6 specimens ♀ in CMNC, CMNEN-00030570–572 1 specimen ♂, 2 specimens ♀, CMNEN-00030565 1 specimen ♂ in ANIC, CMNEN-0003056568–569 2 specimens ♀ in QM) GoogleMaps ; Ka- kadu National Park South Alligator River , Gungaree Rainforest Trail, [12°40’22”S, 132°28’53”E], 12–25.xii.1993, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030430-00030438 4 specimens ♂, 5 specimens ♀, CMNEN-0030439-00030480 24 speci- mens ♂, 18 specimens ♀, CMNEN-00030498-00030503 4 specimens ♂, 2 specimens ♀, CMNEN-00030529 1 specimen ♂ in CMNC) GoogleMaps ; Kakadu National Park South Alligator River , Gungaree Rainforest Trail, [12°40’22”S, 132°28’53”E], 25.xii.1993 – 6.i.1994, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030481-00030497, 7 specimens ♂, 9 speci- mens ♀, CMNEN-00030536 1 specimen ♀ in CMNC) GoogleMaps ; Kakadu National Park South Alligator River , Gungaree Rainforest Trail, [12°40’22”S, 132°28’53”E], 17.xii.1993, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030537-00030543 1 specimen ♂, 6 specimens ♀ in CMNC) GoogleMaps ; Kakadu National Park Kapalga Station , North Point Rainforest, [12°41’0”S, 132°22’0”E], 24.xii.1993 – 6.i.1994, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030531 1 specimen ♀, CMNEN-00030534 1 speci- men ♂ in CMNC, (CMNEN-00030532–33 2 specimens ♂ in QM) GoogleMaps ; Kakadu National Park Kapalga Station Gab- arigu rainforest, [12°41’0”S, 132°21’0”E], 25.xii.1993 – 7.1.1994, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030419–429 4 specimens ♂, 7 specimens ♀ in CMNC, CMNEN-00030535 1 specimen ♂ in CMNC) GoogleMaps ; 50 km S Darwin, Berry Spring Park , [12°41’48”S, 130°59’13”E], 4–27.xii.1993, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030393-00030396 2 specimens ♂, 2 specimens ♀ in CMNC) GoogleMaps ; 20 km E Humpty Doo, Fogg Dam , [12°33’26”S, 131°17’53”E], 5.xii.1993, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030397-00030402 6 specimens ♀ in CMNC) GoogleMaps ; Kakadu National Park South Alligator River , [12°39’35”S, 132°30’20”E], 1.i.1994, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030403-00030408 1 specimen ♂, 5 specimens ♀ in CMNC) GoogleMaps ; Kakadu National Park Kapalga Station , [12°41’54”S, 132°22’12”E], 23.xii.1993 – 6.i.1994, S. & J. Peck (CMNEN-00030530 1 specimen ♂ in CMNC) GoogleMaps .

Description. Holotype uniformly light brown. Rest of specimens range from uniformly light to dark brown. Antennal clubs grey.

Total length: 2.2–3.0 mm. Holotype measurements: total length 3.0 mm, elytral width 2.2 mm.

Male. Head. Surface with moderate punctation. Clypeal edge with blunt projection lateral to teeth. Genal angle weakly defined. Edge of head bordered only from clypeogenal suture to eye canthus. Dorsal part of the eyes wide, separated by an interocular space approximately 19 times the eye width (37: 5). Head 1.5 x wider than long (53:35).

Prothorax: Pronotal surface finely punctate anteriorly to moderately punctate posteriorly. Basal angles distinct. Punctures along the basal margin absent. Hypomeral surface finely reticulate. Pronotum 1.65 x wider than long (47:28).

Elytra: Surface smooth with lightly impressed striae; intervals very finely punctate. Striae impunctate and all striae on disc equal width. Stria 6 extending to elytral base and stria 7 not extending to elytral base. Elytra width to length ratio almost subequal (50:47).

Legs: Protibiae with 3 teeth on outer edge, front edge deeply angulate. Apical digit long and parallel sided with a rounded apex with a very small comb of stout setae, and bearing a short spur on the outer apical angle. Metatibiae without a notch on the inner edge.

Abdomen: Pygidium simple, entirely smooth with very fine punctures. Abdominal ventrites reticulate right across. Ventrite 6 finely punctate.

Pterothorax: Medial lobe of metaventrite punctate and broadly margined between the mesocoxae. Lateral lobe of metaventrite with inner border beside mesocoxae anteriorly straight, lateral border virtually absent. Mesoventrite not notched anteriorly. Mesoventrite smooth and nitid with very fine punctation. Metanepisternum reticulate.

Aedeagus: Small tuft of setae projecting from tip of right paramere.

Female. Two stout setae on apical digit. Ventrite 6 slightly longer than in male.

Etymology. Named for the distribution of the species, restricted to the northern-most Northern Territory, colloquially referred to as the Top End. This name should be treated as a noun in apposition.

Distribution. Known from a variety of habitats (rainforest, scrub, Callitris plantation) in the north of Northern Territory, from around Darwin to Kakadu National Park in the regions Darwin Coastal and Pine Creek bioregions ( Fig. 14 View FIGURE 14 ). Limited sampling has been conducted in adjacent Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia bioregions and the geographic range may extend further than currently recorded, as predicted by BIOCLIM modelling.

Comments. Few studies have specifically targeted dung beetles in the area. The majority of specimens have been collected in flight intercept traps or at ultraviolet light but, a small number have been collected from dung baited pitfall traps (human). This species has been referred to under the informal nomenclature sensu Yeates et al. 2011 as Lepanus NT1 (Gunter et al. 2019). The specimen sequenced in their study was collected from the type locality, Howards Springs and is designated as a paratype here (ANIC 25-053904 also as COL2389). Lepanus topend was recovered in the monophyletic clade containing all species within the L. monteithi species group, sister to L. monteithi + L. reidi . These three species have tufts of small setae on the parameres with L. topend new species possessing a tuft of small setae only on the right paramere, while L. monteithi + L. reidi possess tufts of small setae on left and right parameres.

ANIC

Australian National Insect Collection

QM

Queensland Museum

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Scarabaeidae

Genus

Lepanus

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