Ontherus kirschii Harold, 1867

Cárdenas-Bautista, Johann Stephens, Parada-Alfonso, Jenny Andrea & Carvajal‑Cogollo, Juan E., 2020, Dung beetles (Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) of the Foothills-Andean Forest strip of Villavicencio, Colombia, Check List 16 (4), pp. 821-839 : 832

Ontherus kirschii Harold, 1867

Materials examined. COLOMBIA • 1, 11.88 mm (mean); Meta, Villavicencio, Vereda Buenavista, “El Triunfo” Farm ; 04°08ʹ44.51″N, 073°41ʹ11.35″W; 1179 m a.s.l.; 22 Dec. 2018; Cárdenas Johann and Parada Jenny leg.; open pasture; Bvplt8; UPTC-In-00065 . • 1♀, 11.88 mm (mean); Meta, Villavicencio, Vereda Buenavista, “El Porvenir” Farm ; 04°08ʹ49.33″N, 073°41ʹ05.32″W; 1174 m a.s.l.; 22 Dec. 2018; Cárdenas Johann and Parada Jenny leg.; riparian forest; Bvbrt 3; UPTC-In-00066 .

Identification. This species can be distinguished from other Ontherus species by the head with the anterior edge slightly arched upwards and medially bisinuate; strongly roughened clypeus in males and females, clypeofrontal suture carinate with small conical processes towards the medial edges; uncrenulated elytra striae on the disc; middle lobe of the metaventrite usually with a few conspicuous long setae ( Génier 1996).

Distribution. In Colombia it has been recorded in the departments of Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Meta, Norte de Santander, Putumayo and Valle del Cauca ( Génier 1996). Records of specimen’s collection in the country have been from 500 to 2500 m a.s.l. ( Génier 1996; Medina et al. 2001), and in the Colombian Orinoco it is restricted to elevations between 1450 and 1750 m a.s.l. ( Medina and Pulido 2009). In the study area, between 950–1100 m a.s.l., four individuals were found: two in riparian forest and two in open grassland areas. Due to its scarcity it was considered a rare species.

Scatimus Erichson, 1847