Coprophanaeus, Olsoufieff, 1924

Edmonds, W. D. & Zidek, J., 2010, A taxonomic review of the neotropical genus Coprophanaeus Olsoufieff, 1924 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae), Insecta Mundi 2010 (129), pp. 1-111 : 104-106

Coprophanaeus (C.) ohausi ( Felsche, 1911)

Fig. 280-286 , 291 , 308-313

Phanaeus ohausi Felsche, 1911: 138

Coprophanaeus ohausi (Felsche) (recomb. by Blackwelder 1944: 209)

Coprophanaeus florenti Arnaud, 2002a: 5 New Synonymy

Type. P. ohausi – lectotype male, here designated, Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde, Dresden (examined) ; C. florenti – holotype male, private collection of Patrick Arnaud , Saintry sur Seine, France .

Diagnosis. General – Dorsum largely black, metallic color (dark green or blue), if any, usually restricted to posterior portion of head and anterior portion and margin of pronotum and pygidium; sometimes present on elytra; venter with scattered reflections of same tone as dorsum. Frons long, length at least one and half times that of clypeus, often longer. Anterior (declivitous) face of metasternum with setigerous punctures widely distributed over most of surface. Length 16-21 mm.

Male – Apical processes of parameres strongly elevated, clearly visible in profile. Pronotal prominence of larger individuals variable, usually distinctly bitumid, lobes rounded and usually finely carinate anteriorly (in small males prominence reduced to transverse carina above anterior margin).

Female – Pronotal ridge distinctly raised, medially bidentate and followed by very weak depression.

Specimen examined – 68.

Distribution. Yungas and western Napo provinces.

Collection Records. COLOMBIA: Casanare – Aguazul , 375 m (Nov) . Meta – Puerto Gaitan , 400 m (Oct) . Santander – Veléz , 2400 m (Sep) . ECUADOR: El Oro – Piñas , 3 42’S 79 42’W (Mar). Morona- Santiago – Angel Rouby (Cordillera Cutucú), 2 o 21.6’S 78 o 4.0’W (Feb) ; Cordillera Cutucú, 2 32’57”S 77 53’23”W. Napo-Orellana – Loreto road, 7.9 km E Narupa junction, 00 43’06.9”S 77 45’44.0”W, 1380 m (Mar) ; Río Hollin , 00 41.702’S 77 43.842’W, 1068 m (Dec) ; Aliñahui (Feb) ; Puerto Napo (Apr) ; Yasuní National Park, Yasuní Research Station , 00 o 38’S 76 o 36’W, 215 m ; Limoncocha , 250m (Jun) ; Puerto Francisco de Orellana (“Coca”) (May) ; km 11.1 road Sarayacu to Loreto , 1200 m (Jul) . Pastaza – 22 km SE Puyo , 900 m (Jul) ; 17km N Puyo [ Llandia ], 1000 m (Jul) . Tungurahua – 6 km and 8 km E Río Negro , 1400 m (Jul) . Zamora-Chinchipe – Bombuscaro ( Parque Nacional Podocarpus ), 1146 m, 4 o 06’09”S 78 o 57’46”W (May) . PERU: Junin – Satipo , 1100 m (Mar) . San Martín – Moyobamba (Jan) ; Alto Nieva (Aug) .

Comments. Of the species comprising this group, C. ohausi exhibits the greatest variation in form of the well-developed male prothorax. The median prominence is bitumid, but its swellings are connected by a transverse carina that varies in shape. Figures 280-284 illustrate this variation in a single population from Satipo, Peru. In well-developed individuals of both sexes the frons widens anteriorly and produces the false impression that the transverse carina is markedly narrower than in other species. Howden and Young’s (1981) reference to C. ohausi is in fact to C. morenoi Arnaud ( Howden and Gill 1987) . The description of C. lichyi Arnaud suggests that it is closely related to, or perhaps synonymous with C. ohausi .

The type material of C. florenti was not available to us for study. Our point of reference for synonymizing this name with C. ohausi is a large series of C. florenti in the Canadian Museum of Nature collection identified by Arnaud. The color and male pronotal structure cited by Arnaud in his description, as well as that in the aforementioned series, fit well within the range of variation of C. ohausi as here defined.

The Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde collection in Dresden includes three specimens that we regard as the type series of this species. Two are labeled “Macas” [ Ecuador] and the third “Teremotillo”. Felsche’s original description of Phanaeus ohausi cites two Ecuadorian localities for the material at hand: Teremotillo and Jivaria. Felsche stated that Ohaus gave him the specimen from Teremotillo – “… das andere, das er mir gütigst überlassen, bei Teremotillo; …”. We exclude the Macas specimens from the type series, leaving the Teremotillo specimen as putative type. We hereby designate this specimen the lectotype. We assume that the Jivaria specimen seen by Felsche is lost or elsewhere. The lectotype is a large male with dark blue dorsal metallic coloration (including on the elytra), somewhat worn and dirty, and missing the left mesotarsus and the right metatarsus. It bears nine labels: a) [white rectangle] “Ecuad. Ostcordill./Teremotillo/ F. Ohs. 14.12.05” ; b) [green rectangle] “Col. C. Felsche/Kauf 20, 1918”; c) [green square] “1910/4”; d) [folded white] “Ohausi” handwritten in red ink; e) [oblong white] “ Ph. ohausi / {illegible}” handwritten in black ink; f) [red] “Typus” printed, “ ohausi Felsche ” handwritten; g) white “Staatsl. Museum für/Tierkunde”; h) our lectotype label printed on white with red border.

Figures

Figure 291. Approximate geographic distribution of Coprophanaeus (s. str.) species in the ohausi species group.

Figure 280-290. Characters of the Coprophanaeus (s. str.) ohausi species group. 280-284) Dorsal views of male pronotal prominence variation in population from Satipo, Junin (Peru). 285) Dorsal view of pronotal prominence of male from eastern Ecuador. 286) Dorsal view of pronotal prominence like that of lectotype male. 287) C. callegarii, dorsal view of male head. 288) Same, dorsal view male of pronotal prominence. 289) C. suredai, dorsal view of male head. 290) Same, dorsal view of male pronotal prominence.

Figure 308-313. Coprophanaeus ohausi. 308-309) Male habitus. 310-311) Female habitus. 312) Male forebody, green phase. 313) Aedeagus (lateral view below, dorsal view above).