Gyronotus ovalis Deschodt & Davis, 2019

Deschodt, Christian M. & Davis, Adrian L. V., 2019, New southern African species and a revalidation in the dung beetle genus Gyronotus van Lansberge, 1874 (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) with an updated key, Zootaxa 4624 (2), pp. 275-282 : 277-278

Gyronotus ovalis Deschodt & Davis , new species

( Figs. 1A , 2 A–D, 3)

Type material. Holotype, male: “ Nkandla Forest Reserve, Grassland | S28.744514° E31.140557°, 1070m | 10- 12.xii.2014, Deschodt and Davis | pig dung baited pitfall traps” (TMSA) . Paratypes: 2 males and 8 females, same data as holotype (5 in TMSA, 3 in UPSA, 2 in ISAM) .

Description of the holotype, male.

Size. Length 12.3 mm and width 8.0 mm with head extended (not deflexed).

Habitus. Body shape ovoid. Dark brown in appearance.

Head. Tip of clypeus bidentate, separated by a wide “U” shaped depression. Surface, densely punctate, punctures closer together than their diameter. Clypeogenal sutures fairly distinct and nearly straight. Frontogenal suture clearly visible only at outside tenth, middle four fifths not visible. No tubercle present. Antennae dark orange.

Thorax. Pronotal disc densely punctate, punctures medium sized and round to slightly ovoid, almost touching each other. Lateral margin rounded. Prosternum with large faint punctures, surface dull. Mesosternum with large almost contiguous punctures. Metasternum with small sized punctures up to two times further apart than their diameter. Surface of prosternum and metasternum otherwise shagreened. Meso-metasternal suture clearly visible and somewhat curved.

Elytra. Striae faint and narrow with punctures spaced at intervals of two to three puncture diameters. Interstriae punctate, punctures small separated by one to two puncture diameters. Surface otherwise shagreened.

Pygidium with large shallow punctures about two puncture diameters apart, otherwise shagreened giving a dull appearance.

Aedeagus. Parameres bilaterally asymmetrical ( Fig. 2 ).

Female. As with all Gyronotus species the tip of the front tibiae strongly curves downward with a shorter spur whereas the tip of the front tibiae of females is straight with a longer spur. Also, the mesotibiae of males strongly widen apically whereas the mesotibiae of females widen gradually.

Distribution. Gyronotus ovalis Deschodt & Davis , new species occurs in the grassland around Nkandla forest.

Etymology. The generic name and specific epithet is a pleonasm (Gyro=round and ovalis=oval) accentuating its ovoid shape.

Diagnosis. This species bears short setae on the elytra as opposed to almost glabrous elytra in the morphologically similar, Gyronotus glabrosus and Gyronotus kearneyorum Deschodt & Davis , new species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Gyronotus van Lansberge, 1874 species, dorsal view. A, Gyronotus ovalis Deschodt & Davis, new species; B, Gyronotus kearneyorum Deschodt & Davis, new species; C, Gyronotus dracomontanus Deschodt & Davis, new species; D, Gyronotus pumilus (Boheman, 1857); E, Gyronotus marginatus Péringuey, 1888. Scale bar = 2.0 mm.

FIGURE 2. Aedeagus of Gyronotus ovalis Deschodt & Davis, new species.A, left side; B, right side; C, ventral view; D, dorsal view. Scale bar = 1.0 mm.