Tomarus bituberculatus

López-García, Margarita M., Gasca-Álvarez, Héctor J. & Amat-García, Germán, 2015, The scarab beetle tribe Pentodontini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) of Colombia: taxonomy, natural history, and distribution, Zootaxa 4048 (4), pp. 451-492 : 477-479

Tomarus bituberculatus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1811)

( Figs. 94–101 )

Scarabaeus bituberculatus Palisot de Beauvois, 1811: 103. Heteronychus scarabaeinus Burmeister, 1847: 100 . Ligyrus latifovea Bates, 1888: 315 .

Ligyrus maximus Arrow, 1913: 466 .

Ligyrus latus Arrow, 1914: 273 .

Description. Habitus as in Fig. 94 . Length 26.0– 28.5 mm (♂), 25.0–30.0 mm (♀). Width 13.0–15.0 mm (♂), 13.5– 14.5 mm (♀). Color black to dark brown, venter lighter. Head: Frons flat; surface strongly rugose and grooved; base nearly smooth, with sparse, deep punctures. Frontoclypeal suture only visible on the sides, interrupted by 2 frontal tubercles. Tubercles transverse and triangular, separated by about 4.5–5.0 times a tubercle diameter ( Fig. 97 ). Clypeus strongly rugose and grooved; shape triangular, apex narrowed with 2 reflexed teeth. Interocular distance equals 3.5–3.7 times the transverse ocular diameter. Antennal subequal in length to antennomeres 2–7. Mandibles with 2 apical teeth and one basal rounded lobe. Pronotum: Surface with shallow and small punctures, denser and deeper on anterior and posterior angles. Apical tubercle prominent, apex strongly acute and slightly recurved ( Fig. 96 ). Subapical fovea transversally oval, deep, rugose and finely punctate ( Figs. 95, 97 ). Scutellum: Surface with small to minute, sparse punctures. Elytra: Surface with deep, large punctures, some smaller between intervals; 3 pairs of double rows of punctures; elytral suture present. Pygidium : Basal third strongly punctate and rugose. Disc with sparser punctures. Surface weakly convex in males, nearly flat in females. Legs: Protibia tridentate, teeth spaced by a subequal distance. Male protarsus simple, not enlarged. Apex of metatibia strongly crenulate; apical margin with 15–17 spinules. Apex of first metatarsomere subtruncate. Venter: Prosternal process long, extending beyond procoxae; apex flat, longitudinally oval, posterior half bordered by long yellow setae. Parameres: Base broad; lateral teeth small and acute; apex broad, with 2 small lobed projections on each apex ( Figs. 98–99 ). Spiculum gastrale: Base larger than lateral branches, apex strongly broad ( Fig. 100 ).

Diagnosis. This species is similar to T. gyas by the size of the pronotal tubercle and fovea. However, the fovea of T. bituberculatus is oval and wider, and the protibia has no fourth basal tooth.

Locality records. ( Fig. 101 ) 216 specimens, 104♂, 112♀. Specimens were seen from ANDES, BCRC, CEUA, CEUN, CIUQ, CTI, HJG, IAvH, ICN, LEUC, MEFLG, MLS, MPUJ, UNAB, UNSM, UPN. Amazonas (17): Leticia (15). Leticia, Macedonia, Resguardo indígena Ticuna (1). Tarapacá, Río Tacana (1). Antioquia (12): Apartadó (2). El Carmen de Viboral (1). Medellín (4). Puerto Berrío (4). Santa Helena, Vda. El Mazo (1). Arauca (3): Alred. Río Arauca (3). Boyacá (2): Villa de Leyva, SFF Iguaque (2). Caldas (6): La Dorada (2). Manizales, Chipre (1). Manizales, Vda. Hoyo Frío, Reserva Planalto CENICAFÉ (1). Manizales, Vda. Maltería, Granja Tesorito (1). Palestina, Vda. Santágueda, Granja Montelindo, Valle de Santagueda (1). Caquetá (2): Florencia (2). Casanare (20): Tauramena, Vda. Villa Rosa, Fca. Barcelona (2). Yopal, Agua Azul, Hacienda Los Rosales (2). W. Agua Azul 1 KM (2). Yopal (14). Cundinamarca (12): Bogotá (3). Fusagasugá, Cuenca Río Jordán (1). Guasca (4). La Calera, Vda. La Jagada (1). La Mesa, Vda. Acacías (2). Tocaima (1). Guaviare (2): Caño Mocuare (1). San José del Guaviare, Fca. La Floresta (1). Huila (2): San Agustín (2). Magdalena (1): Santa Ana (1). Meta (15): La Macarena (1). Puerto López (4). Puerto López, Vda. Menegua (1). Puerto López, Colegio INSTIVAL (2). Puerto Gaitán (1). Puerto Gaitán, Altamira, Los Llaneros (2). Villavicencio (1); Correg. Remolinos, Cafam Llanos (3). Putumayo (1): Puerto Asís (1). Risaralda (1): Pereira (1). Santander (5): Carare-Opón (1). Cimitarra, Correg. Puerto Olaya, Central Termocentro Isagen (3). Vélez, Campo Capote (1). Tolima (46): Honda (45). Valencia (1). Valle del Cauca (26): Buga (1). Bugalagrande (1). Cali (1). Calipuerto (5). “Mares”, Cordillera Occidental (12). Palmira (5). Roldanillo (1). Vichada (6): Puerto Carreño, Fca. El Toro (1). Puerto Carreño, Barrio El Centro (4). Santa Rosalia (1). Ambiguous data (36): Colombia (4). No data (32).

Temporal distribution. January (6), February (6), March (21), April (18), May (8), June (6), July (13), August (5), September (10), October (14), November (18), December (4). No data (87).

Distribution. Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil ( Endrödi 1969; Ratcliffe & Cave 2006). In Colombia, the species has been found also in Chocó ( Endrödi 1969), Cauca ( Pardo-Locarno et al. 2005), Cesar, and Córdoba (Pardo- Locarno et al. 2012).

Natural history. Specimens were collected with light traps, including black light, in different habitats including premontane and gallery forests. They were taken at 30 – 2,800 m.

Figures

FIGURES 94 – 101. Tomarus bituberculatus. 94) habitus in dorsal view, 95 – 96) variations in shape pronotal fovea, 97) habitus in lateral view, 98) parameres in frontal view, 99) parameres in lateral view, 100) spiculum gastrale, 101) locality records in Colombia.