Trichonotuloides Balthasar, 1945

Skelley, Paul E. & Warner, William B., 2015, Trichonotuloides aphoderrans, n. sp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae), a new genus and species for the United States, Insecta Mundi 2015 (416), pp. 1-6 : 2

Trichonotuloides Balthasar

Trichonotuloides Balthasar 1945 ~ Dellacasa et al. 2014 (revision).

Diagnosis. Body elongate, almost parallel-sided, uniformly colored body and elytra. Clypeal apical margin sinuate/emarginate, laterally rounded to subangulate, not dentate; surface not tuberculate, coarsely punctate. Pronotum somewhat flattened, anterior angles of some species weakly explanate. Apical fringe of middle and hind tibia short and nearly equal in length. Elytra coarsely punctate and setose; humeral angles not or weakly dentate.

Remarks. Trichonotuloides will key to couplet 34 in the generic key of Gordon and Skelley (2007) with Irrasinus Gordon and Skelley which occurs in the southeastern US and Trichonotulus Bedel (a European immigrant species) which occurs in northeastern North America. Besides having different distributions, these two are readily distinguished by their more convex pronota and smaller body size.

Trichonotuloides is most similar in appearance and distribution to Neotrichonotuloides Dellacasa, Gordon and Dellacasa. Neotrichonotuloides is readily distinguished from Trichonotuloides by having a much more convex pronotum, a more distinct elytral humeral tooth, and having more rounded genae which do not protrude.

In addition, members of Neotrichonotuloides are known to be rodent burrow specialists, while label data from specimens of Trichonotuloides (see data in Dellacasa et al. 2014) indicate members are high elevation surface dung generalists. The fact the new species has evaded capture for so long may result from its inhabiting high elevations and having a potentially narrow period of activity in the late summer.

Trichonotuloides was recently revised by Dellacasa et al. (2014), who treated the Mexican and Guatemalan species. This new species represents the first record of the genus in the United States.