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 : 48-50

Coprophanaeus (C.) jasius ( Olivier, 1789)

Fig. 96 , 103, 107, 109 , 113 , 129-133

Scarabaeus jasius Olivier, 1789: 109

Phanaeus satyrus Castelnau, 1840: 80 (syn. by Nevinson 1891: 1 as P. acrisius )

Coprophanaeus jasius (Olivier) (recomb. by Blackwelder 1944: 209)

Type. S. jasius – neotype male (des. by Arnaud 2002a: 7), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (examined by photo); P. satyrus – unknown to us.

Diagnosis. General – Metallic coloration green to yellowish green (seldom with red reflections) confined to posterior areas of head and pronotal sides and margins. Clypeal margin ( Fig. 129, 132 ) clearly explanate/ angulate lateral to median teeth. Posteromedian portion of pronotum ( Fig. 96 ) smooth, bearing sparse, effaced puncturing (weakest in large males). Sulcus paralleling carinate posterior margin of pronotum smooth ( Fig. 109 ), lacking conspicuous puncturing or asperities (x25); carina entire. Posterior pronotal fossae with sparse puncturing and/or microgranules; area surrounding fossae virtually smooth. Length 18-27 mm.

Male ( Fig. 96 , 103 , 131-133 ) – Tip of head horn never reaching level of prothoracic carina; anterior surface of base usually coarsely punctate; central process (viewed laterally) inclined slightly anteriorly from base, its length less than one-half that of base. Pronotal carina ( Fig. 96 ) weakly, broadly angulate medially, trituberculate, medial tooth only slightly larger than laterals. Parameres long, length at least three-fourths that of phallobase.

Female ( Fig. 107 , 129-130 ) – Cephalic carina bowed or angulate medially, median tooth larger than laterals. Vertex coarsely, densely punctured. Pronotal ridge trapezoidal, summit weakly trituberculate, width at summit slightly less than interocular width. Anteromedian concavity shallow, posterior (upper) margin simple, not bitumose.

Specimens examined – 274.

Distribution. Amazonian subregion ( Fig. 113 ).

Collection Records. BRAZIL: Amazonas – 26 km N Manaus [Reserva Forestal Ducke] (Oct-Dec) ; 60 km N. Manaus, Fazenda Esteio and Fazenda Dimona (Jan, Jun-Jul); Municipio Itacoatiara, Fazenda Aruana [AM Hwy 10, km 215] (Nov); Manacapurú (Mar). Pará – Belêm [Agua Preta] (Jan-Feb]; upper Rocana River. Rondônia – 9 km NE Cacaulândia (Feb) . FRENCH GUIANA: 7 km N Saul, 3 km NW Les Eaux Claires, Mt. La Fumée , 490 m, 3 o 39’46”N 53 o 13’19”W (Jun) ; Saül, Mt. Galbao , 3 o 37’18”N 53 o 16’42”W 740 m (Jun) ; Nouragues Field Station , 4 o 05’N 52 o 40’W . GUYANA: Cuyuni-Mazaruni – Bartica District (May). Potaro- Siparuni – Iwokrama Forest Reserve, 4 o 40’19”N 58 o 41’04”W, 100-200 m (May-June) . SURINAME: Sipaliwini – Central Suriname Nature Reserve, environs of Voltzberg research station, 4 o 40.90’N 56 o 11.13'’W, 100 m (Mar) ; Central Suriname Nature Reserve, environs of Lolopasi field station, 4 o 42.91’N 56 o 12.83'’W, 80 m (Mar) ; Central Suriname Nature Reserve, environs of Conservation International field station approx. 50 m (Mar) ; Oelemarie, ~ 3 o 6’0'’N 54 o 32’0'’W (Aug); Palumeu, ~3 o 21’30.3'’N 55 o 26’38.2'’W (Jun). VENEZUELA: Bolívar – Lago Guri Islands , 7 o 21”S 62 o 52’W (Jun) ; Las Trincheras [ Río Caura ] (Aug) ; Puerto Cabello [ Río Caura ] (Aug) ; Jabillal [ Río Caura – Orinoco] (Oct). Delta Amacuro – 11 km W Piacoa.

Comments. There has been much confusion attending the use of the name “ jasius ”; it has been regularly and erroneously applied to practically all members of the jasius group. Arnaud’s (2002a) designation of a neotype resolved much of the identity problem of this, the type species of the genus. Coprophanaeus jasius is an Amazonian species commonly found in the same communities as its congeners C. parvulus , C. dardanus and C. lancifer . It is a copronecrophagous forest dweller. Its closest known relative is C. abas , originally described by MacLeay as a variety of C. jasius and first recognized as a separate species by Arnaud (2002c). Of the members of the jasius group, only C. jasius and C. abas have a conspicuously smooth posteromedian portion of the pronotum.

Pereira and Martínez (1956; see also 1960) synonymized C. cyanescens and C. camargoi with C. jasius , but neither is now considered in the context of Olivier’s taxon. We consider C. cyanescens (q.v.) a valid species and C. camargoi a synonym of C. acrisius (q.v.). Arnaud (2002c) has a wider definition of C. jasius than our own; he cites the species from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. While we have seen no specimens from any of these countries, its occurrence in Amazonian habitats in any or all of them is not out of the question and we so indicate in the distribution depicted in Fig. 113 .

Arnaud (1982) pointed out that the type of Phanaeus costatus is in fact a “hybrid” combining the forebody of a Coprophanaeus with the hindbody of Diabroctis mimas (Linné) . He identified the forebody as C. jasius , which he synonymized with C. costatus . C.P.D.T. Gillett (pers. comm.) has kindly informed us that the forebody is of C. cyanescens , requiring that the synonymy be reassigned accordingly (see Comments under C. cyanescens ).

Figures

Figure 113. Approximate geographic distribution of Coprophanaeus (s. str.) species in the jasius species group.

Figure 95-101. Characters of the Coprophanaeus (s. str.) jasius species group. 95) Dorsal view of pronotum of male C. cerberus. 96) Same, C. jasius. 97) Same, C. spitzi. 98) Same, C. cyanescens. 99) Dorsal view of cephalic process of female C. gamezi. 100) Detail of elytral surface of C. acrisius. 101) Same, C. spitzi.

Figure 102-112. Characters of the Coprophanaeus (s. str.) jasius species group. 102) Anterior view of head of male C. abas. 103) Same, C. jasius. 104) Same, C. cerberus. 105) Pronotal crest of female C. abas. 106) Same, C. gamezi. 107) Same, C. jasius. 108) Same, C. spitzi. 109) Section of posterior pronotal margin of C. jasius. 110) Same, C. abas. 111) Same, C. gamezi. 112) Prosternal spine of C. spitzi.

Figure 129-133. Coprophanaeus jasius. 129-130) Female habitus. 131-132) Male habitus. 133) Aedeagus (lateral view on left; dorsal view on right).