Neoryctes similis Ratcliffe, 2014

Ratcliffe, Brett C., 2014, A New Genus and Species of Dynastinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) from the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, other New Species of Cyclocephalini, Pentodontini, and Phileurini from South America, and a Revised Key to the Genera of New World Pentodontini, The Coleopterists Bulletin 68 (4), pp. 663-680 : 663-680

Neoryctes similis Ratcliffe , new species ( Figs. 13–16 )

Type Material. Holotype male labeled: “ Cawley Mt. /Alt. Vii-06/Albermarle I/ Galapagos Is//Coll. by/ F. X. Williams ” and with my red holotype label. Right wing mounted on small card beneath specimen . Allotype female with same data and wing mounted beneath specimen. Types deposited at the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, CA) .

Holotype. Male. Length 16.0 mm; width 8.7 mm. Color reddish brown. Head: Frons completely, coarsely rugopunctate, punctures large. Frontoclypeal ridge distinctly elevated, arcuate in anterior view. Clypeus subtriangular, apex weakly bidentate; surface rugopunctate, punctures moderate in size. Ocular canthus lacking acute lateral process but with small, distinct lobe at base. Mandibles large, exposed, arcuate on external edge. Interocular width equals 4.5 transverse eye diameters. Antenna 9-segmented, club subequal in length to antennomeres 2–6. Pronotum: Surface convex, lacking fovea or tubercles, punctures moderately large, moderate in density, becoming slightly sparser on basal third. Base with complete marginal bead. Elytra: Surface with punctures moderate in size and density, shallow, glabrous, some in distinct rows. Apices bluntly rounded, appearing foreshortened, elytra together as wide as long. Hind wings 8.7 mm long. Pygidium: Surface with minute, sparse punctures, shiny. In lateral view, surface strongly convex. Legs: Protibia quadridentate, basal tooth nearly obsolete. Metatibia at apex slightly expanded, subtruncate, with about 20 short spinules (some absent). Venter: Prosternal process short, triangular, laminate. long, subrectangular, thick, slightly recurving, apex truncate. Parameres: Together subrectangular, apices broadly expanded, median edge of each paramere just below middle with prominent tooth ( Figs. 14–15 ).

Allotype. Female. Length 16.8 mm; width 8.8 mm. As holotype except in the following respects: Pronotum: Punctures slightly denser. Hind wing 8.3 mm in length. Pygidium: Convex but not strongly so.

Etymology. The specific epithet is Latin that indicates “similar to...”, in reference to the similarity between N. similis from Isla Isabela and Neoryctes linelli (Mutchler) from Isla San Cristóbal.

Distribution. Neoryctes similis is known only from Isabela Island (formerly Albermarle) in the Galápagos Archipelago, Ecuador ( Fig. 16 ).

Locality Records. ECUADOR (2): GALÁPAGOS (2): Isla Isabela.

Temporal Distribution. July (2).

Diagnosis. This species will key out to couplet 3 in Cook et al. (1995) because of the length of the wing (8.7 mm), but then only parts of each of the remaining two choices conform to the specimen. Neoryctes moreti Dechambre has reduced eyes and an acute lateral process on the ocular canthus, whereas N. similis has neither; N. moreti has a reduced medial process on the parameres, whereas this process is prominent in N. similis . In the second part of couplet 3, Neoryctes williamsi Cook has the hind wing greatly reduced and lacking an anal fold, whereas N. similis has a larger wing with an anal fold. The parameres of N. similis are most similar to those of N. linelli , but in that species the wings are longer than 10 mm. Neoryctes species have variable character states ( Cook et al. 1995), and so identifications can be problematical.

Cook et al. (1995) was aware of, but did not see, the Cawley Mountain specimens referred to in Van Dyke (1953), and the new species described here is undoubtedly those specimens. They were in the collections of the California Academy of Sciences and placed in a series with an old header label of N. galapagoensis (Waterhouse) (L. Saylor determination). Henry Howden arranged for the loan from the Academy’ s Neoryctes specimens for the revision by Cook et al. (1995), but it seems that not all were sent since the Cawley Mountain material was not included in the revision.

Natural History. Nothing is known of the life history for any of the five Neoryctes species.

Figures

Figs. 13–15. Neoryctes similis, holotype. 13) Habitus; 14) Parameres, caudal view; 15) Parameres, lateral view.

Fig. 16. Isla Isabela, Galápagos Islands. Image courtesy of Frans Lanting/Lanting.com.