Lepanus tozerensis Gunter & Weir, 2019

Gunter, Nicole L. & Weir, Thomas A., 2019, Revision of Australian species of the dung beetle genus Lepanus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae): key to species groups and description of 14 new species from the L. pygmaeus species group, Zootaxa 4564 (1), pp. 41-80 : 77-78

Lepanus tozerensis Gunter & Weir , new species

( Figs. 7C , 9F , 12E , 14 )

Type series. Holotype: ♂ “ 12.43 S 143.17 E 9km ENE Mt. Tozer, QLD, 5-10 July 1986, T. Weir ” / “ Berlesate ANIC 1061 open forest litter” [12°43'S, 143°17'E] / “ANIC Database No. 25- 060368 ” / ” Lepanus CYP5 det. T.A. Weir 2012” / “ANIC Image” in ANIC. Paratypes: 9 km ENE Mount Tozer , [12°43'S, 143°17'E], 5–10.vii.1986, T.A. Weir (25-065529 × 1 ♂ × 1 ♀ in ANIC) ; 7 km ENE Mount Tozer, [12°43'S, 143°17'E], 6.vii.1986, T.A. Weir (25- 060369 2 × ♂ 2 × ♀ in ANIC and 1 × ♂ 1 × ♀ in QM); Chilli Beach , 12°37'48"S, 143°25'16"E, 5 m, 11.xii.2010, G.B. Monteith (25- 060827 x1 ♀ in ANIC also as COL1459); Iron Range, Cape York Peninsula (general), [12°44'S, 143°17'E], 11–17.v.1968, G.B. Monteith (25-058520 x1 sex undetermined in QM) ; 11 km NW of Bald Hill, McIlwraith Range , [13°44'S 143°20'E], 520 m, 27.vi–12.vii.1989, T.A. Weir (25- 060370 x1 ♀, 25- 0 60371 x3 ♀ in ANIC) .

Description. Head and pronotum dark brown and elytra either uniformly light brown or light brown with red humeri. Antennal clubs grey.

Total length: 2.2 mm. Holotype measurements: Total length 2.2 mm, elytral width 1.5 mm.

Male: Head: U-shaped between clypeal teeth, which are short and upturned. Basal carina present but interrupted medially. Margin slightly angulate at clypeogenall suture. Genal angle weakly defined. Dorsal part of eyes narrow in size, separated by interocular space approximately 21 times eye width (32:1.5); eye canthus not dividing eye. Head 1.4 × wider than long (42:30).

Prothorax: Hypomeral surface finely reticulate with light punctation. Hypomeral striae about half the length of hypomeron. Pronotum 1.7 × wider than long (67:40).

Elytra: Surface smooth. Striae 1–5 double with very fine punctate edges. All striae on disc not equal width, striae 6 is not as wide, striae 7 appears single. Elytra 1.25 × wider than long (80:65).

Legs: Front edge of protibiae truncate; apical digit somewhat elongate and sharp; 2 teeth on outer edge. Inner edge of metatibiae almost straight. Metatarsi with 2nd tarsomere subequal to the 5th. Tarsal claws minute and toothed.

Abdomen: Pygidium with almost circular depression containing a round tubercle in upper third. Depression occupies slightly more than half of the pygidium. Upper edge of pygidium broadly angulate and the depression extends under this edge. Abdominal surface slightly reticulate right across. Segment 6 finely punctate.

Pterothorax: Medial lobe of metaventrite finely punctate and broadly margined between mesocoxae. Lateral lobe of metaventrite smooth and punctate with setae. Meso-metaventral suture very slightly arched. Mesoventrite with slight notch anteriorly. Mesoventrite and mesepimeron smooth. Metanepisternum reticulate.

Female: Apical digit absent with apical spur extending straight from front edge. Abdominal ventrite 6 slightly longer than in male.

Etymology. Named for the type locality near Mount Tozer.

Distribution. Known only from the CYP IBRA region of northern Queensland. Most specimens have been collected from open forests of Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park to McIlwrath Range in the CYP Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia region, with one specimen from Chilli Beach collected in rainforest ( Fig. 14 ).

Comments. Lepanus tozerensis was previously referred to as “ Lepanus CYP5” under the informal nomenclature sensu Yeates et al. (2011). The specimen from Chilli Beach that was sequenced in the study of Gunter et al. (2018) is designated as a paratype here (ANIC 25- 060827). It was recovered as a member of the monsoonal clade of Lepanus , which contains species in the L. pygmaeus species group. This species is known from only 15 specimens collected either in dung baited pitfall traps or berlesed leaf litter.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Habitus of species within the Lepanus pygmaeus species group. A, Lepanus pygmaeus; B, Lepanus sauroni; C, Lepanus tozerensis. All specimens in comparative scale. Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 9. Pygidial configuration of species within the Lepanus pygmaeus species group. A, Lepanus pecki; B, Lepanus podocarp; C: Lepanus pungalina; D, Lepanus pygmaeus; E, Lepanus sauroni; F, Lepanus tozerensis. All specimens in comparative scale. Scale bar 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 12. Left, dorsal, and right view of aedeagi of species within the Lepanus pygmaeus species group. A, Lepanus podocarp; B, Lepanus pungalina; C, Lepanus pygmaeus; D, Lepanus sauroni; E: Lepanus tozerensis. Not in comparative scale, given size difference aedegi are roughly grouped in three size classes as per lower left schematic and scaled accordingly. Size class indicated by shaded silhouette and 0.2 mm scale bar.

FIGURE 14. Map of known records for 10 species within the Lepanus pygmaeus species group overlaid with predicted distribution boundary of L. pygmaeus (dashed line) taken from Fig. 13 map.