ABSTRACT
With more than 2300 species, Onthophagus Latreille, 1802 is a mega diverse genus within the subfamily Scarabaeinae. Recent revisions have yielded an over-abundance of redundant species names accumulated over the years as results of bad and inappropriate taxonomic practices. Indeed, the difficulty of access to public entomological collections, the usage of outdated bibliographic references, as well as the description of new species based on a few specimens, and often accompanied by diagnoses largely vague, has resulted thus far in a very large number of synonyms.
Subject(s)
Coleoptera/anatomy & histology , Coleoptera/classification , Americas , Animals , Female , Male , Species SpecificityABSTRACT
Onthophagus columbianus Boucomont, 1932 is a new case of transcontinental mislabeling within the genus. The species name is here considered to be new synonym under the Madagascan Onthophagus elegans Klug, 1832. Historical notes, lectotype designations and illustrations of the primary type specimens of both species are provided.
Subject(s)
Coleoptera/classification , Animal Distribution , Animal Structures/anatomy & histology , Animal Structures/growth & development , Animals , Body Size , Coleoptera/anatomy & histology , Coleoptera/growth & development , Female , Male , Organ SizeABSTRACT
Dichotomius schiffleri Vaz-de-Mello et al is often cited as endemic to the preserved coastal sandy-dune vegetation (restinga) of Guriri Island, Espírito Santo state, and is included in the Brazilian List of Endangered Fauna as "critically endangered" (CR). However, we recorded its occurrence in twelve additional sites along the coasts of Espírito Santo, Bahia, Sergipe and Pernambuco. The geographic distribution of D. schiffleri is limited to the coastal Atlantic Forest domain, mainly in preserved restinga patches. We recommend that D. schiffleri remains in the List of Endangered species, but in the "endangered" (EN) category, according to the IUCN criteria.