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Issue: Vol. 3920 No. 1: 19 Feb. 2015
Type: Article
Published: 2015-02-19
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3920.1.6
Page range: 101–152
Abstract views: 23
PDF downloaded: 2

Revision of the African pollen beetle genera Tarchonanthogethes and Xenostrongylogethes, with insect-host plant relationships, identification key, and cladistic analysis of the Anthystrix genus-complex (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Meligethinae)

Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza Rome University, Via Borelli 50, I – 00161 Rome, Italy.
Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, California Department of Food & Agriculture, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, CA 95832–1448, USA.
Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, 415 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 1910 USA.
Department of Sciences, Roma Tre University,Viale Marconi, 446, I – 00154, Rome, Italy.
MiPAAF - National Forest Service, CNBF National Centre for Forestry Biodiversity, Via Carlo Ederle, 16/a, I –37100 Verona, Italy
Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza Rome University, Via Borelli 50, I – 00161 Rome, Italy.
Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza Rome University, Via Borelli 50, I – 00161 Rome, Italy. MiPAAF - National Forest Service, CNBF National Centre for Forestry Biodiversity, Via Carlo Ederle, 16/a, I –37100 Verona, Italy 7DAFNAE-Entomology, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, I –35020, Legnaro (Padova), Italy
Pollen beetles new species distribution key to identification Asteraceae Africa

Abstract

The Afrotropical endemic pollen beetle genera Tarchonanthogethes Audisio & Cline and Xenostrongylogethes Audisio & Cline, of the Anthystrix genus-complex, are revised. Eleven new species of Tarchonanthogethes (T. autumnalis, sp. nov., T. bisignatus, sp. nov., T. fasciatus, sp. nov., T. gratiellae, sp. nov., T. hermani, sp. nov., T. hystrix, sp. nov., T. lilliputianus, sp. nov., T. maasai, sp. nov., T. manconiae, sp. nov., T. pectinipes, sp. nov., T. thalycriformis, sp. nov.) and one new Xenostrongylogethes (X. cychramoides, sp. nov.) are described, illustrated and compared with related taxa. Tarchonanthogethes hirtus Kirejtshuk & Easton, 1988 is synonymized with T. martini (syn. nov.). Meligethes assutus Easton, 1960 from Kenya is transferred from Afrogethes Audisio & Cline to Tarchonanthogethes (comb. nov.). Meligethes singularis Grouvelle, 1919 from southern Africa is transferred from Tarchonanthogethes to Meligethinus Grouvelle, 1906 (comb. nov.). Larval host-plants for Tarchonanthogethes and Xenostrongylogethes include dioecious bushes and trees of Tarchonantheae Asteraceae (genera Brachylaena R.Br. and Tarchonanthus L.). All species currently attributed to the genera Anthystrix Kirejtshuk, Sebastiangethes Audisio, Kirk-Spriggs & Cline, Tarchonanthogethes and Xenostrongylogethes (Anthystrix genus-complex) are included in a morphology-based cladistic analysis to provide a rigorous hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships. An identification key to all 25 known species in the Anthystrix genus-complex, including all available data on insect host plant relationships, is presented.