Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 4450 No. 2: 24 Jul. 2018
Type: Article
Published: 2018-07-24
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4450.2.4
Page range: 242–248
Abstract views: 102
PDF downloaded: 6

Two new species of Garreta Janssens, 1940 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) from Southern Africa

Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, P/B X20, 0028 Hatfield, South Africa.
Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, P/B X20, 0028 Hatfield, South Africa.
Coleoptera dung beetle Namibia Garreta new species northeast Africa Scarabaeinae southeast Africa

Abstract

Two new, putative, closely-related species of dung beetles are described in the genus Garreta Janssens, 1940 (tribe Gymnopleurini). Garreta australugens new species, is known from various dung types in the southeast lowlands of Africa (validated for South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe with a probable record from Botswana). It is, here, separated at species level from its putative closest relative, Garreta lugens (Fairmaire, 1891), recorded from the lowlands of northeast Africa (validated for Kenya with additional records from Ethiopia, Somalia and Tanzania). These two taxa were formerly considered to comprise a single species. All specimens in the type series of Garreta namalugens new species, were recorded at low altitude in arid, rocky mountains from west central to northwest Namibia, mostly on dung in communal middens of the Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766)).

 

References

  1. Davis, A.L.V., van Aarde, R.J., Scholtz, C.H. & Delport, J.H. (2002) Increasing representation of localized dung beetles across a chronosequence of regenerating vegetation and natural dune forest in South Africa. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 11, 191–209.
    https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1466-822X.2002.00283.x

    Davis, A.L.V, Scholtz, C.H. & Swemmer, A.M. (2012) Effects of land usage on dung beetle assemblage structure: Kruger National Park versus adjacent farmland in South Africa. Journal of Insect Conservation, 16, 399−411.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-011-9426-3

    Moretto, P. & Génier, F. (2015) La véritable identité de Scarabaeus nitens Olivier, 1789, et Ateuchus azureus Fabricius, 1801 (Scarabaeidae, Gymnopleurini). CATHARSIUS La Revue, 12, 1−32.
    https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.4753.7047

    Pokorný, S. & Zidek, J. (2016) Review of the Gymnopleurini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). III. Asian species of Garreta Janssens. Insecta Mundi, 0483, 1−8.

    Schoolmeesters, P. (2017) Scarabs: World Scarabaeidae Database (version Jan 2017). In: Roskov, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Kunze, T., Culham, A., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W. & De Wever, A., (Eds.), Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2017 Annual Checklist. Available from: http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017 (accessed 12 February 2018)