Abstract
The genus Anaxius Fåhraeus, 1870 (Tenebrionidae: Helopinina) is revised to include seven Southern African species, four of which are new. A taxonomic treatment of the genus is provided including a morphological study, new species descriptions, keys, illustrations, and notes on species distributions. The following species are treated: Anaxius bloubergensis sp. nov., A. campbellae Koch, 1958, A. limpopoensis sp. nov., A. meletsensis sp. nov., A. obesus Fåhraeus, 1870, A. prozeskyi Koch, 1958, and A. pseudoloensus sp. nov. A lectotype is designated for Anaxius obesus Fåhraeus, 1870 to fix the taxonomic status of this species. Anaxius montiscaerulei Koch, 1958 is considered as a synonym of A. campbellae.
References
Banaszkiewicz, M. (2006) Comparative study of female genitalia in Pedinini sensu Iwan 2004 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Pedinini), with notes on the classification. Annales Zoologici, 56, 59–77.
Bousquet, Y. & Bouchard, P. (2013) The genera in the third catalogue (1836–1837) of Dejean’s Coleoptera collection. Zookeys, 282, 221–239.
Fåhraeus, O.I. (1870) Coleoptera Caffrariae a J. A. Walhberg collecta.—Ofversigt af Kongl. Akademiens Ftirhandlingar 4: 243–358.
Ferrer, J. (1999) Contribución al conocimiento del género Drosochrus Erichson sensu Koch 1958 y descripción de una nueva especie de Tanzanìa. Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Drosochrini. La Rivista Piemontese di Storia Naturale, 20, 55–60.
Kamiński, M.J. (2015) Afrotropical Melambiina: four new species of Zadenos (Tenebrionidae: Pedinini), with notes on related taxa. Annales Zoologici, 65, 531–550.
https://doi.org/10.3161/00034541ANZ2015.65.4.002
Kamiński, M.J. (2017) Afrotropical Melambiina: revision of the genus Tragardhus Koch, 1956 and redescription of Pseudemmallus Koch, 1956 (Tenebrionidae: Pedinini). Zootaxa, 4347, 71–93.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4347.1.4
Iwan, D. & Kaminski, M.J. (2016) Toward a natural classification of ́opatrine darkling beetles: comparative study of female terminalia. Zoomorphology, 135, 453–485.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-016-0328-5
Kaminski, M.J. & Iwan, D. (2017) Revision of the Subtribe Pedinina (Tenebrionidae: Pedinini). Annales Zoologici, 67, 585–607.
https://doi.org/10.3161/00034541ANZ2017.67.3.006
Kamiński, M.J. & Schawaller, W. (2018) Afrotropical Melambiina: the second species of the enigmatic genus Zoutpansbergia (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Annales Zoologici, 68, 49–55.
Kamiński, M.J., Kanda K., Lumen R., Smith A.D. & Iwan, D. (2018) Molecular phylogeny of Pedinini (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) and its implications for higher-level classification. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zly033
Kaszab, Z. (1971) The Scientific Results of Hungarian Zoological Expedition to Tanganyka. 15. Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici, 63, 225–238.
Koch, C. (1958) Tenebrionidae of Angola. Publicaçoes Culturais da Companhia de Diamantes de Angola, 39, 1–231.
Matthews, E.G., Lawrence, J.F., Bouchard, P., Steiner, W.E. & Ślipiński, S.A. (2010) 11.14 Tenebrionidae Latreille, 1802. In: Leschen, R.A.B., Beutel, R.G. & Lawrence, J.F. (Eds.), Handbook of zoology. A natural history of the phyla of the animal kingdom. Vol. IV. Arthropoda: Insecta. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 574–659.
Olson, D.M., Dinerstein, E., Wikramanayake, E.D., Burgess, N.D., Powell, G.V.N., Underwood, E.C., D’Amico, J.A., Itoua, I., Strand, H.W., Morrison, J.C., Loucks, C.J., Allnutt, T.F., Ricketts, T.H., Kura, Y., Lamoreux, J.F., Wettengel, W.W., Hedao, P. & Kassem, K.R. (2001) Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth. BioScience, 51, 933–938.
https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2
Robiche, G. (2001) Contribution a l'etude de la famille Tenebrionidae de la region afrotropicale Description de deux nouvelles especes appartenant au genre Oncosoma Westwood, 1842 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae). Lambillionea, 102, 77–80.
Robiche, G. (2004a) Contribution a la connaissance de la tribu Drosochrini, genre Oncosoma Westwood, 1842: description d'un nouveau sous-genre, Strophia, et de quatre nouvelles especes afrotropicales (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, 109, 129–140.
Robiche, G. (2004b) Contribution a la connaissance de la tribu Drosochrini: description d'un nouveau genre et de son espece. Lambillionea, 104, 736–741.
Robiche, G. (2005) Rectification homonymique du sous-genre Strophia (Col, Tenebrionidae. Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, 110, 358–358.
Robiche, G. (2008) Contribution à l’étude du genre Oncosoma Westwood, 1842 de la région afrotropicale (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, 113, 525–532.
Robiche, G. (2012) Nouvelles espèces appartenant au genre Oncosoma Westwood, 1842 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae). Entomologia Africana, 17, 17–22.
Robiche, G. (2013) Un nouveau statut pour le genre Conophthalmus Quedenfeldt (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Tenebrioninae). Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, 118, 521–525.
Schulze, L. (1968a) The Tenebrionidae of South Africa, XL: three new Drosochrini (Coleoptera) from Transvaal. Annals Annals of the Transvaal Museum, 25, 177–188.
Schulze, L. (1968b) The Tenebrionidae of Southern Africa. XLI. Descriptive notes on the early stages of four genera of the tribe Drosochrini (Coleoptera). Annals of the Transvaal Museum, 26, 31–51.
Tschinkel, W.R. & Doyen, J.T. (1980) Comparative anatomy of the defensive glands, ovipositors and female genital tubes of tenebrionid beetles (Coleoptera). International Journal of Insect Morphology and Embryology, 9, 321–368.