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A new genus and species of the termitophilous Neotropical
Hybosorinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Hybosoridae)
associated with Cornitermes (Isoptera: Termitidae) in the
Cerrado ecoregion in Brazil
Andrey V. Frolov
a,b
, Federico C. Ocampo
c
, Lilia A. Akhmetova
b
and Fernando Vaz-de-Mello
a
a
Department of Biology and Zoology, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Institute of Biosciences, Cuiabá,
Brazil;
b
Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russia;
c
AgIdea, Pergamino,
Argentina
ABSTRACT
The new hybosorine genus Taisia Frolov, Ocampo, Akhmetova et
Vaz-de-Mello, gen. nov. is described from T. cornitermitis Frolov,
Ocampo, Akhmetova et Vaz-de-Mello, sp. nov. from Mato Grosso
State, Brazil. Taisia gen. nov. can be easily distinguished from the
rest of the Neotropical Hybosorinae genera by the following
characters: mandibular teeth long and robust; pronotum with
serrate lateral margins; scutellum with two deep rectangular
fossae basally; and metatibial apex protruding. Males of T. corni-
termitis sp.nov.differ in having feather-like setae on the three
basal tarsomeres of meso- and protarsi. The new taxon is asso-
ciated with termites Cornitermes cf. bequaerti Emerson, 1952.
www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:439DDABB-EBC2-4870-AA05-76ADC3BDB7D9
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 17 March 2017
Accepted 21 June 2017
Online 4 August 2017
KEYWORDS
Hybosoridae; termitophily;
termitophilous beetles;
Cornitermes; Cerrado
Introduction
The subfamily Hybosorinae (Scarabaeoidea: Hybosoridae) includes seven extant genera and
27 described species in the New World (Ocampo and Ballerio 2006), as well as introduced
Hybosorus illigeri Reiche (Ocampo 2002). Adult hybosorines are relatively small, rounded,
brown, reddish brown or black beetles. Adults feed on dung, carrion and fungi, and some
arefoundintermitenests.TherearealsorecordsofpredationinH. illigeri –ararecaseamong
the Scarabaeoidea (Rozas et al. 1991;Ocampo2002). New World hybosorines are recognised
by the following characters: 10- or nine-segmented antennae with three-segmented, oppo-
sable club (last two segments tomentose); eyes well developed; labrum produced beyond
apex of clypeus and mandibles produced beyond apex of labrum; elytra convex, lacking
carinae; and male genitalia asymmetrical (Ocampo 2006). Neotropical Hybosorinae are still
poorly known. A large number of undescribed taxa have been detected in collections, and
probably many more will be discovered in the future.
CONTACT Andrey V. Frolov frolov@scarabaeoidea.com Department of Biology and zoology, Federal University of
Mato Grosso, Institute of Biosciences, Av. Fernando Corrêa da Costa, 2367, Boa Esperança, 78060-900 Cuiabá, MT, Brazil
JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 2017
VOL. 51, NOS. 29–30, 1759–1765
https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2017.1353150
© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Recently, AVF and LAA collected a large number of specimens of an undescribed
hybosorine species in the vicinity of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Later, a few addi-
tional specimens were found some 80 km E of Cuiabá, in Santo Antônio do Leverge
municipality, Mato Grosso, Brazil. The species showed striking sexual dimorphism and
other unique characters, and did not fit diagnoses of any described genera. The
purpose of this contribution is to describe the new species and establish a new
genus for it.
Material and methods
The holotype and some of the paratypes of the new taxon are deposited in the Insect
Collection, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil (CEMT). Some of the para-
types will be deposited in the Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Áridas,
Mendoza, Argentina (IAZA), Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom (BMNH),
Institute Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (IOCRJ), Belgian Royal Institute of Natural
Sciences, Bruxelles, Belgium (IRSNB), Natural History Museum, Geneva, Switzerland
(MNHG), National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France (MNHN), National Museum,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (MNRJ), and Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Saint-Petersburg, Russia (ZIN).
Preparation of specimens, digital images, and locality map follow Frolov et al. (2017).
Taisia Frolov, Ocampo, Akhmetova et Vaz-de-Mello, gen. nov.
Type species
Taisia cornitermitis Frolov, Ocampo, Akhmetova et Vaz-de-Mello, sp. nov. (by monotypy).
Diagnosis
Among the Neotropical Hybosorinae, the new genus is similar to Dicraeodon Erichson
and Aporolaus Bates. Taisia gen. nov. can be easily distinguished from these genera and
the rest of the Neotropical Hybosorinae by the following combination of characters:
mandibles lobate, mandibular teeth long and robust (Figure 1(a)); pronotum with serrate
lateral margins; scutellum with two deep, transverse, rectangular fossae basally (Figure 2
(a)); metatibial apex protruding. Males of T. cornitermitis gen. et sp. nov. can be recog-
nised by the feather-like setae on the three basal tarsomeres of meso- and protarsi
(Figure 1(e)).
Species composition and distribution
Only one species is known, from two localities in central Mato Grosso, Brazil (Figure 2(e)).
Etymology
The new genus is named after the daughter of AVF and LAA, Taisia. The gender is
feminine.
Taisia cornitermitis Frolov, Ocampo, Akhmetova et Vaz-de-Mello, sp. nov.
(Figures 1(a–f), 2(a–d))
1760 A. V. FROLOV ET AL.
Type locality
Cuiabá municipality, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Type material
Holotype, male at CEMT labelled ‘Brazil, MT, Cuiabá, Flor do Cerrado, 15°29ʹ38.20’S 56°
4ʹ36.40”W 6.XI.2015 А. Frolov & L. Akhmetova leg.’.
ab
cd ef
1 mm
0.5 mm 0.5 mm
Figure 1. Taisia cornitermitis, holotype male (a, c, d, e), paratype female (b, f). Habitus in dorsal view
(a, b), aedeagus in lateral view (c, d), mesotarsi (e, f).
JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY 1761
Paratypes: 184 specimens. One female and six males at CEMT with the same data as
the holotype; six males at CEMT with the same locality data as the holotype but
collected 15 November 2015; seven males at CEMT labelled ‘Brazil, MT, Cuiabá, Flor do
Cerrado, 15°29ʹ38.20’S 56°4ʹ36.40”W Frolov leg. 15.X.2016, termite nests and flying
around’; 123 males and three females at CEMT, IAZA, BMNH, IOCRJ, IRSNB, MNHG,
MNHN, MNRJ and ZIN with the same locality data but collected 27 October 2016 with
aflight interception trap (FIT); 31 males at CEMT with the same locality data but
collected 12–17 November 2016 by FIT; one male at CEMT with the same locality data
but collected 3–12 November 2016 by FIT; four males at CEMT with the same locality
a0.5 mm b
cd
e
Figure 2. Taisia cornitermitis. Mesonotum (a, fossae arrowed); nest of Cornitermes cf. bequaerti and
the beetles coming out from the ventilation hole (b–d); locality map (e).
1762 A. V. FROLOV ET AL.
data but collected 8–12 November 2016 by FIT; two males at CEMT labelled ‘Brazil, MT,
Aguas Quentes 15°53ʹ11”S 55°30ʹ44’W 25.XI.2016 M. Cupello & A. Frolov leg’.
Description
Holotype, male (Figure 1(a,c–e)).
Body length 4.5 mm. Colour uniformly brown to light brown, sclerites poorly mela-
nised, semitransparent.
Head (Figure 1(a)): Frons slightly convex; surface punctate with sparse and moder-
ately coarse punctures. Frontoclypeal suture distinctive, convex. Clypeus subtrapezoidal,
anterior margin narrowly rounded, surface punctate with few punctures. Clypeal anterior
margin weakly reflexed except in middle. Labrum somewhat trapezoidal, lacking medial
tooth at apex. Mandibles protruding beyond labrum, with 3 outer teeth. Labium sub-
trapezoidal, densely setose. Maxillae with galea densely setose at apex, setae visible in
dorsal view of head; maxillary palps with 4 palpomeres. Eyes relatively small, visible in
dorsal view. Antennae with 9 antennomeres; antennomeres 2–6 moniliform; antennal
club with 3 antennomeres; basal antennomere of club cup-shaped, capable of receiving
penultimate and ultimate antennomeres.
Pronotum: slightly convex, base flat in middle, pronotum 1.6 times wider than long;
surface with relatively sparse, double punctation. Anterior margin feebly convex medi-
ally, base almost straight; posterior angles nearly right-angled. Lateral margins convex
and coarsely serrate.
Scutellum pentagonal. Apical, permanently exposed part (commonly referred to as
‘scutellum’in the Scarabaeoidea taxonomic literature) widely rounded, surface smooth.
Medial part mostly hidden under pronotum, coarsely punctate with round punctures;
each puncture bears a seta. Basal part hidden under pronotum in undisturbed beetles,
with two semirectangular, transverse, adjacent fossae with rugose and setose surface
(Figure 2(a)).
Elytra moderately convex, with rounded apices, 1.3 times longer than wide. Elytral
striae marked with regular rows of relatively coarse punctures; intervals feebly convex,
minutely punctured; margins setose.
Wings fully developed.
Protibia with 2 large teeth and a number of smaller teeth on outer margin; dorsal
surface with 2 setose, longitudinal carinae; protibial spur shorter than apical tibial tooth,
curved, apex acute. Meso- and metatibia lacking transversal carina; with 2 apical,
acuminate spurs. Metatibia with long, truncate process apically, analogous to the
‘enclosed corbel’of some Curculionidae (Thompson 1992). Pro- and metatarsomeres
1–3 with feather-like setae ventrally (Figure 1(e)). Apical tarsomeres longer than tar-
someres 1–4, claws longer than half of apical tarsomeres.
Male genitalia strongly asymmetrical (Figure 1(c,d)).
Female (Figure 1(b,f)) differs from male in having mandibles with 2 teeth; galea with
sparse, short setae, not visible in dorsal view; wider pronotum and elytra, normal (not
feather-like) setae on tarsomeres (Figure 1(f)), and rounded apical processes of metatibiae.
Variation
Body length of males 4.0–5.2 mm, females 4.3–4.7 mm. Except for the body size variation
the examined specimens are rather similar.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY 1763
Distribution and habitat
Taisia cornitermitis sp. nov. is known from two localities in the state of Mato Grosso,
Brazil (Figure 2(e)). Most of the type series including the holotype originate from the
vicinity of Cuiabá. Another locality is near Fazenda Aguas Quentes, Santo Antônio do
Leverge municipality, some 80 km east of Cuiabá. The habitat in the vicinity of Cuiabá is
a small patch of Cerradão, a forest-like subtype of the Cerrado.
Biology
Taisia cornitermitis sp. nov. are associated with termites Cornitermes cf. bequaerti
(Termitidae, Nasutitermitinae). The beetles were observed coming out of the ‘ventilation
holes’of the termite nests, and sitting on and flying around the nests (Figure 2(b–d)).
The ‘ventilation holes’go deep around the nest (and some through the nest) and
apparently join below the nest to form a ‘paraecie’, an empty space of regular thickness
surrounding subterranean termite nests and subterranean parts of epigeal ones and
thought to play a role in microclimate regulation and defence (Noirot and Darlington
2000). The termite nest inside the ‘paraecie’is closed and the latter is devoid of termites.
However, the ‘paraecies’seem to be populated by various animals. Except for T.
cornitermesi, whose flying activity is limited to a few weeks after the beginning of
rainy season, most prominent inhabitants are crickets (Gryllidae) and whip spiders
(Amblypygi) which can be found in every hole at night.
Taisia cornitermitis is apparently a diurnal species, and most of its flying activity was
observed in the mornings. In addition to the specimens collected by hand on the
termite nests, long series were collected by FITs set near the nests. In Fazenda Aguas
Quentes, the beetles were collected on the side of a termite nest. There is little doubt
that this species will be found in other localities within the rather large distribution
range of Cornitermes.
It is worth noting that the sex ratio of the collected specimens is strongly biased: there
were only four females found among the long series of over 180 males. Although the
females have well developed wings, they probably do not normally leave termite nests.
Etymology
Latin noun in the genitive case derived from the name of the host termite genus.
Acknowledgements
We thank Alberto Ballerio (Brescia, Italy) for comments that improved an early version of this work,
Mario Cupello (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) for his help collecting
specimens in Fazenda Aguas Quentes, and Reginaldo Constantino (University of Brasília, Brasília,
Brazil) for confirmation of the identification of termites.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
1764 A. V. FROLOV ET AL.
Funding
This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
[304925/2010-1, 302997/2013-0, 405697/2013-9, 48403, 306745/2016-0, 010551/2015-8, 400681/
2014-5]; Mato Grosso State Research Funding Agency [FAPEMAT –PRONEM2014]; Russian State
Research Project [AAAA-A17-117030310210-3]; and Russian Foundation for Basic Research [16-04-
00412 A]. FZVM is a CNPq 1B fellow.
ORCID
Andrey V. Frolov http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6724-6828
Federico C. Ocampo http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2519-7279
Lilia A. Akhmetova http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2151-1278
Fernando Vaz-de-Mello http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9697-320X
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