New species of Eriopeltastes Burmeister & Schaum, 1840 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae, Trichiini) from South Africa

By

Ricchiardi, Enrico
Perissinotto, Renzo

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2014

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

422

Pages

103-113

Subjects

Blinkwater Nature Reserve , Karklook Nature Reserve , KwaZulu-Natal , mistbelt grassland , new species , Trichiini

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.422.7830

 

Abstract

Both male and female of a new species of Eriopeltasttes Burmeister & Schaum, 1840, E. (E.) ornatus Ricchiardi, sp. n., are described from the mistbelt grassland of KwaZulu-Natal. Sexual dimorphism is extreme in this genus, with females being brachypterous, fossorial and entirely black to dark brown in general body colour. This is only the fifth out of 12 known species in this genus for which the female is known. The species appears to be restricted to areas within or in the immediate vicinities of two marginal nature reserves, Karkloof and Blinkwater, in a grassland habitat that is regarded as one of the most threatened in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. Despite its acknowledged importance as centre of endemism the area is currently in a precarious state of large-scale degradation.