Taxonomic revision of the South American genus Polynoncus Burmeister, 1876 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Trogidae)

Abstract

The South American genus Polynoncus Burmeister encompasses 38 valid species that are considered to be endemic to South America. In this work, we provide a comprehensive revision of this genus. Polynoncus seymourensis (Mutchler, 1925) with only insular occurrence (Galapagos Islands) is now recorded for the continent. We describe Polynoncus pseudogemmifer sp. n. from Argentina to accommodate a species previously considered as ‘P. gemmifer’. Polynoncus furcillifer Pittino 1987 and P. argentinus (Harold, 1872) are both reinstated as valid species, and P. haafi (Vaurie 1962) is synonymised with P. gemmifer (Blanchard, 1847). Lectotypes are designated for the following names: Trox hemisphaericus Burmeister, 1876, T. pampeanus Burmeister, 1876, T. gemmiferus Blanchard, 1847, T. gemmifer Blanchard, 1847, T. leprosus Blanchard, 1847, T. argentinus Harold, 1872, T. gemmingeri Harold, 1872, T. pedestris Harold, 1872 and T. globulatus Fairmaire, 1884. We provide high-quality images of the type specimens and their labels, a differential diagnosis, synonyms, chresonomy and known geographical distributions. A key for the accurate identification of species of Polynoncus is given.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3EB21F01-C5DA-4100-B7DB-81AEFD54C99E