Abstract
Two new Podischnus Burmeister, 1847 species are described here: Podischnus limeirai sp. nov. from Gurupi region, Maranhão state, Brazil, the easternmost distribution of the genus; and Podischnus cleidecostae sp. nov. from the Acre state, Western of Brazilian Amazon Forest. New diagnostic characters are illustrated and discussed for the genus. An illustrated identification key for all Podischnus species, and an up-to-date distribution map for the Brazilian species of Podischnus are provided. Moreover, we propose the inclusion of P. limeirai sp. nov. in the Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) due to the fast loss of the Oriental Amazon Forest remnant fragment in that region.
Highlights
The genus Podischnus Burmeister can be distinguished from other Neotropical Oryctini genera by the elongated body, subparallel elytra, emarginated and broad clypeus, bidentate mandibles, quadridentate protibiae, and tergite VII (= propygidium) with two stridulatory areas (Endrödi, 1976; Ratcliffe & Morón, 1997)
As a part of our studies on Neotropical phytophagous scarab beetles, we describe here two new unusual Podischnus species from Brazilian Amazon: one from Maranhão state, Gurupi region, eastern Amazon, located within Belém endemism area, and other from Acre state, Madeira province, west Amazon (Morrone, 2006)
Podischnus limeirai sp. nov. and P. cleidecostae sp. nov. are unusual species because the pronotal horn is bent backwards, and this feature is unique among the other species of the genus
Summary
The genus Podischnus Burmeister can be distinguished from other Neotropical Oryctini genera by the elongated body, subparallel elytra, emarginated and broad clypeus, bidentate mandibles, quadridentate protibiae (teeth projecting at nearly right angles), and tergite VII (= propygidium) with two stridulatory areas (Endrödi, 1976; Ratcliffe & Morón, 1997). Three species of Podischnus are known, all occurring in South America, with only Podischnus agenor (Olivier, 1789) distributed throughout Central America up to Mexico (Ratcliffe & Morón, 1997), while Podischnus oberthuri Sternberg, 1907 is distributed in the Andean Region (Endrödi, 1985). In Brazil two species are known, found at Acre, Amazonas, Pará, and Rondônia states: Podischnus sexdentatus (Taschenberg, 1870) and P. agenor (Gasca-Álvarez et al, 2008; Grossi & Vaz-de-Mello, 2019). Most of Podischnus species has its natural history unclear and there is only one study about the biological aspects of P. agenor performed by Eberhard (1979). Neita-Moreno & Orozco (2009) described the larva and pupa of this species with a brief note about its natural history
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