The Ceratocanthinae of Ulu Gombak: high species richness at a single site, with descriptions of three new species and an annotated checklist of the Ceratocanthinae of Western Malaysia and Singapore (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea, Hybosoridae)

Alberto Ballerio,Munetoshi Maruyama

doi:10.3897/zookeys.34.268

Abstract

The remarkable species richness of Ceratocanthinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Hybosoridae) found at Ulu Gombak (Selangor, West Malaysia), a secondary rainforest research station, is discussed. Eighteen species have been collected, mainly in nests of termites (Isoptera) and bess beetles (Coleoptera: Passalidae). Among them at least seven are new species, three of them here described: Madrasostes hashimi sp. n., Madrasostes mirificum sp. n., and Pterorthochaetes tsurui sp. n. Four other species (Madrasostes agostii Paulian, Madrasostes clypeale Paulian, Madrasostes depressum Paulian, and Madrasostes simplex Paulian) are recorded for the first time for West Malaysia and three for new states within West Malaysia (Pterorthochaetes insularis Gestro, Madrasostes malayanum Paulian and Madrasostes sculpturatum Paulian). A checklist of the 34 Ceratocanthinae recorded so far from West Malaysia and Singapore is provided with taxonomic, distributional and morphological remarks on some species.

Highlights

The feeding habits of the Ceratocanthinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Hybosoridae) are still unknown
With the three news species hereinafter described, the number of species known to occur in West Malaysia increases to 34
In the descriptions for ocellate punctures we refer to the definitions given by Howden and Gill (2003)

Summary

Introduction

The feeding habits of the Ceratocanthinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Hybosoridae) are still unknown. Ballerio 2008, Ballerio 2009, Ballerio and Wagner 2005) makes reasonable to expect a diversity in feeding habits too. Because of this lack of knowledge any ecological approach to the Ceratocanthinae diversity is very difficult and merely speculative. The aim of this paper is to shed some more light on Ceratocanthinae natural history by briefly discussing a massive finding of several Ceratocanthinae species at a single site in West Malaysia.

Objectives

Findings

Methods