Abstract
Passalus Fabricius, 1792 is the largest genus of Passalidae and presents great diversity in South America, mainly in the Amazon region. Currently this complex and heterogeneous genus is subdivided into three subgenera: P. (Pertinax) Kaup, 1869, P. (Mitrorhinus) Kaup, 1871, and P. (Passalus). Herein, two new species of Passalus from the western region of the Brazilian Amazon, a diverse but poorly studied area, are described and illustrated. The new species Passalus (Pertinax) deuterocerus sp. nov. and Passalus (Passalus) cleidecostae sp. nov. are compared with similar species occurring in nearby regions. Also, the diagnostic characters used to define the subgenera and sections of Passalus are summarized.
Highlights
Passalus Fabricius, 1792, the largest of the 64 genera of Passalidae, is exclusively Neotropical with about 139 valid species (Schuster & Cano, 2008), being dominant in the bess beetle fauna of South America
In a new evaluation of the material coming from this rich area, it was verified the existence of two new species, here described and illustrated
As well as throughout South America, the genus Passalus stands out for its great diversity, and the literature has already pointed out that this genus may be polyphyletic (Reyes-Castillo, 1970; Boucher, 2006; Jiménez-Ferbans et al, 2016a), the researchers on Passalidae often use the classification initially proposed by Luederwaldt (1931), since so far no systematic study has been conducted to better delimit the groups present in Passalus
Summary
Passalus Fabricius, 1792, the largest of the 64 genera of Passalidae, is exclusively Neotropical with about 139 valid species (Schuster & Cano, 2008), being dominant in the bess beetle fauna of South America. (Passalus) which, in turn, is subdivided into three species groups, the “sections”: Phoroneus, Petrejus and Neleus (Luederwaldt, 1931; Hincks & Dibb, 1935, 1958). Boucher (2015a) proposed the revalidation of seven genera previously synonymized with Passalus, including Pertinax, without use of cladistic methods. We prefer to maintain the classification previously proposed by Luederwaldt (1931) and enhanced by Hincks & Dibb (1935, 1958), since it is the most used by Passalidae researchers. According to Fonseca & Reyes-Castillo (2004), 26 species of Passalus occur in the Brazilian Amazon. Bevilaqua & Fonseca (2019) published a knowledge synthesis of the Passalidae for the west-most region of the Brazilian Amazon, and established five new records for Passalus species, increasing the total number to 31. In a new evaluation of the material coming from this rich area, it was verified the existence of two new species, here described and illustrated
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