Revision of the southern African genus Frankenbergerius Balthasar with description of new taxa (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Abstract

The southern African genus Frankenbergerius Balthasar is revised. Two new species, F. opacus sp. n. and F. nitidus sp. n. (South Africa, Western Cape), and one new subspecies, F. armatus tuberculatus ssp. n. (South Africa, Mpumalanga), are described. F. imitativus (Péringuey) is considered a junior synonym of F. forcipatus (Harold). A key to the species and notes on biology are given.

Keywords:

• Coleoptera
• Frankenbergerius
• key to species
• new species
• new synonymy
• Scarabaeidae
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Margaret Cochrane (SAMC), Marc De Meyer (MRAC), Didier Drugmand (IRSNB), Friedrich Gess (AMSA), James Harrison (TMSA), Malcolm Kerley (BMNH), Olivier Montreuil (MNHN), Ruth Müller (TMSA), Riaan Stals (SANC), Bert Viklund (NHRS), and Cheryl Whitmore (DMSA) for loan of material. Adrian Davis (UPSA) provided the data obtained during his dung beetle surveys in Western Cape Province. Svatopluk Bílý (National Museum of Natural History, Prague) is acknowledged for his help in tracing the types of F. mirabilis. Frank‐Thorsten Krell (BMNH) and Izyaslav Kerzhner (Zoological Institute, St Petersburg) made valuable comments on an early version of the manuscript. This study was supported by a University of Pretoria Postdoctoral Fellowship and, partly, by a grant no. 04‐04‐49109 from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research to A.V.F. and by a National Research Foundation (South Africa) grant to C.H.S.

Notes

Published 29 June 2005.