On the identity of Aphonides turbator Endrödi, 1981 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Pentodontini)

Abstract

Aphonides Rivers, 1889 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Pentodontini) was proposed as a replacement name for Anoplognatho Rivers, 1888, probably because of its similarity to Anoplognathus Leach, 1815 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Anoplognathini). For nearly a century, this genus included only Anoplognatho dunnianus Rivers, 1888, a species endemic to the southern United States of America and northern Mexico (López-García et al. 2016).Aphonides turbator Endrödi, 1981 was described from three female specimens collected in Entre Ríos Province, Argentina and deposited in the collection of the Zoologischen Museums der Humboldt-Universität, Berlin (now Museum für Naturkunde) (Endrödi 1981). Since its description, this species has not been recorded again, and several authors have treated it as incertae sedis (Ocampo & Ruiz-Manzanos 2008; López-García et al. 2016; Ratcliffe et al. 2023). Endrödi (1985) himself mentioned Anoplognatho dunnianus (as Aphonides) as the only known species of the genus. Ratcliffe et al. (2023) even suggested that the type specimens of Aphonides turbator could belong to a species of Bothynus Hope, 1837. Currently, the genus Aphonides is an objective junior synonym of Anoplognatho (Allsopp & Schoolmeesters 2024).Ohaus (1910) established the genus Eremobothynus Ohaus, 1910 for Scaptophilus cornutus Steinheil, 1874, a species described from a single male specimen collected in Bahía Blanca (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). Among the characters examined at the time of establishing the new genus, the mouthparts and antennae stand out.In Argentina, only three species of Pentodontini have been recorded that share with Aphonides turbator the presence of nine antennomeres (Ohaus 1910; Endrödi 1969, 1970, 1981; Grossi & Abadie 2008): Eremobothynus cornutus (Steinheil, 1874), Eremobothynus bicuspis Endrödi, 1970, and Eremobothynus hirsutus Grossi & Abadie, 2008. This contribution aims to compare the type material of Aphonides turbator with material of Eremobothynus in order to establish its identity. Additionally, E. cornutus is characterized through a diagnosis, and an update on its geographical distribution is provided.