Distretus (Distretus) discoideus (Guérin-Méneville, 1845)

This species is told from other Distretus species by the elytral sculpture and the very widely expanded elytra. It is separated from Dichtha inflata by the lack of 6 black stripes on the red elytral disc and the strongly punctured lateral interval of the elytra and the evenly granulated surface of the elytral disc (Lateral interval covered with scattered punctures and elytral disc almost smooth, only under high magnification, fine, fragmented dots are noticeable on the disc in D. inflata).

Original description (Moluris discoidea) in:
Guérin-Méneville, F. E. 1845. Description de quelques-uns des Insectes les plus remarquable découverts par M. A. Delegorcue dans les pays des Boschimans, des Ama Zoulous, des Massilicatzi et au Port Natal, pendant les années 1838, 39 , 40, 41, 42, 43 et 44. Revue Zoologique par La Société Cuvierienne VIII
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2327510#page/296/mode/1up

Black, dark; thorax orbicular, strongly sculptured with sievelike punctures; elytra finely granulated, the back almost flattened, the sides rounded, the strong lateral carina sharp and the lateral margins oblique below the carina; Legs of covered with yellow scales.— Length 21 mm; width 12 mm.
Habitat: 'Massilicatzi' [= southern Mozambique: Gaza & Maputo provinces]

Taxonomic note:
This species was transferred to genus Distretus by Koch (Koch C. 1955. Monograph of the Tenebrionidae of southern Africa Vol I (Tentyriinae, Molurini Trachynotina: Somaticus Hope). Transvaal Museum Memoir 7) and already had been assumed to be a member of Distretus by Haag-Rutenberg (1871) who could not study a specimen and only went by the description.
Kaminski et al. (https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/34241/) ignored the fact that the species was placed in Distretus by Koch and listed it as Moluris discoidea in the Sepidiini catalogue.
https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA0000012_545

Illustrated in:
Schoeman, C.S., Toussaint, D.C., Tshililo, P., Foord, S.H., & Hamer, M. 2020. Checklist of the pimeliine darkling beetles of the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, South Africa (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Pimeliinae).
https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.38201/btha.abc.v50.i1.8

Posted on April 14, 2024 05:10 PM by traianbertau