Genus Aptenocanthon description

Dung
Beetles
of eastern NSW

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Genus Aptenocanthon

Species found in eastern NSW: A. hopsoni, A. rossi.
Other species: A. kabura, A. monteithi, A. winyar, A. wollumbin (Qld), A. jimara (NT)

Distribution Barrington Tops and the Illawarra to the Blue Mountains, New South Wales; north-east Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Description
Small (4.0-4.2mm), oval, strongly convex. Uniformly black in colour, with no dorsal keels or tubercles. Two small clypeal teeth; anterior part of underside of pronotum with a deep excavation with a short longitudinal keel close to and parallel with lateral edge.

Elytra: elytra with 8 distinct striae, with pseudepipleura outside 7th stria.

Hind wings: Entirely absent.

Legs: Outer edge of fore tibiae with 3 teeth. Middle coxae moderately convergent. Middle and hind tibiae gradually but strongly widened apically. Spurs extremely short. Claws moderate, slender, simple.

Abdomen: 5th and 6th sternites fused into a piece as long or longer than remaining sternites combined. Pygidium with a strong transverse basal groove continuing more shallowly around rest of disc.

Sexual dimorphism
Male with inner apical angle of fore tibiae produced inwardly into a broad process, with the distal end of middle tibia sharply bent inwards, hind tibia more slender.

Similar Genera
Lepanus, of a similar size and general shape (some species), two small clypeal teeth.
Obvious differences: Lepanus is often reddish; with subdentate claws, without pseudepipleura.

Ecology
Adults coprophagous, flightless, in leaf litter, in closed forest.

References
Cassis, G. & Weir, T.A. (1992) Scarabaeinae. pp 106-173. In: Houston, W.W.K. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea. Canberra: AGPS Vol. 9.

Matthews, E.G. (1974) A revision of the Scarabaeine dung beetles of Australia. II. Tribe Scarabaeini. Aust. J. Zool. Suppl. Ser. 24: 1-211.

Storey, R. I. and Monteith, G. (2000) Five new species of Aptenocanthon Matthews (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) from tropical Australia, with notes on distribution. Mem. Qld. Mus. 46: 349-358.