Three new species of Toktokkies from Southern Africa.

Toktokkies are Large Darkling Beetles from Southern Africa, which ger their common name from the distinctive noise they make by tapping their abdomens on the ground. They are stout, flightless Beetles with a chamber beneath the elytra where the wings were once found, used to trap moisture, which then drips down to the Insect's mouth where it can be drunk. This enables them to survive in arid environments such as the Namib Desert, where there are more than 20 species. The large an conspicuous nature of Toktokkies made them attractive to the zoological collectors of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, resulting in many museums in Europe and North America amassing impressive collections. This is a problem for modern taxonomists, as the type specimens for described species are found in at least 59 institutions scattered around the world, making it hard to compare putative new species to all the species already described.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 29 April 2024, Marcin Jan Kamiński of the Museum  and  Institute  of  Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences describes three new species of Toktokkie from the Frey Beetle Collection at the Natural History Museum Basel, one of the world's largest collections of Darkling Beetles.

The first new species is placed in a new genus, Bouchardium, named in honour of Patrice Bouchard of the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and given the specific name chillygonzalesi, in honour of the Canadian pianist and composer, who goes by the stage name 'Chilly Gonzales'. The species is described on the basis of five specimens from Zimbabwe and Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Morphology of Bouchardium chillygonzalesi (holotype). Lateral (A), dorsal (B), posterior (C), and ventral (D) views of the body; prosternal process (E); epipleuron (F); label (G). Arrow indicates edge of epipleuron. Kamiński (2024).

Specimens of Bouchardium chillygonzalesi reach 20-24 mm in length, with a maximum elytral width of 10-13 mm. The head is prominent with downward-pointing mouthparts, the elytra high and domed. The body is dark brown, with the upper part of the elytra form a disk, also dark brown in colour, with a corrugated red border. The legs are covered by a dense coating of golden hairs.

The second new species is also placed in the genus Bouchardium, and is given the specific name mariae, in honour of Maria Antonina Kamińska, Marcin Jan Kamiński's daughter. The species is described on the basis of a number of specimens collected in Botswana, Gauteng Province (South Africa), Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.

Morphology of Bouchardium mariae (holotype and paratype). Lateral (A), dorsal (B), frontal (C), posterior (D), and ventral (E) views of the body; pronotum (F); prosternal process (G); label (H); aedeagal tegmen (I); spiculum gastrale (J). Kamiński (2024).

Specimens of Bouchardium mariae are 19-25 mm in length with the elytra having a maximum width of 12-14 mm. The head is prominent with downward-pointing mouthparts, the elytra high and domed. The body is black, with the upper part of the elytra form a disk, also black in colour, with a smooth red border. The legs are covered by a dense coating of golden hairs.

The third new species is placed in the genus Toktokkus, and given the specific name zofiae, in honour of Zofia Irena Kamińska, also Marcin Jan Kamiński's daughter. This species is described on the basis of a single specimen from Gemsbok Pan, in North West Province, South Africa. 

Morphology of Toktokkus zofiae (holotype) (A–F) and T. herero (G, H). Lateral (A), dorsal (B), and ventral (C) views of the body; pronotal disc (D), prosternal process (E, H); label (F); and elytral disc (G). Kamiński (2024).

The single known specimen of Toktokkus zofiae is 18.5 mm long with a maximum elytral width of 11.0 mm. I he head is prominent with downward-pointing mouthparts, the elytra relatively flattened with flanks covered in microtubercles. The legs are covered by a dense coating of golden hairs.

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Cretafrica orapensis: A new species of Mycetoporine Rove Beetle from the Cretaceous Orapa Diamond Mine deposits of Botswana.

Rove Beetles, Staphylinidae, are considered to be the most specious group of Animals alive today, with 66 928 described species in 35 subfamilies. The group appeared around the beginning of the Jurassic, with the majority of the extant subfamilies having appeared by the end of that period, and with significant ongoing diversification through the Cretaceous. The subfamily Mycetoporinae contains about 444 described species in 16 genera. It has a rather limited fossil record, with four known species from the Early Cretaceous of Russia and China, Cuneocharis elongata and Ryvkinius gracilis from the Daya Formation, and Undiatina pilosa from the Semyon Formation, all from Russia, and Glabrimycetoporus amoenus from the Yixian Formation of China, and several specimens assigned to the genera Lordithon and Mycetoporus from the Eocene Florissant Formation of the United States.

In a paper published in the journal Insect Systematics & Evolution on 29 March 2024, Sandiso Mnguni of the Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Ian James McKay and Shaw Badenhorst, also of the School of Geosciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, describe a new species of Mycetoporine Rove Beetle from the Cretaceous Orapa Diamond Mine deposits of Botswana.

The Opara Diamond mine exploits two diamondiferous kimberlite pipes, (igneous deposits in which material from deep within the Earth is extruded upwards though existing deposits) which cut through Late Cretaceous deposits, reaching the surface and forming a volcanic crater in the Turonian, about 93.1 million years ago. Mining operations here have formed a large oval pit, which, as well as the kimberlite pipes, has exposed a series of lacustrine sediments preserving fossil Plants and Insects.

A top view of the Orapa Diamond Mine showing the open pit left after the removal of the crater lake facies and kimberlite. June 2018. Ian James McKay in Mnguni et al. (2024).

The new species is given the name Cretafrica orapensis, where 'Cretafrica' is a combination of Cretaceous and Africa, and 'orapensis' means 'from Orapa'; Orapa itself means 'the resting place of Lions' in the Sesarwa language, a name originally given to a cattle post near the site where diamonds were discovered. The species is described from a single specimen, a well-preserved impression fossil, and both dorsal and ventral structures are superimposed, and thus visible on top of each other. A second, smaller Beetle is also preserved on the same slab, which is probably a Hydroscaphid Water Beetle.

The whole body of Cretafrica orapensis, holotype, BP./2/27480, Orapa Diamond Mine, nonpolarised light, scale bar is 1mm. Abbreviations: e, eye; h, hypomeron; ek, epipleural keel; ef, epipleural fold; ppt, paired paratergite; spt, single paratergite; ss, spiral structure. Mnguni et al. (2024).

The specimen is 4.92 mm long and 1.58 mm wide.  The head is elongated and triangular, with small oval eyes towards the rear. The antennae are poorly preserved, but probably have eleven segments and were located anterior to the eyes. Mandibles, maxillary and maxillary palps are visible, but poorly preserved. The pronotum (forepart of the thorax) is hard to interpret, as it is partially covered by sediment. The Elytra cover less than a third of the body, leaving six abdominal segments exposed. 

Finding a member of the Mycetoporinae at Orapa has significant implications for the history of the group. Four previous Lower Cretaceous specimens have been described from three different localities, though these were all on the eastern part of the Eurasian landmass. The discovery of a specimen from Southern Africa, significantly increases the geographical range of Early Cretaceous Mycetoporine Rove Beetles, indicating that the group must have been in existence for long enough to achieve a near global distribution by this time.

Global palaeogeographic reconstruction of the mid-Cretaceous (100 million years ago) showing the localities where fossil Mycetoporinae have been recovered. Abbreviations: Ob, Obeschayushchiy locality (Daya Formation), Russia; Se, Semyon Formation, Russia; Yi, Yixian Formation, China; and Or, Orapa, Botswana. Mnguni et al. (2024).

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Paleothius mckayi: A new species of Rove Beetle from the Late Cretaceous of Botswana.

Rove Beetles, Staphylinidae, are considered to be the most specious group of Animals alive today, with 66 928 described species in 35 subfamilies. The group appeared around the beginning of the Jurassic, with the majority of the extant subfamilies having appeared by the end of that period, and with significant ongoing diversification through the Cretaceous. The subfamily Staphylininae contains 9071 described species in 411 genera, making it the third most diverse subfamilies of Rove Beetles, behind the Aleocharinae and Pselaphinae. The Staphylininae is in turn divided into eight extant tribes, the Arrowinini, Coomaniini, Diochini, Maorothiini, Othiini, Platyprosopini, Staphylinini, and Xantholinini, as well as the extinct Thayeralinini. The oldest Staphylinines, Tunicopterus sigara and Subcelytrinus antiquus from the Karatau Formation of Kazakhstan; and Sinostaphylius xiejiajieensis from the Jiuda Formation in China date from the Jurassic, with a further 27 species described from the Cretaceous, and 57 from the Cainozoic. 

In a paper published in the Journal of Entomological Science on 4 March 2024, Sandiso Mnguni of the Evolutionary Studies Institute and the Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Shaw Badenhorst, and Marion Kathleen Bamford, also of the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, describe a new species of Staphylinine Beetle from the Cretaceous deposits of the Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana.

The Opara Diamond mine exploits two diamondiferous kimberlite pipes, (igneous deposits in which material from deep within the Earth is extruded upwards though existing deposits) which cut through Late Cretaceous deposits, reaching the surface and forming a volcanic crater in the Turonian, about 93.1 million years ago. Mining operations here have formed a large oval pit, which, as well as the kimberlite pipes, has exposed a series of lacustrine sediments preserving fossil Plants and Insects.

A top view of the Orapa Diamond Mine showing the open pit left after the removal of the crater lake facies and kimberlite. June 2018. Ian James McKay in Mnguni et al. (2024).

The new species is placed in the genus Paleothius, which currently contains a single species, Paleothius gracilis from the Early Cretaceous of China, and is given the specific name Paleothius mckayi, in honour of  Ian James McKay (1963–2022), who was a palaeoentomologist and Geosciences Outreach Education Specialist at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, who spent many years describing fossil insects from the Orapa Diamond Mine, and also trained various undergraduate and postgraduate students, including Sandiso Mnguni, who went on to become the first black palaeoentomologist in South Africa.

The whole body of Paleothius mckayi, holotype, Orapa Diamond Mine, polarised light. Mnguni et al. (2024).

Paleothius mckayi is a narrow, slender and cylindrical Rove Beetle, measuring 7.70 mm in length (from tip of mandibles to tip of abdomen) and 0.80 mm in width (from exterior edge of left elytron to edge of right elytron). The last abdominal segment is seemingly covered with setae.

Paleothius mckayi is the first fossil Staphylinine Beetle from Africa, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere, with previous Cretaceous Staphylinine Beetles known from China, Myannmar, Russia, and the UK. This makes Botswana a significant extension to the range of the group at this time, though perhaps not a surprising one; the Staphylininae are estimated to have split from their sister group, the Paederinae in the Late Jurassic, about 156.6 million years ago (other estimates put the split between 180 and 145 million years ago), and a Paederine Rove Beetle has previously been discovered from the Orapa deposits. 

Global palaeogeographic reconstruction of the mid-Cretaceous (100 million years ago) showing the localities where the fossil Staphylininae have been recovered. Abbreviations: Bu, Burmese Amber, Myanmar; La, Laiyang Formation, China; Or, Orapa Diamond Mine, Botswana; Yi, Yixian Formation, China; Ma, Magadanskaia, Russia and Lu, Lulworth Formation, Middle Purbeck, UK. Mnguni et al. (2024).

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Bityle oriens: A new species of Longhorn Beetle from Mindanao Island, the Philippines.

The islands of the Philippines are considered to be one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, with a largely tropical forest ecosystem scattered across a large number of islands, leading to a very high rate of endemism (the occurrence of species with limited geographical ranges). However, much of this biodiversity is currently threatened by habitat loss as forests are converted to agricultural use. One of the groups most threatened by this are Beetles, a hyper-diverse Insect group which reach their most specious in tropical forests. Many Beetles found in the Philippines are unique to the islands, but often closely related to species found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

In a paper published in the Philippine Journal of Science in February 2024, Milton Norman Medina of the Tropical Genomics Laboratory and the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Davao Oriental State University, and the National Museum of Natural History Philippines, Amy Ponce, also of the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Davao Oriental State University, and Jhonnel Villegas of the Faculty of Teacher Education and Center for Futures Thinking and Regenerative Development at Davao Oriental State University describe a new species of Longhorn Beetle from Davao Oriental Province on Mindanao Island, the Philippines.

The new species is placed in the genus Bityle, which contains six previously described species from Mindanao and Luzon islands in the Philippines and Sulawesi in Indonesia, and given the specific name oriens, meaning 'east', in reference to Davao Oriental Province. The species is described from one male and two female specimens collected in the Municipality of Boston, which is part of the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor, a continuous stretch of forest ecosystems that serve as a biological sanctuary in the eastern part of Mindanao.

Habitus of Bityle oriens: (A) Holotype male, dorsal aspect; (B) paratype female, dorsal aspect; (C) frons of male holotype; (D) lateral aspect, male holotype. Medina et al. (2024).

Females of Bityle oriens are slightly larger than males, reaching 9.5 mm as opposed to 8.0 mm, but otherwise externally similar. The Beetles are black in colour, with white hairs on the head, antennae, legs, and underside, while the upper part of the body is covered by black hairs, except three bands of white hairs on the elytra.

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Amasa parviseta: A new and highly invasive species of Ambrosia Beetle from Australia, South America, and Europe.

Ambrosia Beetles are one of the most diverse groups of Bark Beetles, with over 1300 described species in 43 genera, found throughout the world's tropical and temperate regions. The biology of these Beetles enables them to colonise new areas rapidly, with many species considered to be highly invasive pests, causing significant economic and ecological damage in forests, orchards, nurseries as well as urban and suburban gardens. This is because the Beetles bore into the wood of trees and cultivate gardens of Fungus, feeding on an ambrosia produced by the Fungus rather than the wood of the tree. This means that, unlike most wood-boring Insects, they are not tied to a single species of tree, although some species and genera are restricted to a single family of hosts. The reproductive cycle of the Beetles also favours dispersal, with diploid females mating with haploid males within their birth tree before dispersing to new trees to lay eggs. 

The taxonomy of Ambrosia Beetles can be challenging, due to the small size of these Insects, and their wood boring lifestyle, which means both that they are out of sight and that they are not under any evolutionary pressure to become visually distinct. Members of the genus Amasa can be distinguished from other genera by their truncated abdomens and elytra (wing cases) which have a distinct declivity (downward fold) at the rear. However, telling species apart can be difficult, particularly as most species are known only from a single, or very small number of, specimen(s) held in widely distributed collections. There are currently 47 species of Amasa, from across tropical Asia and Oceania; two species from Madagascar have been assigned to the species, but this is probably erroneous. 

In 2011 a species of Amasa found infesting a Eucalyptus grandis plantation in São Paulo State,  Brazil, was provisionally identified as Amasa truncata, a widespread invasive species, although further investigation led to the conclusion that this was a morphologically similar, but unknown, species. This new Beetle was reported from Minas Gerais State in Brazil as well as in neighbouring Uruguay in 2015. In 2016 it was reported from Valparaíso in Chile, and by 2018 it had reached Argentina.

Similar specimens found in Cádiz, Spain, in 2009, were initially identified as Amasa  resecta, but again were later shown not to belong to this species. In 2018 the same species was found in Antibes,  France, and in 2019 in Lisbon,  Portugal. A genetic analysis of specimens collected in France found them to be 100% identical to members of an unknown species from New South Wales.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 12 January 2024, Miloš Knížek of the Forest Protection Service at the Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, and Sarah Smith of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University, formally describe the unknown Amasa species based upon specimens from Australia, South America, and Europe.

The new species is named Amasa parviseta, where 'parviseta' means 'small hairs' as the hairs on the elytral  declivity is almost hairless, with only a few microscopic hairs. The new species is described on the basis of specimens from New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, and Queensland in Australia, Alpes-Maritimes Department in France, Galicia in Spain, São Paulo State in Brazil, and Tacuarembó Department in Uraguay. It is also thought to be present in Corsica, Portugal, Minas Gerais, Argentina, and Chile.

Amasa parviseta paratype female from Ponteverda Spain (Miloš Knížek collection) (1) habitus dorsal view; (2) habitus lateral view; (3) elytral declivity part; (4) elytral declivital face; (5) lateral detail of elytral declivity with microscopic hair-like setae visible on the lateral edge of the declivity and on the apices of tubercles on the declivital face. Antonín Knížek in Knížek & Smith (2024).

Females of Amasa parviseta are 2.38–3.00 mm long and light brown in colour, with slightly darker elytra. Males are unknown. The species was found on Eucalyptus trees and in Eucalyptus leaf litter; some were captured in traps in mixed Eucalyptus and Pine woodland. 

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