Extinct before discovered? Epactoidesgiganteus sp. nov. (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae), the first native dung beetle to Reunion island.

ABSTRACT: We describe a new species of dung beetle, Epactoidesgiganteus sp. nov., from a single female specimen allegedly collected in the 19^th century on Réunion island and recently found at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. This species differs from other species of Epactoides by larger size and a set of other distinctive morphological characters. Epactoidesgiganteus sp. nov. is the first native dung beetle (Scarabaeinae) of Réunion, and its discovery expands the known area of distribution of the genus Epactoides, which was hitherto believed to be endemic to Madagascar. Like other taxa from Madagascar and peripheral islands (e.g., Comoro, Seychelles, Mascarenes), E.giganteus sp. nov. may have reached Réunion by over-

SUBMITTER: Rossini M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8501001 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature