Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 January 2025 | 17(1): 26417–26420

 

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9295.17.1.26417-26420

#9295 | Received 11 July 2024 | Final received 24 December 2024 | Finally accepted 04 January 2025

 

 

New species records of sericine chafer beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from Goa and Maharashtra, India

 

Aparna Sureshchandra Kalawate 1   & Shruti Baban Sonkusare 2

 

1 Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Centre, Vidya Nagar, Sector-29, P.C.N.T. (PO), Rawet Road, Akurdi, Pune, Maharashtra 411044, India.

2 Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce Ganeshkhind, Pune, Maharashtra 411016, India.

1 devarpanento@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 shrutibabansonkusare@gmail.com

 

 

Editor: Radheshyam M. Sharma, Pune, Maharashtra, India.               Date of publication: 26 January 2025 (online & print)

 

Citation: Kalawate, A.S. & S.B. Sonkusare (2025). New species records of sericine chafer beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from Goa and Maharashtra, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 17(1): 26417–26420. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9295.17.1.26417-26420

  

Copyright: © Kalawate & Sonkusare 2025. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: The work is based on the annual research programme of Zoological Survey of India, WRC, Pune

                 (Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India).

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors are thankful to the director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata and the office-in-charge, WRC, ZSI, Pune for facilities and encouragement. Thanks are extended to the head of the Department of Zoology of Modern College of Arts Science and Commerce, Ganeshkhind, Pune. Thanks are also due to Forest Department of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa for the necessary permit and permission and logistic support during the survey.

 

 

Abstract: The present study reports three species of sericine chafer beetles, Maladera keralensis (Frey, 1972), Maladera burmeisteri alternans (Frey, 1975), and Neoserica gravida Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016 as new records for Goa state and M. burmeisteri alternans for Maharashtra state of India.

 

Keywords: Distribution, genitalia, new records, pests, phytophagous, scarab beetles, Scarabaeoidea, sericini, species diversity, Western Ghats.

 

 

 

Sericine chafer beetles belong to the subfamily Melolonthinae and is the biggest group of the family Scarabaeidae under the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. There are approximately 4,600 species of Sericine Chafer Beetles described in the world including 682 from India (Ahrens & Fabrizi 2016; Sreedevi et al. 2018, 2019; Bhunia et al. 2021, 2022; Chandra et al. 2021).

These beetles are unique in appearance and can be identified easily by the distinctive characteristics of their head, thorax, and abdomen and an elongated, cylindrical body. They are mainly reported and studied from the Himalaya (Ahrens 2004) and southern area (Ahrens & Fabrizi 2016). Some recent reports from other parts of the country like Manipur (Bhunia et al. 2023), Mizoram (Sreedevi et al. 2018), Nagaland (Sreedevi et al. 2019), Madhya Pradesh (Chandra et al. 2021) are published. In many regions of India, these important phytophagous pests remain either largely unexplored or have exist in old records. Identification of these beetles is challenging owing to their similar external morphology and uniform subtle brown colour in almost all species. Hence, the study of the external male genitalia is an important tool in species conformation of sericine chafer beetles.

While sorting and studying the unidentified sericine chafer beetles (SCB) present in the collections of the Western Regional Centre, Pune, some beetles were found to be new record to the Goa and Maharashtra states. A total of 210 specimens recorded from Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa were studied. This is the first report on SCB from Goa after Ahrens & Fabrizi (2016). The present work is an attempt to fill the gap in the SCB taxonomy and distribution in India.

 

Materials and Methods

A total of 210 specimens of SCB were sorted, pinned, and studied. The specimens were examined under the Leica S9i Stereo-zoom microscope. The identification and terminologies used follow Ahrens & Fabrizi (2016). The specimen was studied under a Leica EZ 4 E stereozoom microscope with a photographic facility. The images were stacked using Combine ZP software and then processed with Adobe Photoshop CS Version 8. To study the males, the genitalia was carefully removed from the abdomen. Then, it was boiled in 10% KOH for 5–10 minutes to remove the adhered tissues and soft muscles and rinsed with distilled water. The genitalia was stored in separate vials containing 70% ethanol with the same catalogue number as the specimen. The identified specimens were duly labelled and deposited in the National Zoological Collections of the Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Centre, Pune.

 

Results and Discussion

The three beetles identified in this study are Maladera keralensis (Frey, 1972), Maladera burmeisteri alternans (Frey, 1975), and Neoserica gravida Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016.

 

Systematic account

Order Coleoptera Linnaeus, 1758

Superfamily Scarabaeoidea Latreille, 1802

Family Scarabaeidae Latreille, 1802

Subfamily Melolonthinae Leach, 1819

Tribe Sericini Kirby, 1837

 

Genus Maladera Mulsant & Rey, 1871

1. Maladera keralensis (Frey, 1972) (Image 1A–D)

Autoserica keralensis Frey 1972, Entomologische Arbeiten aus dem Museum Frey 23: 186.

Maladera keralensis: Krajcik, 2012, Animma. X, supplement 5: 154.

Maladera keralensis Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016, Bonn Zoological Bulletin 65 (1 & 2): 197.

Material examined: Male, India, South Goa, Aranyak Nature campsite, 28.v.2023, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4736); Male, India, Karnataka, Nagzari watch tower, KTR, Uttara Kannada, 08.vi.2022, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4741); Male, India, Karnataka, Mandurli FRH, KTR, Uttara Kannada, 09.vi.2022, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4742).

Male genitalia (Image 1): Length, 3.30 mm; width, 0.869 mm. Sclerotised; phallobase longer than parameres; Right distal phallobasal apodeme is solid invagination and hence the phallobase is not movable, position of placement of parameres medially.

Distribution: India: Goa (present study), Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra (Ahrens & Fabrizi 2016).

Remark: Endemic to India. New record to Goa.

 

2. Maladera burmeisteri alternans (Frey, 1975) (Image 2A–D)

Autoserica alternans Frey, 1975, Entomologische Arbeiten aus dem Museum Frey 26: 186.

Maladera alternans: Krajcik, 2012, Animma. X, supplement 5: 154.

Maladera burmeisteri alternans, Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016, Bonn zoological Bulletin 65 (1 & 2): 186.

Material examined: Male, India, South Goa, Aranyak Nature campsite, 30-v-2023, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4737); Male, India, Maharashtra, Waki, Yawal, Jalgaon, 22-vi-2021, coll. S.S. Talmale (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4738); Male, India, Maharashtra, Bhosgaon, Patan, Satara, 15-vii-2017, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4739); Male, India, Maharashtra, Ambegaon, Pune, 23-vi-2017, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4740); Male, India, Karnataka, Kulgi Nature Camp, Uttara Kannada, 10-vi-2022, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4745); Male, India, Karnataka, Mandurli, FRH, KTR, Uttara Kannada, 09-vi-2022, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4746); Male, India, Karnataka, Kumberli, Phansoli range, Nala, Uattara Kannada, 11-vi-2022, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4747); Male, India, Karnataka, Nagzari watch tower, KTR, Uttara Kannada, 08-vi-2022, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4748); Male, India, Maharashtra, Karanjpani, Yawal, Jalgaon, 21-vi-2021, coll. S.S. Talmale (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4749); Male, India, Maharashtra, Dhebewadi, FRH, Bhosgaon, Satara, 02-iii-2017, coll. S.R. Patil (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4750).

Male genitalia (Image 2): Length, 2.65 mm; width, 1.11 mm. Sclerotised; phallobase broader towards the apex and narrowed towards the base; distal median lobe of phallobase fused with the more basal portion of the phallobase; basally left paramere not widened.

Distribution: India: Goa (present study), Maharashtra (present study), Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu (Ahrens & Fabrizi 2016), Madhya Pradesh (Chandra et al. 2021)); Nepal (Ahrens & Fabrizi 2016).

Remark: New Record to Goa and Maharashtra.

 

Genus Neoserica Brenske, 1894

3. Neoserica gravida Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016 (Image 3A–D)

Neoserica gravida Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016, Bonn Zoological Bulletin 65 (1 & 2): 76–77.

Material examined. Male, India, South Goa, Aranyak Nature campsite, 30.v.2023, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4735); Male, India, Karnataka, Nagzari watch tower, KTR, Uttara Kannada, 08.vi.2022, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4743); Male, India, Karnataka, Mandurli FRH, KTR, Uttara Kannada, 09.vi.2022, coll. A.S. Kalawate (ZSI-WRC-ENT-1/4744).

Male genitalia (Image 3): Length, 5.00 mm; width, 1.90 mm. Extremely sclerotized; parameres are extremely sclerotised, long, slender, and sharp, without lateral teeth externally, and equal to the length of the phallobase.

Distribution: India: Karnataka (Ahrens & Fabrizi 2016), Goa (present study).

Remark: New record to Goa. Endemic to India.

 

Conclusions

From the studied specimens, two beetles, Maladera keralensis (Frey, 1972) and Neoserica gravida Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016 are endemic to India. In the collections from the three states, Maladera burmeisteri alternans is found to be the most dominant beetle. Earlier records show that these species were mostly confined to southern India. It may due to less studies undertaken on this particular fauna from other regions of India. The reason behind this is the Linnean and the Wallacean Shortfall. The Linnean shortfall is created when there is lack of taxonomic work in a particular group. On the other hand, when a group of organism lacks its distribution data a Wallacean Shortfall is created. In case of SCB group both these shortfalls are responsible for less data. This paper is a small attempt towards filling the gap areas towards these shortfalls and to generate the data for the secondary users like agriculturist, farmers, students, and researchers as these beetles are phytophagous pest. Hence, the need of the hour is to increase the taxonomic studies, expeditions, and funding to undertake such studies.

 

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References

 

Ahrens, D. & S. Fabrizi (2016). A monograph of the Sericini of India (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Bonn Zoological Bulletin 65(1&2): 1–355.

Ahrens, D. (2004). Monographie der Sericini des Himalaya (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae). Dissertation de - Verlag im Internet GmbH, Berlin, 534 pp.

Bhunia, D., D. Gupta, K. Chandra & D. Ahrens (2021). New species and records of Sericini of India (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) II. Zootaxa 5081(4): 594–600. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5081.4.10   

Bhunia, D., D. Gupta, K. Chandra & D. Ahrens (2022). New species and records of Sericini of India (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) III. Zootaxa 5200(2): 489–494. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5200.5.6

Bhunia, D., D. Gupta, S.K. Sarkar & D. Ahrens (2023). New species and records of tribe Sericini of Manipur, India (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) Records of zoological Survey of India 123(iS2): 47–54. https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v123/iS2/2023/172498

Chandra, K., D. Ahrens, D. Bhunia, K. Sreedevi & D. Gupta (2021). New species and new records of Tribe Sericini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) of India. Zootaxa 4951(3): 492–510. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4951.3.4

Frey, G. (1972). Neue Sericinen aus Indien und Indo-China, sowie Abbildungen von Parameren bekannter Arten (Col., Scar., Melolonthinae). Entomologische Arbeiten aus dem Museum 23: 186–216.

Frey, G. (1975). Neue afrikanische und indische Sericinen (Col., Melolonthidae). Entomologische Arbeiten aus dem Museum 26: 181–187.

Krajcik, M. (2012). Checklist of the World Scarabaeoidea. Animma. X, supplement 5: 1–278.

Sreedevi, K., J. Speer, S. Fabrizi & D. Ahrens (2018). New species and records of Sericini Scarab Beetles from the Indian subcontinent (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae). ZooKeys 772: 97–128. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.772.25320

Sreedevi, K., S. Ranasinghe, S. Fabrizi & D. Ahrens (2019). New species and records of Sericini from the Indian subcontinent (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) II. European Journal of Taxonomy 567: 1–26. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2019.567