Onthophagus curvicornis, Latreille, 1812

Kohlmann, Bert & Solís, Ángel, 2025, A review of the species groups of the Western Hemisphere Onthophagus Latreille (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) using COI barcoding and gene trees, Zootaxa 5604 (4), pp. 401-447 : 425

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5604.4.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6A95109D-6F33-4DE7-9D47-6A722DD26918
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15225828
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03AA2362-147B-FF8E-FF28-AC68FCB7AAFB
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Onthophagus curvicornis
status

Treatment

Onthophagus curvicornis View in CoL species group*.

This group is diagnosed by a male protibial apex with some short setae ( Figs. 1.1-7 View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG ); pronotum hornless; apical and internal margin of male protibia with a bulge ending in an acuminate projection ( Figs. 1.1-7 View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG ); male protibial spur downward bent at apex ( Figs. 1.1-7 View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG ); metafemur very short and stout ( Figs. 2.1-7 View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG ); apex of parameres poorly developed and defined.

Rossini et al. (2018a) recognized the O. curvicornis species complex within the O. hircus species group based on morpho-anatomical traits observed on the external body and genital organs. This relationship is recovered in the present study, supporting its hierarchy as a species group and not at a species complex level. Our study of the protibiae shows that the O. curvicornis species group has a protibial acuminate apex ( Fig. 1.1–7 View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG View FIG ), whereas it is obsolete or with an obtuse tooth in the closely related O. hircus species group ( Fig. 1.8 View FIG –15).

In their Onthophagus study, Emlen et al. (2005: fig. 4) recovered the O. curvicornis species group based on O. acuminatus Harold , O. incensus Say , and O. stockwelli Howden & Young with a bootstrap support of 100 for the tree branch. Breeschoten et al. (2016) suggested a stem age of the group of around 14 Mya with a bootstrap value of 95. Schwery & O'Meara (2021) also recovered an O. curvicornis species group with a bootstrap support of 24. The present bootstrap analysis ( Fig. 8 View FIG ) registers a clade node support of 35. At present, according to Rossini (2021) and Rossini et al. (2018a), eleven species are considered to belong to this new group ( Table 7 View TABLE 7 ). In addition, six new species have been identified within this species group by Rossini et al. (2018a) and await description. This species group is distributed from the northern United States of America to northern Peru (through northern Venezuela), and two species from southeastern Brazil to northern Uruguay.