Tibiodrepanus tagliaferrii - a new Afrotropical Drepanocerina species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Oniticellini), with notes on phylogeny and distribution of the genus

We examined the genera Tibiodrepanus Krikken, 2009 (four Oriental and one Palaearctic species) and Sulcodrepanus Krikken, 2009 (one Afrotropical species), using type specimens and non-type specimens, in order to assess the systematic consistency of the two taxa. Within this framework, we also considered the genera Afrodrepanus Krikken, 2009 (two species) and Drepanocerus Kirby, 1828 (two species) employing sets of traits from external morphology, the genitalia of both sexes and the epipharynx. The genus Cyptochirus Lesne, 1900 was chosen as an outgroup. A new species—Tibiodrepanus tagliaferrii sp. nov.—was described based on four females from Cameroon and Namibia. The phylogenetic analyses confirmed that the Tibiodrepanus and Sulcodrepanus species were closely related, yet it did not support the hypothesis of a generic or subgeneric separation of the two taxa. Hence, we establish Sulcodrepanus as a junior synonym of Tibiodrepanus, new synonymy. The genus Tibiodrepanus shows a disjunct Afrotropical-Oriental (common to many other Drepanocerina genera) and Southeastern Palaearctic (Hindu Kush, Afghanistan) distribution pattern.