A new cryptic species and review of the east-Andean leaf chafer genus Mesomerodon Ohaus, 1905 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Rutelinae)
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Seidel M, Jameson ML, Stone RL (2017) A new cryptic species and review of the east-Andean leaf chafer genus Mesomerodon Ohaus, 1905 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Rutelinae). ZooKeys 671: 61-85
Abstract
The Neotropical scarab beetle genus Mesomerodon Ohaus (Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Rutelini) is distributed in the western (lowland) Amazonian region from Colombia to Bolivia. Based on our research, the genus includes three species including a new cryptic species from Ecuador. We use niche modeling to predict potential suitable habitat and identify environmental factors associated with the distribution of Mesomerodon species. We characterize the genus, provide a key to species, diagnose each species, describe a new species, provide spatial and temporal distributions, and discuss distributions of the species in relation to Amazonian landscape biodiversity.