The genus Bolbelasmus in the western and southern regions of the Mediterranean Basin (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae: Bolboceratinae)

Abstract: The Bolbelasmus Boucomont, 1911 species of the western and southern regions of the Mediterranean Basin (Northern Africa, Iberian Peninsula and France) are revised. The following three new species are described: Bolbelasmus brancoi Hillert & Král sp. nov. and Bolbelasmus howdeni Hillert & Král sp. nov., both from Spain and Gibraltar, and Bolbelasmus nikolajevi Hillert, Arnone, Král & Massa sp. nov. from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Bolbelasmus vaulogeri (Abeille de Perrin, 1898) stat. restit. is removed from synonymy with B. bocchus (Erichson, 1841) and reinstated as a separate species. Bolbelasmus romanorum Arnone & Massa, 2010 is considered a junior subjective synonym of B. vaulogeri. Lectotypes for Bolboceras bocchus Erichson, 1841 and Bolboceras vaulogeri Abeille de Perrin, 1898 are designated. Relevant diagnostic characters (head, pronotum, elytron, external male genitalia) are illustrated. Identification keys for both males and females, and an annotated list of the Western Palaearctic representatives of the genus Bolbelasmus are presented. Finally, first records are given for B. gallicus (Mulsant, 1842) from Corsica and the Midi-Pyrénées region of France, B. keithi Miessen & Trichas, 2011 from the Greek island of Rhodes, and B. unicornis (Schrank von Paula, 1789) from the Tuscany province of Italy.

Key words: Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea, Geotrupidae, Bolboceratinae, Bolbelasmini, Bolbelasmus, taxonomy, revision, new species, synonymy, species restitution, lectotype designation, key, distribution, annotated list, Mediterranean Region, Palaearctic Region