Taxonomic review of the North American dung beetle genus Boreocanthon Halffter, 1958 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Deltochilini)

Abstract

This paper presents a taxonomic review of the genus Boreocanthon Halffter, restored generic status, a group of ball-rolling (telocoprid) dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) endemic to North America. The genus, heretofore treated as a subgenus of Canthon, comprises 13 species, each keyed, diagnosed, illustrated and presented with information on distribution, relationships, and biology (*signifies restored generic combination): *Boreocanthon ateuchiceps (Bates, 1887); B. coahuilensis (Howden, 1966); *B. depressipennis (LeConte, 1859c); *B. ebenus (Say, 1823); *B. forreri (Bates, 1887); *B. integricollis (Schaeffer, 1915); *B. lecontei (Harold, 1868); *B. melanus (Robinson, 1948); *B. praticola (LeConte, 1868); *B. probus (Germar, 1823); *B. puncticollis (LeConte, 1866); *B. simplex (LeConte, 1857); as well as Boreocanthon halffteri Edmonds here described as a new species. Other actions taken are a) Canthon mixtus Robinson declared junior subjective new synonym of Boreocanthon puncticollis; b) Canthon bisignatus Balthasar, 1939, declared junior subjective new synonym of Boreocanthon simplex; c) Boreocanthon coahuilensis (Howden) new generic combination; and d) neotype designated for the type species of the genus Boreocanthon, Ateuchus ebenus Say, 1823, here Boreocanthon ebenus (Say).