Work

Mycophagous Phanaeus MacLeay, 1819 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in Mexico, with Notes on the Taxonomy of the Genus

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: We report fungal species used as food sources by mycophagous scarab beetles, with special emphasis on Phanaeus MacLeay, 1819, and confirm that Phanaeus zapotecus Edmonds, 2006 and Phanaeus bravoensis Moctezuma, Sánchez-Huerta & Halffter, 2017 are mycophagous. Mycophagy is confirmed in the P. endymion and P. tridens species groups. We propose a vicariant speciation process for the mycophagous species of the P. endymion species group (P. halffterorum Edmonds, 1979; P. zapotecus; and P. bravoensis) in the mountains of central Mexico, driven by competition, glaciation-induced climatic change, biome and faunal shifts, and access to a new food resource (fleshy fungi) in a new environment (pine–oak forest). We reiterate the revalidation of Phanaeus dionysius Kohlmann, Arriaga-Jiménez & Rös, 2018 as a distinct species and confirm its coprophagous habits. Based on morphological characteristics, we establish the Phanaeus halffterorum species complex within the Phanaeus endymion species -group.

Source: Taxonomy

DOI: 10.3390/taxonomy6020025