Gouna (beetle)

Gouna
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Scarabaeiformia
Family: Scarabaeidae
Subfamily: Melolonthinae
Tribe: Hopliini
Genus: Gouna
Péringuey, 1902[1]

Gouna is a genus of monkey beetles in the family Scarabaeidae.[2] These species are found in South Africa.[3][4]

Description

Members of the genus Gouna are relatively small, with adults less that 1 centimetre in length.[1] Originally, for the two species first described, Péringuey, 1902 (p.861) emphasises white bands of scales on various parts, especially the pronotum and the elytra.[1]

Gouna was placed in the "Gymnoloma genus group" by Dombrow, Colville & Bowie, 2022.[5] These authors distinguished Gouna by their eight-segmented antenna, in contrast to others including the comparatively speciose genus Amblymelanoplia where the antennae is nine-segmented in nearly all species. From the remainder of Amblymelanoplia and other genera of the "Gymnoloma genus group", Gouna were further distinguished by their slender legs - especially the metathoracic (hind) femur, their metathoracic tibia with a spur, and notably that the elytra of Gouna have a squamose (scaly) pattern.[5]

Species

As of November 2025 these 3 species belong to the genus Gouna :[2]

  • Gouna aliena Péringuey, 1902 – South Africa
  • Gouna lineolata (Burmeister, 1844) – South Africa
  • Gouna vittigera (Burmeister, 1844) – South Africa

Taxonomy

Another former species Gouna burchelli Arrow, 1917 was revised as Amblymelanoplia burchelli (Arrow, 1917) in a part of an extensive study where some of the original specimens were also then assigned to other species.[5] The genus Gouna was again recognised as valid by Allsopp & Schoolmeesters, 2024.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Péringuey, Louis (1901–1902). "Descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa (Lucanidae and Scarabaeidae), Sub-families: Rutelinae, Hopliinae". Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society. 12 (Parts 1 & 2): 1–920. doi:10.1080/21560382.1901.9525977.
  2. ^ a b "Gouna". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  3. ^ "Gouna". iNaturalist. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Gouna". GBIF. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Dombrow, Holger E.; Colville, Jonathan F.; Bowie, Rauri C.K. (2022). "Review of the genus Amblymelanoplia Dombrow, 2002 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Hopliini) with the description of ninety-three new species from South Africa and observations on its biogeography and phylogeny". Zootaxa. 5163 (1): 1–278. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5163.1.1. PMID 36095485.
  6. ^ Allsopp, Peter G.; Schoolmeesters, Paul. (2024). "All genera of the world: Subfamilies Prototroginae, Cretoscarabaeinae, Dynamopodinae, Electrorubesopsinae, Phaenomeridinae, Orphninae, Allidiostomatinae, Aclopinae, Lichniinae, Melolonthinae, Oncerinae, Podolasiinae, Sericinae, Sericoidinae (Animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)". Megataxa. 12 (1): 104–175. doi:10.11646/megataxa.12.1.2.

Further reading

  • Data related to Gouna (beetle) at Wikispecies
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