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

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.