Taxonomic Study of the Tribe Onitini Laporte, 1840 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) from Northern Pakistan

Abstract

We provide occurrence records of the members of dung beetle's tribe Onitini from the northern parts of Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Islamabad Capital Territory. This study is based on extensive field sampling from different ecological biomes including Alpine Meadows, the Sub-Alpine Zone, Mountain Temperate Forest, and Subtropical Deciduous Forest. As a result, we report six species under two genera of tribe Onitini: Onitis falcatus, O. lama, O. philemon, O. subopacus, O. virens, and Cheironitis arrowi. The genus Cheironitis is recorded for the first time from northern parts of Pakistan. We provide photographs of the dorsal and ventral habitus, diagnosis, distribution maps and identification keys to known genera and species in the tribe Onitini from Pakistan.