Ammoecius eli DellacaSa & DellacaSa 2002, comb. n.

Ammoecius eli (PETROVITZ, 1961), comb. n. (Figs 16, 21) Aphodius (Ammoecius) eli PETROVITZ, 1961: 347; BARAUD 1971: 67; DELLACASA M. 1988: 231. Type locality: “ Hilleh, Mesopotam.” [Iraq.] Type depository: Muséum d’Histoire naturelle, Geneva. Description of female – Length 5.0 mm. Short, oval, strongly convex, shiny, glabrous (Fig. 21). Blackish, head and pronotum sides shadowy brown-reddish; legs piceous; antennal club testaceous. Head with cupuliform epistoma distinctly, rather sparsely and subregularly punctured on disc, punctures laterally relatively larger; punctation granulo-rugose in front of short and distinctly raised anterior carina; clypeus angulately sinuate at middle, sharply denticulate at sides; denticles distinctly upturned, rather thickly bordered, border feebly upturned; genae obtusely rounded, elongately ciliate, feebly protruding more than eyes; frontal suture finely impressed; frons regularly distinctly punctured; epipharynx: Fig. 16. Pronotum moderately transverse, strongly convex, doubly subregularly punctured; larger punctures absent on anterior quarter, denser on sides; latter feebly rounded, distinctly bordered; hind angles widely rounded; base thickly bordered. Scutellum flat, with few fine and sparse punctures on basal half. Elytra strongly convex, regularly oval, with small humeral denticle; striae rather fine and distinctly crenulate to preapical declivity wherein they are deep, not crenulate by large transverse punctures and as wide as interstices; latter faintly convex and sparselypuncturedondisc,narrowerandsubcarinatepreapically.Metasternalplatenearlyflat,finely punctured. Hind tibiae with superior apical spur slightly shorter than first tarsal segment; latter shorter than following two combined. Male unknown. Distribution: Known only from type locality of the female holotype. Remarks – We suspect that this taxon is a junior synonym of Ammoecius lugubris BOHEMAN, 1857 from South Africa, but we refrain from proposing a new synonymy because no male specimens have been studied.