Hexanchorus Sharp, 1882 Figs 3, 4, 23-49

Diagnosis.

Hexanchorus can be distinguished from all other Larainae genera that occur in South America by its small size (<5.1 mm) and the deep transverse groove across the apical third of the pronotum.

Distribution.

Species of Hexanchorus are widespread in the neotropics and can be found as far north as southern Mexico and as far south as Argentina. Additionally, a single species, Hexanchorus caraibus (Coquerel, 1851) is known from the West Indies south to Brazil (Spangler and Santiago-Fragoso 1992, Passos et al. 2009, Segura et al. 2012).

Habitat.

Often, Hexanchorus spp. can be found in the same habitats as Disersus spp. They are agile fliers and cling to rocks in fast flowing streams and rivers, flying into and out of the water quite readily.

Remarks.

Only a single species of Hexanchorus ( Hexanchorus mcdiarmidi) was recorded from Venezuela prior to this study. Here I describe five new species from older museum material as well as specimens collected on recent expeditions to Venezuela.