Pseudoliogenys Moser, 1919

Smith, Andrew B. T. & Ruiz-Manzanos, Eider, 2010, Taxonomy and Classification of the South American GenusPseudoliogenysMoser (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Diplotaxini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 64 (3), pp. 272-276 : 272-273

Pseudoliogenys Moser, 1919

( Figs. 1–4 )

Pseudoliogenys Moser 1919: 358 . Type species: Pseudoliogenys flavida Moser by monotypy.

Diagnosis and Classification. The following characters will separate Pseudoliogenys from all other New World Melolonthinae and are used to place the genus in the tribe Diplotaxini . Clypeal apex with two upturned teeth projecting at a 90° angle from surface of clypeus (not generally characteristic of Pachydemini ); labrum not visible in dorsal view, globular, located below the clypeus (characteristic of Diplotaxini , Pachydemini , Macrodactylini, and some other tribes); mouthparts greatly reduced, except for maxillary palps; antenna with 8–9 antennomeres (antennomeres amorphous and sometimes fused), club with three antennomeres (many Pachydemini have more than three antennomeres in the club); anterior pronotal margin thickened medially but without translucent membrane; prosternal anterior margin sinuous, with lobed projections covering inside edge of eyes and labium (variations of this structure are also present in some Liogenys species ); abdominal sutures distinct; abdominal segments 1–4 approximately equal in length, not constricted medially (greatly constricted medially in many Pachydemini ), abdominal segment 5 twice as long as other individual segments; propygidium and fifth tergite forming a sclerotized ring, without any trace of a suture (key characteristic of Diplotaxini ); metafemora widened, swollen; metatibiae expanded towards apex and with a vestigial and a complete, strong carina at middle (expanded metafemora and metatibiae are present in some Afrotropical and Neotropical Pachydemini ; these characters clearly distinguish Pseudoliogenys from Liogenys ); metatibial spurs located below the tarsal articulation so that the tarsomeres pass over them, with the upper spur located adjacent to the tarsal articulation; tarsal claws cleft in males and simple in females, all tarsal claws paired; parameres short.

Etymology. Pseudoliogenys was named for its similarities with Liogenys , which means “smooth jaw” based on the Greek “lio” (smooth) and “genys” (jaw). Liogenys is feminine based on the gender of the Greek word for jaw; by extension, Pseudoliogenys is also feminine. Pseudoliogenys has been incorrectly treated as masculine by some authors ( Moser 1919; Martínez 1975; Evans 2003; Evans and Smith 2009), but was previously correctly emended as feminine by Blackwelder (1944).

Figures

Figs. 1–2. Pseudoliogenys bidentula male. 1) Dorsal view; 2) Oblique view.

Figs. 3–4. Pseudoliogenys bidentula female. 3) Dorsal view; 4) Oblique view.