Pseudomicracis Eggers, 1920

Jordal, Bjarte H., 2022, The strongly dimorphic bark beetle genus Pseudomicracis (Coleoptera, Scolytinae) in Madagascar-an integrated taxonomic revision, Zootaxa 5125 (3), pp. 325-343 : 326-327

Pseudomicracis Eggers, 1920

Saurotocis Wood, 1984 , synonym in Jordal 2021c

Type species: Pseudomicracis elsae Eggers, 1920: 36 ; type lost.

Diagnosis, female. 1.1–2.9 mm long. Antennal scapus short, dorsally extended slightly to more extensively shaped as a spike, on its anterior face containing a tuft of golden setae; funiculus 6-segmented, club with two weakly to strongly procurved sutures, first suture usually reaching basal rather than lateral margins of club, corneous part usually longer than broad, club sometimes very elongated with sutures obscured. Apex of elytra strongly mucronate; ventrite 5 truncated or impressed. Elytral vestiture narrowly spatulate, mainly in uniseriate rows, in two species densely set and lightly confused.

Male differs from female by the small and rounded scapus with only scant setae, the anterior margin of the pronotum often has 4–6 raised teeth, interstrial setae are more broadly spatulate and truncated, cuticle of interstriae slightly rugose to very strongly granulated, sometimes with huge tubercles near the margin of an excavated or flattened declivity; vestiture on declivity often confused on interstriae 1, in some species on the entire declivity and elytral disc.

Remarks. In the absence of type specimens for the type species, and a very approximate description by Eggers (1920), the genus is defined in part by the traditional use of the genus name. The genus was more clearly defined in Wood’s (1986) revision of the world genera where the use of Micracis in the Afrotropics was replaced by Pseudomicracis , restricting Micracis to the New World. The Afrotropical genera were further revised by Jordal (2021c), distinguishing clearly between Pseudomicracis and its included synonymous name Saurotocis Wood, 1984 , and Pseudolanurgus Jordal, 2021 which has a less mucronate apex of the elytra. To avoid uncertainty about future application of the name Pseudomicracis , it is suggested that P. madagascariensis may serve as an auxiliary type species until a case is eventually treated in ICZN.