Lamiogethes Audisio & Cline, 2009

Audisio, Paolo, Cline, Andrew Richard, Biase, Alessio De, Antonini, Gloria, Mancini, Emiliano, Trizzino, Marco, Costantini, Lorenzo, Strika, Sirio, Lamanna, Francesco & Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2009, Preliminary re-examination of genus-level taxonomy of the pollen beetle subfamily Meligethinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (2), pp. 341-504 : 422-427

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5319334
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BE87CC-F63B-FFD2-BA6C-FDD6FBA5F9B2
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Lamiogethes Audisio & Cline
status	gen. nov.

Treatment

23. Lamiogethes Audisio & Cline , gen. nov.

( Figs. 23 a–n View Fig )

Type species. Meligethes ruficollis Reitter, 1872: 244 , 258 (by present designation) [= Lamiogethes ruficollis (Reitter, 1872) comb. nov.].

Generic description and diagnosis. Inclusive species vary greatly in size (1.4–3.3 mm length), and share the following combination of characters.

Body color and pubescence: pubescence silvery-whitish or golden, fine, usually not welldeveloped, recumbent, never obscuring the usually brown, blackish-brown, or reddish-brown dorsal body surface; pronotal and elytral sides narrowly flattened, frequently paler than disc; lateral margin of pronotum and elytra with a series of faintly distinct, small and short setae, each seta 0.3–0.5× as long as those on elytral disc; posterior margin of pronotum typically with long, usually distally bifid microsetae (frequently reduced in members of Lamiogethes convexus species-group), frequently absent at least along narrow middle portion anterior to scutellum ( Figs. 23e, f View Fig ) in Afrotropical species-groups.

Dorsal habitus: body highly convex to relatively flat, even within members of the same species-group ( AUDISIO 1996), variably shaped, shortly oval to long and parallel-sided ( Figs. 23a, b View Fig ); dorsal punctures on discal portion of pronotum usually larger than eye facet, and typically moderately to deeply impressed and densely distributed ( Fig. 23d View Fig ), but depth and distribution highly variable; anterior margin of clypeus truncate, slightly or distinctly sinuate medially, usually without small, faintly distinct, medial bulge, faintly distinctly bordered, lateral angles rounded or obtuse ( Fig. 23d View Fig ); circum-ocular furrows (occipital sulci) on dorsal side of head narrow, moderately to deeply impressed, usually obliterated posteriorly, incomplete ( Fig. 23d View Fig ); eyes large and usually moderately projecting laterally ( Figs. 23a, b, d View Fig ); pronotum with obtusely distinct to rounded posterior angles, never directed posteriorly ( Figs. 23a, b View Fig ); areas adjacent to posterior outer portions of pronotum usually impunctate and glabrous; scutellum minutely punctured on exposed portion ( Figs. 23e, f View Fig ); elytra with simple to more or less distinctly transversely strigose punctures ( Figs. 23a, e, f View Fig ); elytral humeral striae usually indistinct; elytral pre-sutural striae distinct, originating at scutellar vertex, terminating close to elytral apex, and delimiting on each elytron a flatly raised and narrow sutural border, border largest at posterior third but narrower than proximal portion of 3 rd antennomere; elytral apices truncately rounded in both sexes ( Fig. 23a View Fig ); pygidium partially exposed, moderately convex, apically rounded in both sexes ( Figs. 23a, b View Fig ).

Ventral side: antennal furrows markedly delimited, nearly parallel-sided, slightly sinuate, slightly divergent posteriorly; mentum subpentagonal ( Fig. 23c View Fig ), transverse, trapezoidal; prosternal antennal furrows on anterior margin of prosternum strongly raised and relatively long ( Fig. 23c View Fig ); prosternal process variably shaped, subapical dilated portion 2.0–3.6× as wide as maximum width of 1 st antennomere, usually bluntly convex and microscopically indistinctly crenulate distally ( Figs. 23h, k View Fig ); lateral borders of prosternal process delimiting shallowly impressed but wide and distinct furrows, distally terminating over predistal lateral expansions ( Figs. 23h, k View Fig ); posterior margin of mesoventrite never medially incised, frequently slightly to markedly arcuately convex posteriorly ( Figs. 23h, k View Fig ); male impressions on metaventrite and tubercles variably developed; first two visible abdominal ventrites simple in both sexes, without tufts of setae; caudal marginal lines of metacoxal cavities nearly simple, usually subparallel and more or less narrowly contiguous to posterior margin of metacoxal cavities, with shallow arched impression of outer ‘axillary’ line ( Fig. 23g View Fig ); ‘axillary’ space on first abdominal ventrite usually large, ‘axillary’ angle usually widely obtuse ( Fig. 23g View Fig ); large, long, and deeply impressed arched impressions present on basal portion of last visible abdominal ventrite, frequently partially covered by distal portion of penultimate visible abdominal ventrite ( Fig. 23g View Fig ); apex of last abdominal ventrite frequently more or less distinctly emarginate in males with shining tubercles or arcuate ridges.

Appendages: male 1 st antennomere 0.8–0.9× as long as width of protibiae excluding distal teeth ( Figs. 23 a, b View Fig ); 3 rd antennomere usually moderately short in both sexes, 2.1–2.2× as long as wide, 0.8–1.0× as long as but distinctly thinner than 2 nd antennomere ( Fig. 23c View Fig ); 4 th and 5 th antennomeres subequal in both sexes, short, nearly as long as wide; antennal club compact, mid-sized, simple, comprising last 3 antennomeres in both sexes (8 th antennomere scarcely widened, 0.4–0.5× as wide as 9 th antennomere) ( Fig. 23c View Fig ), narrower than width of protibiae, sexual dimorphism absent; labial palpi relatively short in both sexes ( Fig. 23c View Fig ), terminal segment ~1.6–1.8× as long as wide; maxillary palpi moderately long and slender in both sexes ( Fig. 23c View Fig ), terminal segment 2.2–2.3× as long as wide; mandible mid-sized ( Fig. 23a, b, c View Fig ), apex moderately acuminate, no sexual dimorphism; tarsal claws variable, simple, not toothed at base ( Fig. 23n View Fig ), bluntly toothed, or strongly and sharpy toothed ( Fig. 23m View Fig ); tarsi of variable size and shape, 0.5–0.8× as long as corresponding tibiae ( Figs. 23a, b, n View Fig ); protibiae with a series of variable, uneven, small and blunt to large and sharp teeth on distal portion or on most of lateral margin ( Figs. 23a, b, g View Fig ); meso- and metatibiae on lateral margin bearing a single and usually even row of long and robust pegs ( Figs. 23a, b, n View Fig ), without U-shaped sinuosity at distal third; meso- and metatibiae moderately slender and relatively narrow ( Figs. 23a, b, n View Fig ), never subtrapezoidal or axe-shaped; sexual dimorphism only rarely expressed in metatibial shape; tarsal plates of prolegs distinctly wider in males; posterior margin of metafemora simple in both sexes, without tubercles or projections.

Male genitalia: processes along inner side of parameres absent ( Figs. 24–25 View Fig View Fig in EASTON 1959b; Figs. 54–57, 58– 69 in EASTON 1960; Figs. 149–152 in AUDISIO 1993b; Figs. 1–18 View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig in AUDISIO 1996), distal margin variably incised, without deep median longitudinal desclerotization from proximal portion of tegmen extending to medial distal V-shaped excision; median lobe of aedeagus variably shaped, without lateral emargination, narrowed and obtuse, acuminate or spatulate distally, rarely with minute excisions or emarginations.

Female genitalia (ovipositor): small or large, variably shaped; styli short to long, cylindrical, inserted close to apex of contiguous gonostyloids (Fig. 58 in EASTON 1959b; Figs. 105–111 in EASTON 1960; Figs. 162–163 in AUDISIO 1993b; Figs. 21–22 View Fig View Fig and 24–29 View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig in AUDISIO 1996); each gonostyloid lightly sclerotized and rarely darkly pigmented distally, with a simple, never indentate outer portion of narrow basicoxites, and a single, narrow, more or less pigmented and sclerotized arcuate area along outer subdistal portion of gonostyloids. ‘Central point’ of ovipositor usually centrally located, or placed slightly more distad than middle, usually without or rarely with proximad directed spicule.

Etymology. The generic name is derived from the host-plant family of inclusive species, i.e. Lamiaceae , and from ‘- gethes ’, to emphasize its phylogenetic relationship with Meligethes . Gender masculine.

Biology. The biology of inclusive species is incompletely known, but appears to be homogeneous. Members of Lamiogethes gen. nov. are likely all associated as larvae with flowers of Lamiaceae (= Labiatae ), in particular Lamium L., Salvia L., Stachys L., Becium Lindl , Leucas Burm. ex R. Br. , Leonotis R. Br. , and allied genera in Palaearctic and Afrotropical areas ( EASTON 1960; AUDISIO 1993b, 1996, and unpublished data).

Phylogenetic position. Available morphological datasets provide good evidence for a clade including Lamiogethes gen. nov., Rubiogethes gen. nov., Paleogethes gen. nov., Astylogethes , and Stachygethes gen. nov. However, phylogenetic relationships between these taxa are only partially supported with molecular data ( TRIZZINO et al. 2009).

Taxonomy and geographic distribution. Lamiogethes gen. nov. is numerically the second largest Meligethinae genus, including nearly one hundred described species as well as ~20 additional identified but undescribed species, mainly distributed in Tropical Africa, Madagascar, the Indian Subcontinent, Europe, Anatolia, and the Eastern Palaearctic ( KIREJTSHUK 1992b; AUDISIO 1993b, 1996; JELÍNEK & AUDISIO 2007). Inclusive species are attributed to four or five formerly recognized species-groups, i.e. the ‘ Meligethes difficilis ’, ‘ M. ruficollis / gloriosus ’, ‘ M. convexus ’, and ‘ M. politus / phalacroides ’ species-groups.

Lamiogethes abductus ( Audisio, Jelínek & Cooter, 2005) NE China comb. nov.

Lamiogethes accretus (Kirejtshuk, 1988) comb. nov. South Africa: Mpumalanga, NW Province, KwaZulu- Natal, Free State, E Cape ; Lesotho

Lamiogethes aeneoviridinitens (Audisio, 1993) comb. nov. NE Turkey, Caucasus

Lamiogethes amabilis (Kirejtshuk, 1988) comb. nov. India

Lamiogethes amei ( Audisio & Kirejtshuk, 1988) comb. nov. N Turkey, Caucasus

Lamiogethes andrewesi (Grouvelle, 1908) comb. nov. India

Lamiogethes angustatus (Küster, 1848) comb. nov. S Europe

Lamiogethes asignifer (Kirejtshuk, 1996) comb. nov. N Namibia

Lamiogethes assamensis (Kirejtshuk, 1980) comb. nov. N India, Assam

Lamiogethes atomus ( Grouvelle, 1904) comb. nov. Congo, Zanzibar

Lamiogethes atramentarius (Förster, 1849) comb. nov. Central Europe

Lamiogethes atrovirens (Jelínek, 1982) comb. nov. N Turkey, Caucasus