Protocypus J. Müller, 1923

He, Liang & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2017, Taxonomy of the genus Protocypus J. Müller, 1923 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylinini) and two new species from China, Zootaxa 4291 (3), pp. 458-480 : 459

The genus Protocypus J. Müller, 1923

J. Müller, 1923: 136 (subgenus of Staphylinus ; species included: fulvotomentosus ); Cameron, 1932: 180 (subgenus of Staphylinus ); Scheerpeltz, 1933: 1381 (subgenus of Staphylinus ); Blackwelder, 1943: 444, 445 (subgenus of Ocypus ; type species: fulvotomentosus ); Blackwelder, 1952: 323 (type species: fulvotomentosus ); Shibata , 1984: 89 (subgenus of Ocypus ; checklist of species of Japan) ; Naomi, 1992: 54 (subgenus of Ocypus ; characters; key to species of scutiger group; Japan); Smetana and Davies, 2000: 31 (synonym of Pseudocypus ); Herman, 2001: 3358 (synonym of Pseudocypus ; Catalog); Smetana, 2003 (removed from synonymy with Pseudocypus and reinstated as a genus); Smetana, 2004: 682 (Catalog of Palaearctic Region ); Smetana, 2005: 271 (Key to species of China); Schülke & Smetana, 2015: 1099 (Catalog of Palaearctic Region).

Type species: Ocypus fulvotomentosus Eppelsheim, 1889 , fixed by Müller, 1923: 136, by monotypy.

Syn.: Ascialinus Bernhauer, 1933: 34 . Type species: Staphylinus (Ascialinus) beckeri Bernhauer, 1933 , fixed by monotypy.

The species of the genus Protocypus are large and robust in general, and appear to be rather similar with most large-sized species of the genus Ocypus in their habitus. The members of the genus Protocypus can be easily distinguished from the members of Ocypus and other allied genera by the following characteristics: mandible each with a deep subbasal emargination and two similar-shaped teeth; pronotal hypomeron setose (character also occurs in some species of Pseudocypus, Smetana, 2003, 2007 ).