Micratopus Casey, 1914

Bousquet, Yves, 2012, Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico, ZooKeys 245, pp. 1-1722 : 444

Genus Micratopus Casey, 1914

Micratopus Casey, 1914: 42. Type species: Micratopus fusciceps Casey, 1914 (= Blemus aenescens LeConte, 1848) by monotypy. Etymology. From the Greek micros (small, little) and topos (place), possibly alluding to the small size ("body very small") of the adult [masculine].

Diversity.

Western Hemisphere, with five species in the Nearctic (one species) and Neotropical (four species) Regions, including the West Indies. Erwin (1974a: 125) stated that he was aware of 35 undescribed species in this genus.

Identification.

Barr (1971b) redescribed the North American species and illustrated its male genitalia.

Taxonomic Note.

This taxon is possibly the sister-group to Lymnastis Motschulsky (Erwin 1974a: 125), a genus of about 40 species in the Eastern Hemisphere with one endemic species, Lymnastis americanus Darlington, in Cuba. According to Robert L. Davidson (pers. comm. 2008), there is at least two species of Micratopus , besides Micratopus aenescens , that occur in southern United States. One of them, found in Florida, is probably the Cuban species.