Platycoelus Blanchard, 1843

Will, Kipling, 2015, A taxonomic review, new species and a key to species of Platycoelus Blanchard, 1843 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Pterostichini), Zootaxa 4034 (2), pp. 291-308 : 292-293

Platycoelus Blanchard, 1843

Type species Platycoelus depressus Blanchard 1853:25 = Platycaelus Blanchard, 1843 ; Plate 2 image 10. Emberson (1993) lists dates of publication of individual plates. = Platycoelus Blanchard, 1853

= Psegmatopterus Chaudoir, 1878:4 . New synonymy = Chlaenioidius Chaudoir, 1865:110

= Hypherpinus Straneo, 1938:227

= Dalbertisia Straneo, 1939:117

Description. Head. Clypeo-ocular sulci not impressed, punctiform or more elongate, straight, very broadly and very shallowly impressed; mentum moderately or very shallowly emarginate, sides divergent, paramedial pits small or large, deeply or very deeply impressed; median tooth bifid or broadly emarginate; paraglossae small, without elongate setae at apex; ligular sclerite with two setae on apical margin; maxillary palpifer with one basal seta; antennae filiform, with three basal segments glabrous. Thorax. Pronotum quadrate or transverse, width across base slightly broader than or equal to apex, two marginal setae; pro-, meso- and metasterna glabrous; proepisternum with or without very scattered punctulae; elytra free along suture, border at base complete, interrupted or effaced, nine distinctly impressed complete striae or striae 1–7 not impressed on elytral disc, apicolateral plica visible, parascutellar stria long, distinctly impressed, connected or not connected to stria 1, angular base of stria 1 present, parascutellar punctues at base of stria 2, no discal punctures, intervals flat or slightly convex; flight wing full length or very short; anterior tarsi of male with three basal segments expanded, ventrally squamous. Abdomen. Ventrites 3–6 without sulci; aedeagus ostium dorsal, median lobe oriented left side up in repose; parameres attenuate with long narrow apex or broad and apically pointed, both nearly of equal length, left wider than right; female reproductive tract ( Fig. 9 ) with dorsolateral bursal lobe, elongate spermatheca broadly attached laterally at base of bursal lobe or spermatheca relatively narrow, very elongate and attached apically on dorsal lobe, with appended gland attached near base of spermatheca, spermatheca without digitiform diverticulum near base, without spermathecal gland duct diverticulum.

Differential diagnosis. The following combination of character states distinguishes members of the genus from other pterostichines in the Australian region: Antennae pubescent from antennomere 4; mental tooth entire; stipes with a single setae near base; elytra usually with eight more or less impressed striae; when impressed the parascutellar stria is present and intervals are of more or less equal width; abdominal ventrites without transverse sulci; and the length between hind margin of mesocoxa and anterior margin of metacoxa equal to or greater than diameter of mesocoxa. The male genitalia and female reproductive tract share similarities that may prove synapomorphic with Delinius Westwood, 1864 , Euryabax Fauvel, 1903 , and Sphodrosomus Perroud and Montrouzier, 1864 .

Nomenclatural note. Bousquet (2002), overturned the spelling that was uniformly in use " Platycoelus , " to " Platycaelus ," based on what appears in the plate caption initially published by Blanchard (1843, see Emberson 1993). However, Bousquet's action was contrary to the 2000 Code ( ICZN 1999), which states explicitly: "33.2.3.1. when an unjustified emendation is in prevailing usage and is attributed to the original author and date it is deemed to be a justified emendation." Therefore Platycoelus , as of the year 2000, was and remains the correct Codecompliant spelling as found in the catalogs by Lorenz (1998, 2005). Subsequent publications that used Platycaelus ( Will & Kavanaugh 2012; Will 2011) following the spelling used by Bousquet (2002), are incorrect.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Female reproductive tract of Platycoelus melliei, ventral view. sg, spermathecal gland; sp, spermatheca; dl, dorsal lobe of bursa; bc, bursa copulatrix; co, common oviduct.