Saprositellus Balthasar 1967:138

Stebnicka, Zdzisława Teresa, 2003, The Genus Saprositellus Balthasar, with Descriptions of Three New Neotropical Species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Odontolochini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 57 (4), pp. 451-457 : 451-452

Saprositellus Balthasar 1967:138 ; Dellacasa 1988:271 (catalogued).

Type Species. Saprositellus denticulatus Balthasar (Designated by Balthasar

1967:138).

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Diagnosis. Body elongate oval, convex, feebly shining. Head relatively small, deflexed, weakly convex dorsally; clypeus dilated to cover mouthparts with inflexed triangular process medially; lateral clypeal edge on each side with row of denticles. Eye small, concealed under pronotal margin; mouthparts adapted for soft saprophagy. Prothoracic and clypeal indentations together form cavity to receive fore legs. Pronotum narrow, subquadrate, strongly elevated, sides steep, invisible from above; lateral margin with tooth, posterior angles excavate to basal angulation; surface usually with median longitudinal furrow and small fovea laterally. Scutellum small, parallelsided. Elytra with fine basal bead and with humeral denticles; striae deep, strial punctures coarse, intervals usually narrow. Metathoracic wings functional. Ventral sclerites punctate; posterior prosternal process large, triangular; mesosternum lower than metasternum, widely flattened, punctate; mesocoxae separate; abdominal sternites finely fluted along sutures, punctate, exposed disc of pygidium punctate. Profemur almost circular; meso- and metafemora narrow, posterior edge strongly margined, sinuate; protibia narrow, lateral teeth small; meso- and metatibiae flattened dorsoventrally, apical spurs very fine, located close together below tarsal insertion; tarsi short, segments subquadrate; claws hair-like. Phallobase of male aedeagus without dorsal hump, apical portion of internal sac narrow with minute spicules.

Affinity. The closest relatives of Saprositellus known from South America belong to the genus Odontolochus Schmidt (Stebnicka and Howden 1996) . Members of Odontolochus differ from those of Saprositellus by having the significantly broader head, the clypeal edge rounded without denticles and the pronotal anterior disc strongly tumid.