Byrsopolis Burmeister, 1844

Medeiros, Rone A. F., Seidel, Matthias & Grossi, Paschoal C., 2022, Revision of the genus Byrsopolis Burmeister, 1844 (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae: Rutelinae: Rutelini), with the description of six new species endemic to Brazil and Paraguay, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 56 (29 - 32), pp. 1315-1364 : 1318-1320

Byrsopolis Burmeister, 1844

Type species: Byrsopoliscastanea Burmeister, 1844 [by monotypy].

Gender. Feminine.

Byrsopolis Burmeister, 1844: 425 (original description); Blanchard 1851: 219 (citation); Burmeister 1855: 523 (female diagnosis); Lacordaire 1856: 364 (redescription, key to genera); Castelnau and Lucas 1857: 130 (distribution, illustrations); Gemminger and Harold 1869: 1226 (checklist); Bates 1888: 290 (citation); Heyne and Taschenberg 1908: 88 (citation), 356 (illustration); Ohaus 1908: 251 (citation); 1912: 312 (citation); 1915: 75 (citation); Casey 1915: 1 (note); Ohaus 1925: 75 (citation); 1926: 225–226 (citation); Hardy 1971: 235 (status revalidation); Machatschke 1972: 2 (catalogue, distribution); Morón 1976: 19 (citation); Ratcliffe and Jameson 1989: 135 (citation); Jameson 1990: 377 (citation, key to genera); 1998: 5 (citation); Krajcik 2008: 58 (checklist); Smith (2009): 73 (citation); Soula 2010a (citation): 44; 2010b: 54 (key to species, illustration); Grossi and Vaz-de-Mello 2015: 221 (biology, key to genera); Morón and Nogueira 2016: 7 (citation); Ferreira 2016: 112 (illustration); Moore et al. 2017: 49 (citation); Ferreira et al. 2018: 4, 8–9 (checklist, distribution); Carvalho and Grossi 2018: 372 (checklist, distribution); Hielkema and Hielkema 2019: 126 (checklist, distribution); Menis and Rodrigues 2021: 3, 5 (citation); Vaz-de-Mello and Grossi 2022 (online catalogue).

– Cotalpa (Byrsopolis) ( Burmeister 1844) : Ohaus 1915: 256 (status change, key to subgenera); 1918: 10 (checklist); 1934: 37 (subgenus redescription, checklist, distribution), 173 (illustration); Blackwelder 1944: 235 (checklist).

Diagnosis. Frontoclypeal suture complete, almost linear or with curvilinear extremities; frons glabrous or with short setae; clypeus glabrous or setose; mandibles externally rounded with molar region striated, with or without projections; apex of prementum weakly to strongly emarginated; antennae with 10 antennomeres; antennal club longer than antennomeres II–VII combined, with marginal areas unconstricted. Thorax with mesosternal process not exceeding mesocoxae apex. Elytra punctate, with or without striae, striae with small punctures; apical calli distinct; hind wings with anterior margin (PC +C, ScA, ScP, RA 1+2, RA 3) glabrous, RA 3 margin very close to RA 4 + RP 1, but not reaching it; apex of Cu setose; AA 3 developed and converging to Cu. Parameres bifurcated, parallel, convergent or divergent; shape without projections.

Redescription. Body. Shape elongated, oval, sides parallel to rounded in dorsal view; dorsal surface usually convex, ventrally flattened in lateral view; females usually bigger than males and with a more distinctly convex dorsal surface. Colour very variable, from light yellow to completely black, with metallic reflections in some species, or with legs, head, pronotum and venter metallic green. Length 20.40–37.81 mm; humeral width 9.50– 20.73 mm, elytral width 11.05–22.37 mm. Head. Clypeus rounded, trapezoidal, rectangular, semioval, or square; weakly to moderately concave, wider than long, widest at base; apex straight, truncated, emarginated, bilobed or trilobed; surface glabrous to hirsute; frontoclypeal suture clearly visible, almost straight or sinuous; clypeus and frons sometimes with isolated concavities, or a longitudinal midline formed by punctures; mandibles partially or totally covered by clypeus, glabrous or hirsute, smooth or punctate; maxillae symmetrical or asymmetrical; surface of prementum and area of insertion of palpigers excavated or not; premental apex with weak to strong emargination; labrum bilobed, with narrowly rounded to truncated lobes; male antennal club 1.5–3x longer than antennomeres II–VII combined, female antennal club smaller, about 1.2–1.5x longer than antennomeres II–VII combined. Thorax. Pronotum with weak to strong concavities at isolated punctures or oblique lines near posterior angles; anterior angles obtuse, incurved; scutellar plate subtriangular, with punctures and setae varying in size from small to large, sparse to densely distributed; mesoventral process with apex rounded to oval, not exceeding mesocoxa. Elytra. Humeri slightly concave, with small setae and small calli; elytral suture smooth to striate; disc with weak to strong striae, interstriae sparsely to densely punctate; epipleura sparsely to densely setose; hind wings with anterior margin near veins (PC+C, ScA, ScP, RA 1+2, RA 3) glabrous, vein AA 3 developed, converging to Cu; Cu setae only at apex; margin of RA 3 very close to RA 4 + RP 1, but not reaching it. Legs. Protibia with three outer teeth; spur developed, at least 2x longer than wide, conical (spine-like) or flattened; females with protarsomeres IV–V usually with longer setae than in males; apex of metatibiae with 14–32 spine-like setae. Abdomen. Tergite 8 striated or punctated, glabrous or hirsute. Aedeagus. Parameres dorsally or laterally symmetrical or not, weakly to strongly bifurcated; rounded, parallel, divergent or convergent apex, weakly to strongly angular; lateral margins of parameres weakly to strongly excavated longitudinally, forming a small to long carina; right paramere sometimes thicker or more divergent.

Distribution. Byrsopolis has a disjunct distribution, with two species restricted to the coastal region of French Guiana ( Soula 2010a), and the others exclusive to the Brazilian Cerrado biome and Atlantic Forest found in Bahia, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Paraná states, and Paraguay (Dept. San Pedro).