Julodimorpha Gemminger & Harold 1869

Weir, Tom, 2008, The reinstatement of Julodimorpha saundersii Thomson 1879 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) as a valid species, Zootaxa 1751, pp. 46-54 : 47

Genus Julodimorpha Gemminger & Harold 1869

Julodimorpha Gemminger & Harold 1869: 1397 ; Saunders 1871: 65; Thomson 1878: 51; Masters 1886: 79; Kerremans 1892: 142; 1893: 113; 1902: 16; 1905: 369; Obenberger 1926: 35; Carter 1929: 288; Théry 1943: 149; Holm 1979: 93; Bellamy 1985: 413; 1986: 587; Cobos 1986: 30, 74; Hołyński 1993: 12, 19; Bellamy 1997: 219; 2002: 137; 2003: 51.

Type species: Stigmodera bakewellii White, 1859 (fixed by monotypy).

Comments. The placement and relationships of this genus have varied widely (e.g. Saunders 1871; Obenberger 1926; Carter 1929; Holm 1979; Cobos 1986: 30, 74; Hołyński 1993: 12, 19; Volkovitsh 2001:56; Bellamy 2002: 137). The suspected morphological analogies to the buprestid subfamily Julodinae and overall phylogenetic position within the family might be elucidated by molecular data. For now (fide Bellamy 2003: 51), the genus is placed within the monotypic tribe Julodimorphini Kerremans 1902 at the base of the subfamily Buprestinae rather than Chysochroinae (syn. Chalcophorinae ). This shift of placement is based on proposals from Volkovitsh (2001) based on his study of buprestoid antennal morphology.

Our re-evaluation of the type material of the two described forms indicates that two species of Julodimorpha should be recognized, one from Western Australia and one from the eastern deserts.