Pacuvia Curtis, 1844

Smith, Andrew B. T. & Cherman, Mariana, 2021, Review of the genus Pacuvia Curtis, 1844 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Diplotaxini), Revista Chilena de Entomología (Rev. Chil. Entomol.) 47 (4), pp. 955-963 : 956-957

Genus Pacuvia Curtis, 1844

Pacuvia Curtis 1844: 199 . Type species: Pacuvia castanea Curtis, 1844 by monotypy.

Diagnosis. Length 8.5–13.0 mm (males), 8.0–12.0 mm (females); width 4.0– 6.5 mm (males), 4.0– 6.5 mm (females). Frons coplanar with clypeus; galea of maxillae with four teeth or less; labium longer than it is wide, anterior margin of ligula straight, distal labial palpomere globose; pronotum equal in length to the tarsomeres I, II, and III together; pronotum narrower than the base of elytra; innermost gap between elytral ridges wider than the adjacent; distance between mesocoxae and metacoxae more than two-fold the metacoxa length; external margin of protibia barely excavated ( P. castanea ) or smooth ( P. philippiana ); medial and apical teeth of protibia oblique; protarsomere I almost equal to the protarsomere II in length; metatarsomere I less than one-half the size of metatarsomere II; metatibiae of males narrowed subapically and inner margin not produced.

Composition. Pacuvia castanea Curtis, 1844 and P. philippiana Gutiérrez, 1951 .

Comments. Both species have sexually dimorphic protarsi and mesotarsi. Males have distinctly widened and flattened protarsi and mesotarsi when viewed dorsally, females have protarsi and mesotarsi that are completely cylindrical when viewed dorsally.