Ataenius Harold, 1867

Bukejs, Andris & Alekseev, Vitalii I., 2018, A new extinct species of Ataenius Harold from Baltic amber (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae), Zootaxa 4442 (1), pp. 153-160 : 154

Genus Ataenius Harold, 1867

Remarks. Within the Eupariini , the genus Ataenius is highly variable. This genus considered as central core from which other genera have been recognized. Members are unicolorous black to reddish brown, head usually with weak transverse wrinkles, clypeus dentate or not, tibia usually only moderately widened apically, and pygidium with apical half eroded ( Smith & Skelley 2007). One of the most comprehensive generic diagnosis of Ataenius can be found in Stebnicka (2001). The main diagnostic characters of the genus listed are clearly visible in the studied specimens.

The specimens considered here were assigned to the genus to Ataenius within the tribe Eupariini , based on a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) head narrower than pronotum, (2) middle of head gibbose, (3) clypeal surface without transverse ridges, not granulate or tuberculate, (4) pronotum transverse, (5) disc of partially exposed pygidium deeply eroded, (6) metatibia without transverse ridges, (7) abdominal ventrites with fluting, (8) apical spurs of metatibia spiniform, located close together below tarsal insertion, (9) tarsi not longer than tibiae, (10) pronotum without grooves or rows of punctures, (11) mesotibia not strongly expanded at apex, (12) lateral pronotal sides slightly upturned, but not explanate, and (13) elytra without humeral denticles.