Coleoptera, Linnaeus, 1758

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 : 457-458

Chaudoir ( Coleoptera : Carabidae: Platynini)

Motschulsky (1865) described the genus Dolichodes, diagnosing it from other genera of platynine Carabidae in his key by the more or less depressed body form, rounded pronotal hind angles, and dorsal body surface with opaque, granulate microsculpture. He designated D. geniculatus as the type species, which he described as new in the same work, recording its provenance as Brazil. Dolichodes was listed as a junior synonym of Agonum Bonelli, 1810 in Gemminger and Harold (1868), and has remained a junior generic synonym to the present.

Recent taxonomic studies on Agonum showed that many South American species formerly attributed this genus are, in fact, better classified in an endemic South American genus, Incagonum (Liebherr 1994) . Removal of species to Incagonum from Agonum leaves five names of South American taxa still combined with Agonum, A. geniculatum (Motschulsky) being one.

Comparison of the single known female syntype of Dolichodes geniculatus (Keleinikova 1976) with specimens of Euleptus ooderus Chaudoir , 1850 ( J. Schmidt Collection), establishes D. geniculatus as a junior subjective synonym of E. ooderus, thereby making Dolichodes Motschulsky , 1865, a junior generic synonym of Euleptus Klug , 1833. Euleptus ooderus is known from the Himalaya , and the other described species of the genus reside in Africa and Madagascar. Therefore Motschulsky’s type locality of Brazil for D. geniculatus is certainly in error. The type locality is hereby corrected to NEPAL: Karnali Province, Gothichaur Valley , 2,800 m elev., 29812.19 N 82818.59 E, to reflect the locality of compared specimens in the Schmidt collection .

Besides the microsculptural and habitus characters alluded to by Motschulsky in his diagnostic generic key, E. ooderus is characterized by the absence of a median mentum tooth (a character shared by all Euleptus spp.), and basally rufotestaceous femora distinctly contrasted with the infuscated femoral apex and tibiae.

Taxonomic changes brought about by these findings are summarized as:

Euleptus Klug, 1833, Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, p. 131.

Dolichodes Motschulsky, 1865(‘‘1864’’), Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou 37(4): 371 (NEW SYNONYMY).

Euleptus ooderus Chaudoir, 1850, Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou 23(2): 365.

Dolichodes geniculatus Motschulsky, 1865(‘‘1864’’): 321 ( NEW SYNONYMY). Corrected type locality: Nepal, Karnali Province, Gothichaur Valley , 2,800 m elev .

Dolichodes geuiculatus Motschulsky, 1865(‘‘1864’’): 317 (unavailable incorrect original spelling).

For D. geniculatus, lectotype hereby designated (in order to fix the identity of this species should additional specimens reflecting a mixed type series be discovered):

Female specimen glued on white card, specimen extensively covered with fungal growth, labeled: [green paper isosceles triangle with indecipherable legend]//[green label] Dolichodes geniculatus Brazil Motsch.//[square red label]//[red label] Lectotype Dolichodes geniculatus Motschulsky, det. J. K. Liebherr 2003.