Myrmecobrenthus Kleine, 1920

Bartolozzi, Luca & Loudit, Sandrine Mariella Bayendi, 2011, Revision of the genus Myrmecobrenthus Kleine with a description of a new species from Gabon (Coleoptera: Brentidae: Eremoxenini), Zootaxa 3101, pp. 53-58 : 54

The genus Myrmecobrenthus Kleine, 1920

Type species: Myrmecobrenthus wasmanni Kleine, 1920

Myrmecobrenthus belongs to the tribe Eremoxenini, species of which show strong morphological modifications with regard to the usual brentid shape. These modifications are mainly in the form of rostrum, antennae, and sometimes the legs. Myrmecobrenthus species have a striking deformation of the antennae, which are composed by only nine articles, and the articles are short, appressed, enlarged and strongly compressed dorso-ventrally. The antennal shape resembles that of myrmecophilous Paussinae ( Coleoptera Carabidae ), and it is also similar to two other brentid genera, Pericordus Kolbe, 1833 , and Paussobrenthus Gestro, 1919 , although in these taxa there are 11 antennal articles instead of 9. In addition, the tibiae are enlarged and strongly flattened laterally, and they look somewhat foliaceous. The head and the rostrum also show strong modifications, as in all Eremoxenini. These modifications are related to the myrmecophilous behaviour of these brentids ( Kleine 1921; Damoiseau 1979, 1980; Sforzi & Bartolozzi 2004).

Previously, two species of Myrmecobrenthus were known: M. ater Damoiseau, 1961 and M. wasmanni Kleine, 1920 ; a third one is described in this paper.