Ascopus Marshall, 1951

Borovec, Roman & Perrin, Hélène, 2019, Systematic position of Ascopus Marshall, Oreosecus Marshall, Perarogula Hoffmann and Rhadinocopes Hustache (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae) with description of a new species of Ascopus from Guinea, Zootaxa 4668 (2), pp. 245-257 : 246-247

Ascopus Marshall, 1951

Ascopus Marshall, 1951: 323 (original description), type species: Ascopus pyriformis Marshall, 1951 by original designation.

Gender masculine. Ascopus: Hoffmann 1963: 310 (note); Alonso-Zarazaga & Lyal 1999: 149 (catalogue). Perarogula Hoffmann, 1963: 313 (original description), syn. nov., type species: Perarogula lamottei Hoffmann, 1963 by origi- nal designation. Perarogula: Alonso-Zarazaga & Lyal 1999: 183 (catalogue); Borovec & Skuhrovec 2017: 528 (note). Rhadinocopes: Hustache 1931: 59 (species description); Marshall 1951: 321 (species description).

Diagnosis. Small Cneorhinini at most 4.8 mm long, with antennal scrobes dorsally invisible, in profile narrow, curved downwards, not reaching ventral border of eye; frons short, glabrous; epistome small, posteriorly narrowly carinate, ending before anterior border of antennal insertion; antennal scapes very short, reaching middle of eyes in repose; eyes in dorsal view not protruding laterally from the head; elytra lacking laterally prominent humeral calli; femora unarmed; metatibiae with narrow corbel; claws connate; abdominal ventrites with suture between ventrite 1 and 2 straight; ventrite 1 as long as ventrites 2–4 combined.

Remarks. The genus belongs to the tribe Cneorhinini Lacordaire, 1863 primarily by having laterally positioned scrobes, curved downwards, elytra lacking laterally prominent humeral calli, connate claws and metatibiae with narrow corbel. Among Cneorhinini Ascopus could be recognize by head did not constricted behind eyes, rostrum separated from head by slender, but well-edged V-shaped transverse sulcus, small epistome, short scapes and abdominal ventrites with suture between ventrites 1 and 2 straight. Among Cneorhinini Ascopus is similar only to other small terricolous genera as Proictes Schoenherr, 1840 , Pseudoscolochirus Hoffmann, 1963 and Scolochirus Marshall, 1944 , known also from western Africa. From all these three genera Ascopus could be easily recognize by epistome small, not reaching antennal insertion in its posterior angle (large, exceeding antennal insertion in named three genera), well edged transverse sulcus between head and rostrum (lacking sulcus), ventrite 1 conspicuously longer than ventrite 2 (equally long), suture between ventrite 1 and 2 straight (sinuose), and from Pseudoscolochirus and Scolochirus also by lacking tooth on inner side of protibiae (having sharp triangular tooth a little beyond the middle of inner side). Ascopus contains 5 species, including newly described and newly transferred species in this paper, known from Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Togo.