Athrostictus punctatulus (Putzeys, 1878)

Bousquet, Yves, 2012, Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico, ZooKeys 245, pp. 1-1722 : 711

Athrostictus punctatulus (Putzeys, 1878)

Selenophorus punctatulus Putzeys, 1878: 65. Type species: «Yucatan» (original citation). Syntype(s) [8 originally cited] in MHNP (collection Chaudoir) and probably IRSN (collection Putzeys).

Selenophorus perpolitus Casey, 1884c: 76. Type locality: «Texas» (original citation). Three syntypes [6 originally cited] in USNM [# 47866]. New synonymy (based on a communication of George E. Ball posted on http://bugguide.net/node/view/204062).

Distribution.

This species is known from northeastern Arkansas (Kraim 1983: 137, as Selenophorus perpolitus ), Amite County in southwestern Mississippi (Peter W. Messer pers. comm. 2012), East Baton Rouge Parish in southern Louisiana (Igor Sokolov pers. comm. 2009), and from southern Texas (Johnson 1978: 68; Zapata, Live Oak, and Uvalde Counties, CMNH) to Yucatán (Putzeys 1878: 65).

Records.

USA: AR, LA, MS, TX - Mexico

Note.

The systematic position of this species is not quite settled. It was transferred to the genus Athrostictus by Erwin [in Reichardt 1977: 428, under the spelling Athrostictus punculatus (Putzeys, 1878)]. It was retained in the genus Selenophorus by Noonan (1985: 41) although he did not study specimens. Bates (1891a: 243) wrote "the species [i.e., Selenophorus punctatulus ] belongs to a group of the genus in which the thorax (except on the disk) and the elytra are closely punctured, a group which connects Selenophorus with Arthrostictus [sic]."