Apenes LeConte, 1851

Bousquet, Yves, 2012, Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico, ZooKeys 245, pp. 1-1722 : 802

Genus Apenes LeConte, 1851

Sphenopalpus Blanchard, 1842: plate1 [nomen oblitum, see Ball and Shpeley (2009: 95)]. Type species: Sphenopalpus parallelus Blanchard, 1842 (= Cymindis aenea Dejean, 1831) by monotypy. Etymology. From the Greek sphenos (wedge) and the Latin palpus (feeler, by extension palp), alluding to the shape of the last maxillary and labial palpomeres (" palpes cylindriques, ayant leur dernier article ovalaire terminé en pointe," see Blanchard 1853: 32) of the adult [masculine]. Note. Since Chaudoir (1875: 38) listed Sphenopalpus parallelus Blanchard as a junior synonym of Apenes aenea (Dejean), Sphenopalpus has been considered a junior synonym of Apenes on the account that it was made available with the publication of the text in 1853. However, the name was first made available by the publication of the plate in 1842 (see Emberson 1992).

Apenes LeConte, 1851: 174 [nomen protectum]. Type species: Cymindis lucidula Dejean, 1831 designated by Lacordaire (1854: 110). Synonymy established by Chaudoir (1875: 38). Etymology. From the Greek apenes (rough, harsh, cruel, ferocious) [feminine]. Note. Apenes have been treated as masculine (e.g., Bousquet and Larochelle 1993: 269-270; Lorenz 2005: 464-465) or feminine (e.g., Lindroth 1969a: 1087-1088; Ball and Shpeley 1992b). It comes from a transliteration of the Greek adjective Aπηνής, ές and so could be masculine or feminine. In such case, the name is to be treated as masculine unless its author, when establishing the name, stated that it is feminine or treated it as feminine in combination with an adjectival species-group name (ICZN 1999: Article 30.1.4.2). LeConte (1851) did not specify the gender but described the species " Apenes opaca ", so treating the generic name Apenes as feminine. As such Apenes is feminine.

Sphenopselaphus Gemminger and Harold, 1868a: 299. Unjustified emendation of Sphenopalpus Blanchard, 1842.

Diversity.

Seventy-five species in the Western Hemisphere arrayed in two subgenera: Apenes s.str. (67 species) and Didymochaeta Chaudoir (eight Neotropical species).