Prionocyphon (Watts, 2014)

Zwick, Peter, 2016, Australian Marsh Beetles (Coleoptera: Scirtidae). 9. The relations of Australasian Ypsiloncyphon species to their Asian congeners, additions, mainly to Petrocyphon and Prionocyphon, and a key to Australian genera of Scirtinae, Zootaxa 4085 (2), pp. 151-198 : 183

The Prionocyphon warra- group

The group includes species whose genitalia ( Figs 77–86 ) appear skeletonized, 'skinny' because the tegmen, parameres and penis are intimately connected into a functional unit consisting essentially of only hard sclerites. The tegmen resembles a flat bowl in P. monteithi but is reduced to a transverse band in P. warra . In both it supports slender parameres with an apical hook. The paramere bases are hinged with sclerites that are part of the long pala (missing in fig. 39 of Watts 2010b) with a high longitudinal keel. The strong lateral edges of the pala continue posteriorly as supports of the slender parameroids which are basally fused and end in a pair of spatulate sclerites. Between the tegmen and parameroids lies the slender, apically divided cone of the penis to which the unarmed endophallus is attached.

The above homologies are largely based on an undissected specimen of P. warra with erect genitalia, see below.

Figures

FIGURES 77, 78. Male genitalia of Prionocyphon monteithi Watts (77) and P. warra Watts (78). Not to scale. Abbreviations: eph, endophallus; pa, pala; pd, parameroid; pe, paramere; st, style; te, tegmen; tr, trigonium.

FIGURES 79, 80. Erect male genitalia of Prionocyphon warra Watts. 79, lateral view; 80, dorsal view. Abbreviations: eph, endophallus; pa, pala; pd, parameroid; pe, paramere; st, style; te, tegmen; tr, trigonium.

FIGURES 81 − 86. Male genitalia of Prionocyphon yarraensis Watts. 81, T 8; 82, T 9; 83, S 9; 84, trigonium and parameroids in side view; black arrow points at opening of sperm duct (sd-o); 85, one paramere with half of the transverse bar between the halves, the broken end placed near where the undamedged components were originally connected; wide open arrow indicates direction of view of Fig. 86; 86, dorsal view of the intact genitalia (modified from Watts 2010 b: fig. 42). Compare text, also for abbreviations. 81 − 83 and 84, 85 to the same scales, respectively; 86 not to scale.