Unraveling the diversity of Helopinina Latreille (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Blaptinae): an illustrated catalogue of the subtribe with emphasis on the type specimens deposited in Ditsong National Museum of Natural History

Authors: KAMINSKI, MARCIN JAN - Northern Arizona University; LUMEN, RYAN - Northern Arizona University; MULLER, RUTH - Ditsong National Museum Of Natural History; Kanda, Kojun; ROBICHE, GERARD - The Museum; SMITH, AARON DENNIS - Purdue University

Submitted to: The Coleopterists Bulletin
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/14/2021
Publication Date: 12/7/2021
Citation: Kaminski, M., Lumen, R., Muller, R., Kanda, K.N., Robiche, G., Smith, A. 2021. Unraveling the diversity of Helopinina Latreille (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Blaptinae): an illustrated catalogue of the subtribe with emphasis on the type specimens deposited in Ditsong National Museum of Natural History. The Coleopterists Bulletin. 75(3):537-578. https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-75.3.537.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-75.3.537

Interpretive Summary: Darkling beetles are common pests in arid-land agricultural systems and in grain stores. This is a very species-rich group with over 20,000 described species, yet identification resources for most species of darkling beetles are non-existent. This greatly hinders identification of not only our local fauna, but also intercepted or accidentally introduced species that can damage agricultural systems. In this paper, we present a taxonomic catalogue for a diverse group of darkling beetles with over 250 species from Africa and the Middle East. We provide a bibliography of species descriptions along with known distributional data and representative images of this group. This paper will be useful for port inspectors researchers interested in arid-land ecosystems.

Technical Abstract: The catalogue of all valid genus-group (13 genera, 10 subgenera) and species-group names (239 species and subspecies) of Helopinina darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Blaptinae) and their available synonyms is presented. For each name, the author, year, and page number of the description are provided, with additional data depending on the taxon rank (e.g., type species for genus-group names, author of synonymies for invalid taxa, notes). Verified distributional records (loci typici and data acquired from revisionary publications) for all the species are gathered and illustrated. Pteraulus sulcatipennis Solier is designated as the type species of Pteraulus Solier. The following new combinations are proposed: Amatodes angulicolle (Gebien), Amatodes canaliculatum (Fabricius), Amatodes cordofanum (Haag-Rutenberg), Amatodes delahayei (Robiche), Amatodes delicatulum (Fairmaire), Amatodes demeyeri (Robiche), Amatodes drumonti (Robiche), Amatodes fasciolatum (Gebien), Amatodes gebieni (Robiche), Amatodes girardi (Robiche), Amatodes granatum (Gebien), Amatodes haroldi (Haag-Rutenberg), Amatodes hirsutum (Solier), Amatodes hirsutulum (Solier), Amatodes jocquei (Robiche), Amatodes kochi (Robiche), Amatodes legalli (Robiche), Amatodes mucoreum (Fairmaire), Amatodes muellerae (Robiche), Amatodes planicolle (Haag-Rutenberg), Amatodes planipenne (Gebien), Amatodes congoensis (Robiche), Amatodes limbourgi (Robiche), Amatodes setulosum (Quedenfeldt), Amatodes spinosum (Robiche), Amatodes claudegirardi (Robiche), Amatodes ertli (Gebien), Amatodes ferreri (Robiche), Amatodes jubae (Gridelli), Amatodes merkli (Robiche), Amatodes multicostatum (Robiche), Amatodes werneri (Robiche), Psectes criberrimus (Koch), and Drosochrus costulatus (Brancsik). Finally, a neotype is designated for Nicandra okahandius (Gebien) in order to fix the taxonomic status of the species.