A redescription of the genus Cyrebion Fairmaire, 1891, with notes on related taxa and distribution (Coleoptera: Cantharidae)
Author
Yang, Y. X.
Author
Yang, X. K.
text
Journal of Natural History
2010
2010-02-22
44
9 - 10
579
588
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222930903383586
journal article
10.1080/00222930903383586
1464-5262
5207756
Cyrebion
Fairmaire, 1891
Type
species:
Cyrebion laticorne
Fairmaire, 1891
(by monotypy).
Head rounded and flat; eyes moderately protruding in male, weakly protruding in female; mandibles simple, terminal maxillary palpomere securiform, about twice as long as wide, widest near apex; antennae flattened or thickened in both sexes, antennomere II shorter than III, sometimes middle antennomeres with narrow glabrous grooves near apices in male, absent in female. Pronotum transverse, anterior margin slightly rounded, anterior angles rounded, lateral margins diverging posteriorly, posterior angles rounded, posterior margin strongly bordered and emarginated in middle. Scutellum triangular, posterior margin rounded. Elytra broad, no more than 2.5 times longer than maximal breadth, disc matt, coarsely punctuated, with three slightly distinct longitudinal costate, lateral margins converging posteriorly in both sexes. All tarsal claws simple in both sexes. Abdomen broad and tapered posteriorly, male abdominal sternite IX slender, female abdominal sternite VIII more or less emarginated in middle of apical margin.
Aedeagus plump and slightly flattened dorsoventrally, dorsal plates of parameres fused, with apical margin more or less emarginated in middle, ventral processes thin and straight, near to each other in middle, laterophyses well-developed and fused, about as long as parameres.
Remarks
This genus is related to
Themus
but is definitely different from the
Themus
subgenera redescribed by
Švihla (2008)
, or the related taxa
Gallerucocantharis
Pic, 1913
and
Yukikoa
Satô, 1976
, which are of uncertain status but beyond the aim of this study. The genus
Cyrebion
can be distinguished from these related taxa using the following key.
A key to
Cyrebion
and related genus group taxa
1. Elytra metallic, often shiny...................................... 2 Elytra not metallic, at most slightly shiny........................... 3
2. Lateral margins of pronotum mostly parallel-sided, rarely slightly diverging anteriorly; lateral margins of elytra mostly converging posteriorly, rarely parallel-sided in male, always parallel-sided in female.....................................................
Themus
s.str.
Motschulsky, 1858 Lateral margins of pronotum more or less diverging posteriorly; lateral mar- gins of elytra parallel-sided or distinctly diverging in both sexes........................................
Themus
(
Telephorops
) Fairmaire, 1886
3. Elytra very finely punctuated, nearly smooth......
Gallerucocantharis
Pic, 1913 Elytra
never smooth............................................ 4
4. Posterior margin of pronotum strongly bordered and emarginated in middle; laterophyses of aedeagus fused, in middle of median lobe........................................................
Cyrebion
Fairmaire, 1891
Posterior margin of pronotum weakly bordered and almost straight; laterophyses of aedeagus separated, on both sides of median lobe............ 5
5. Eyes very small, head breadth across eyes distinctly narrower than anterior margin of pronotum; lateral margins of elytra distinctly diverging posteriorly...........................................
Yukikoa
Satô, 1976
Eyes large, head breadth across eyes almost as wide as anterior margin of pronotum; lateral margins of elytra parallel-sided or slightly diverging posteriorly...........................
Themus
(
Haplothemus
) Wittmer, 1973
Species of
Cyrebion
Fairmaire