A Review of Triarius Jacoby, 1887 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Luperini), with Descriptions of a New Genus and Four New Species
Author
Clark, Shawn M.
Author
Anderson, E. Russell
text
The Coleopterists Bulletin
2019
2019-06-21
73
2
343
357
http://dx.doi.org/10.1649/0010-065x-73.2.343
journal article
10.1649/0010-065X-73.2.343
1938-4394
10085324
Triarius
Jacoby, 1887
Figs. 2a–i
,
3a–g
Triarius
Jacoby 1887: 571
Type
Species.
Triarius mexicanus
Jacoby, 1887
(by monotypy).
Diagnosis.
The basal carina of the pronotum is complete. Although fine, it extends without interruption along the entire posterior margin. Each eye is narrowly separated from the base of the mandible by a distance subequal to the width of the basal maxillary palpomere. The length of the basal antennomere is subequal to the maximum diameter of the eye. The epipleuron is broad in the basal portion and very narrow in the distal portion. Each tibia is armed with a terminal spur. The rectangular lobe at the apex of the male abdomen is conspicuous. In these characters,
Triarius
is similar to
Triariodes
. However, the frontal tubercles of
Triarius
are only about as broad as long, being limited laterad by a shallow (sometimes rather inconspicuous) depression. In
Triariodes
, the depression is nearly absent, such that the tubercles are strongly transverse, closely approaching the eye. Moreover, the aedeagus of
Triarius
is symmetrical, with the distal portion only weakly spatulate, or not at all.
Fig. 2.
Triarius
species
, dorsal habitus. A)
T. pini
, male, B)
T. pini
, female, C)
T. trivittatus
, D)
T. nigroflavus
, male, E)
T. nigroflavus
, female, F)
T. melanolomatus
, G)
T. lividus
, H)
T. texanus
, I)
T. novoleonis
.
Comments.
Within the subfamily
Galerucinae
, the nature of the tarsal claws (simple, appendiculate, or bifid) is extensively employed to diagnose genera or even taxa above the generic level. It is therefore remarkable that some species of
Triarius
have bifid claws and others have appendiculate claws. However, this situation is not unique among the New World genera in the section Scelidites, where claws are reported to be appendiculate, except in some species of
Triarius
. Although not previously reported in the published literature, the claws are also bifid in
Scelida metallica
Jacoby
, while appendiculate in all other species of
Scelida
Chapuis. Beyond
the section Scelidites, the lack of claw uniformity is not common, but also not unprecedented. For instance, all species of
Erynephala
Blake
and some (but not all) species of
Monoxia
LeConte
have bifid claws in males and simple claws in females. In males of
Hyperbrotica
Bechyné and Springlová de Bechyné
, all claws are appendiculate in females, while only the hind claws are appendiculate in males, the others being bifid.