S. Mahunka szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 49. (Budapest, 1988)
FOLIA ENTOMOLOGICA HUNGARICA ROVARTANI KÖZLEMÉNYEK XLIX 1988 p. 153-155 On the status of Pachochthes Reitter, 1897 and Triphyllia Reitter, 1898 (Coleoptera: Cerylonidae, Tetratomidae) By N. B. NIKITSKY (Received December 20, 1987) Abstract: Based upon a restudy of the generotype Hypodacne punctata LeConte, 1875, from North America, the name Pachyochthes Reitter, 1897 is revalidated to comprise the single Hyrcanian P. edithae Reitter, 1897 at least as a separate subgenus within Hypodacne LeConte, 187 5 (Cerylonidae). The genus Triphyllia Reitter, 1898 originally described within Mycetophagidae proved to have the tarsal formula 5-5-4 and, thus, belongs to Tetratomidae, with Eupi- senus Casey, 1900 from North America being regarded as its junior synonym (n. syn. ! ). Detailed information both on taxonomy and nomenclature of Pachyochthes Reitter, 1897 has already been given elsewhere (NIKITSKY et BELOV 1979). However, due to.the fact that recently I was privileged to re-examine, through the kind assistance of Dr. P. SPANGLER of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., a series comprising three specimens of the North American Hypodacne punctata LeConte, 1875', all in good condition (unlike the only previously available example, with missing ante'nnae, from the MOTSCHULSKY Collection kept at the Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University, Moscow), some significant amendations ought to be introduced now into the earlier treatment. Thus, unlike Hypodacne . edithae (Reitter, 1898), a Caucasian species seemingly restricted to Hyrcania (s. NIKITSKY et BELOV 1979), the generotype Hypodacne punctata has the antennomere 9 very well broad ened and forming together with the 10th segment a 2-jointed club (Fig. 2). This arrangement • is quite different from that met with in H. edithae, in which the club is but 1-jointed, composed solely of the antennomere 10, whereas the 9th segment is well narrower than the 10th (Fig. 1). Therefore, the statement made by; SEN GUPTA et CROWSON (1973) as if the genus Hypodacne is characterized, among other points, by a large, single-jointed club of the antennae was misleading (and it did misled us, see NIKITSKY et BELOV 1979) and actually j wrong, as proven by a restudy of pertinent material. Consequently, the name Pachyochthes j must be revalidated for adoption of its type species P. edithae at least in the rank of an independent subgenus within Hypodacne. On the other hand, due to the fact that both H. punc tata and H. (P. ) edithae possess simple tarsi and claws, the latter taxon may not be relegated to Euxestus Wollaston, 1858. as DAJOZ (1975, 1976) believed to be warranted. Nor does it seem to be reasonable to consider Pachyochthes as deserving the rank of a separate subfamily or tribe of Cerylonidae, as JACOBSON (1915) and REITTER (1922) overrated it. The genus Triphyllia Reitter, 1898 has hitherto been regarded as monotypical, with T. koenigi Reitter, 1898 being its type species, and allocated within Mycetophagidae since its original description. Through the kind help of Dr. O. MERKL of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, I was recentlyi privileged to restudy the holotype of T. koenigi, taken from the vicinity of Tbilisi, Caucasus (Figs 3-4), and to my great surprise the tarsal formula of this curious species has turned out to be not 4-4-4, nor 3-4-4, characteristic of
