Afrophaenotherion Frieser, 1984

Trýzna, Miloš, Caballero-Serrano, Verónica & Carrasco, Juan Carlos, 2024, Review of the Neotropical Piezonemus Jordan with type designations, description of Piezonemus espoch sp. nov. from Ecuador, and notes on the tribe Piesocorynini Valentine with keys to world genera (Coleoptera: Anthribidae), Zootaxa 5415 (3), pp. 401-435 : 408

Afrophaenotherion Frieser, 1984 , new tribal placement

( Figs 17–21 )

Afrophaenotherion Frieser, 1984: 176 . Rheinheimer 2004: 38 (catalogue), 219 (fig. 80 —dorsal habitus of A. aereum Frieser, 1984 ).

Type species: Afrophaenotherion aereum Frieser, 1984 (by original designation).

= Afrophaenotherium : Alonso-Zarazaga & Lyal 1999: 34 (incorrect subsequent spelling); Rheinheimer 2004: 38 (catalogue).

The genus Afrophaenotherion is here transferred from Stenocerini to Piesocorynini . The genus corresponds to the morphological characters for the tribe Piesocorynini mentioned in the section „Recognition of the tribe Piesocorynini “ above. Currently the genus comprises two species: A. aereum and A. colonnellii Frieser, 2010 (both from South Africa).

Frieser (1984: 176) described the genus Afrophaenotherion based on one species, A. aereum Frieser, 1984 (by monotypy and original designation). Frieser pointed out the similarity of the newly described genus to Phaenotheriolum , from which it mainly differs by: 1) absence of dorsal transverse carina of pronotum; 2) elytra without striae, with punctures irregularly distributed over the entire surface of elytra. Other typical morphological characters are the shiny metallic surface of the body, and pronotum and elytra with setae only very sparse or absent.

Figures

FIGURES 17–21. Afrophaenotherion colonnellii Frieser, 2010, paratype male (MTDC); 17, dorsal habitus; 18, pronotum in dorsal view; 19, head in dorsal view; 20, left antenna in dorsal view; 21, lateral habitus. Scale bars in mm.