Faula Blanchard, 1850

Fuhrmann, Juares & Vaz-De-Mello, Fernando Z., 2017, Macrodactylini (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae): primary types of type species and taxonomic changes to the generic classification, European Journal of Taxonomy 350, pp. 1-71 : 34

Faula Blanchard, 1850 , revalidated

Faula – Lacordaire 1856: 253 (synonymy with Ancistrosoma ). — Geminger & Harold 1869: 1154 (synonymy with Ceraspis ).

Type species

Faula cornuta Blanchard, 1850 (designation: Evans 2003: 236).

Diagnosis

Body usually brown or reddish-brown, opaque; pronotal anterior margin not beaded; pronotum−scutellum contact roundly sinuous ( Fig. 8 D ); prosternum with an anterior longitudinal carina; protibia with 3–4 external teeth and without spur; meso- and metacoxae separate; metatarsomere V with internoproximal spine-like setae.

Remarks

The genera Ancistrosoma , Chariodema , Faula , Manopus , Pectinosoma and Pseudopectinosoma are similar to each other. They have a sinuous pronotum−scutellum contact and meso- and metacoxae separate. Faula is distinguished by the protibia with 3–4 external teeth (rarely with proximal tooth reduced) and without spur; male ventrite VI weakly prominent or flat and straight.

The present study revalidates Faula , formerly a synonym of Ceraspis , based on the following characters (opposition to Ceraspis ): pronotum and elytron glabrous or sparsely setose, pronotum rarely densely setose, elytron of some species with longitudinal setose bands, at least in females (usually densely setose, sometimes setae covering the surface largely or entirely); pronotum−scutellum contact roundly sinuous ( Fig. 8 D ) (acutely sinuous, Fig. 8 C ); protibia with 3–4 external teeth, some minor specimens with proximal tooth reduced (two teeth); meso- and metacoxae medially separate (contiguous).

Faula comprises27species(13species from original combination and14species transferred from Ceraspis ): F. bicolor ( Moser, 1919) comb. nov., F. bivittata ( Burmeister, 1855) comb. nov., F. brunneipennis Bates, 1887 , F. centralis Sharp, 1877 , F. clypealis (Frey, 1962) comb. nov., F. cornuta Blanchard, 1850 , F. hispida Bates, 1887 , F. immaculata ( Burmeister, 1855) comb. nov., F. innotata Blanchard, 1850 , F. insularis Arrow, 1903 , F. jaliscoensis (Delgado & Navarette-Heredia, 2004) comb. nov., F. klenei (Brenske, 1890) comb. nov., F. lineata Waterhouse, 1879 , F. macrophylla ( Moser, 1919) comb. nov., F. mexicana Harold, 1863 , F. modesta ( Burmeister, 1855) comb. nov., F. oaxacaensis (Delgado, 2001) comb. nov., F. ohausi ( Moser, 1921) comb. nov., F. opacipennis Moser, 1919 , F. pilatei Harold, 1863 , F. quadrifoliata ( Moser, 1919) comb. nov., F. quadrimaculata Blanchard, 1850 , F. quadripustulata Blanchard, 1850 , F. rubiginosa (Latreille, 1813) comb. nov., F. ruhli (Brenske, 1890) comb. nov., F. rufoscutellata ( Moser, 1919) comb. nov. and F. squamulifera Moser, 1919 .

Figures

Fig. 8. A−E. Pronotum−scutellum contact. F. Protibia. A. Ancistrosoma klugii Curtis, 1835. B. Chariodema virescens Blanchard, 1842. C. Ceraspis bivulnerata (Germar, 1824). D. Faula cornuta Blanchard, 1850. E−F. Manopus biguttata Conte de Castelnau, 1840. Scale bars = 1 mm.