Tefflus Latreille (1822: 87)

Mawdsley, Jonathan R., Sithole, Hendrik & Mawdsley, Alice S., 2011, Peaceful giant ground beetles: The genus Tefflus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Republic of South Africa, Insecta Mundi 2011 (181), pp. 1-7 : 3

Genus Tefflus Latreille (1822: 87)

Type species. Carabus meyerlei Fabricius (1801:169) .

Diagnosis. From sympatric species in the tribe Panagaeini , the species of Tefflus can be immediately recognized by the large body size (length 24-55 mm), hexagonal pronotal shape, planate pronotal disc, elytral punctures in double rows separated by large elevated carinae, lack of functional flight wings, and lack of orange or yellow elytral markings ( Basilewsky 1946). Males in this genus have the first and second tarsomeres of the protarsi enlarged ( Figures 3, 5 ).

Distribution. The genus Tefflus is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with 14 species and 41 subspecies ( Basilewsky 1946). For the Republic of South Africa, Basilewsky (1946) published several collection records for T. meyerlei delagorguei Guérin-Méneville , and a doubtful record for T. carinatus carinatus Klug. In this paper we confirm the presence of both taxa in the Republic of South Africa and add new records.

Taxonomic note. The specific epithet of the type species of this genus has often been written “megerlei” (e.g. Basilewsky 1946) but the original published spelling for this name is “meyerlei” ( Fabricius 1801:169).

Figures

Figures 3-5. Adult males of Tefflus spp. 3) Tefflus carinatus carinatus, Ndumu, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. 4) Tefflus carinatus carinatus, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. 5) Tefflus meyerlei delagorguei, Loskop, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.