Potamophilops Grouvelle, 1896

Maier, Crystal A., 2013, A revision of the Larainae (Coleoptera, Elmidae) of Venezuela, with description of nine new species, ZooKeys 329, pp. 33-91 : 82

Potamophilops Grouvelle, 1896 Figs 1, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92

Diagnosis.

The genus Potamophilops can be distinguished from all other New World laraine genera by its large size (>5.8 mm), the absence of an accessory elytral stria (Fig. 88), and the presence of a deep, transverse impression on the anterior third of the pronotum (Fig. 91).

Distribution.

Potamophilops has been recorded from as far south as northern Argentina, Mato Grosso and São Paulo States, Brazil ( Spangler and Santiago-Fragoso 1987; Vanin and Costa 2011), and Paraguay (USNM, pers. obs.) ( Potamophilops cinereus ), and from as far north as Taquaruçú, Tocantins state, Brazil ( Potamophilops bragaorum Fernandes & Hamada, 2012). Here I report the first records of Potamophilops from Venezuela (Fig. 1).

Habitat.

Fernandes and Hamada report Potamophilops bragaorum from a small mountainous stream in the Cerrado of Brazil. They were collected in cascades, on submerged logs, and on riparian vegetation, similar to Disersus spp. and Pseudodisersus spp. ( Fernandes and Hamada 2012).