Hyperaspidinae Mulsant

Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2013, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XII: New name for Cyra Mulsant, review of Brachiacanthini genera, and systematic revision of Cleothera Mulsant, Hinda Mulsant and Serratitibia Gordon and Canepari, new genus, Insecta Mundi 2013 (278), pp. 1-150 : 6

Hyperaspidinae Mulsant

Hyperaspiens Mulsant, 1850: 495.

Hyperaspidae Berg, 1874: 291.

Hyperaspides Crotch, 1873: 363; Crotch 1874: 208.

Hyperaspites Chapuis, 1876: 166.

Hyperaspinae Duverger, 1989: 143.

Description. Small to medium size. Form primarily round, convex, often elongate, slightly flattened. Dorsal surface glabrous except clypeus and often frons next to eye pubescent (except Blaisdelliana Gordon which is entirely pubescent). Antenna short, with 9–11 articles, club elongate, fusiform, apical antennomere small, recessed in preceding article; antennal insertion exposed or concealed. Eye large, entire, emarginate or not by eye canthus, finely faceted, without pubescence. Maxillary palpus with apical segment securiform. Scutellum usually large. Tarsus cryptotetramerous. Abdomen with 6 visible ventrites, small glandular pores between ventrites 2–3 and 3–4 present, with or without large primary pores between ventrites 4–5, male with an additional visible apical tergite in Brachiacanthini .

Remarks. Mulsant (1850) listed three members of his “Premier Groupe,” Coccinelliens, Chilocoriens, and Hyperaspiens. In that same work, he later listed and defined the various “Branches” of Hyperaspiens, which included Brachiacanthaires, Hyperaspiares, Thalassaires, and Tiphysaires, thus he was the first to group taxa in a hierarchical fashion extending his 1846 treatment. Therefore, we consider Mulsant (1846) the author of the modern term “ Hyperaspidinae .”

Since 1850 the hyperaspidine genera have variously been assigned to Hyperaspini in the subfamily Scymninae , or placed as a tribe within the Chilocorinae ( Sasaji 1968) . Duverger (1989) defined Hyperaspidini and Brachiacanthini , listing them as the only tribes comprising Hyperaspidinae . Coccinellidae classification has been discussed by various authors in recent years, and Slipinski (2007) stated that he has, at least temporarily, lumped most of the tribes including Hyperaspini together as Coccidulinae . Here we retain the classical classification which recognizes the subfamily Hyperaspidinae to simplify references to previous usage.