Scutellathous Kishii, 1955

Liu, Zhen & Jiang, Shi-hong, 2019, The genus Scutellathous Kishii, 1955 (Coleoptera, Elateridae, Dendrometrinae) in China, with description of three new species, ZooKeys 857, pp. 85-104 : 85

Scutellathous Kishii, 1955

Scutellathous Kishii, 1955: 79 (type species: Athous comes Lewis, 1894: 200 (Sapporo, Japan; by original designation); Ôhira 1970: 22; Gurjeva 1974: 108; Kishii 1987: 91; Park et al. 1993: 179; Suzuki 1999: 113; Kishii 2001: 206; Cate et al. 2007: 172; Han et al. 2016: 72.

Diagnosis.

Body length: 11-16 mm; frons triangularly depressed behind supra antennal carina, which is strongly thickened and overhanging labrum and nasale, carina elevated above part of frons immediately posterior to it in dorsal view; supra-orbital groove broadly excavated; antennae serrate from 3rd antennomere; pronotum mostly longer than wide, pronotal disc with weak median depression; hind angles of pronotum unicarinate; sublateral incisions at posterior margin of pronotum small, or tooth-like; prosternal sutures not grooved anteriorly; apical end of tarsomeres 2 and 3 lobed beneath; aedeagus with simple and narrow parameres apices, without apico-lateral expansion at apex, penis gradually narrowed and acute at apex (after Han et al. 2016).

Distribution.

China, Japan, and Korea.

Remarks.

Based on a study of the descriptions and photos of Athous ( Elateridae , Dendrometrinae) species from North America, we found the Athous cucullatus (Say, 1825) species-group shares many characters with Scutellathous (Becker, 1979). These include head flattened with triangular depression; frontal carina prominent, well elevated above labrum; eyes large; punctures on pronotum umbillicate; tarsomeres 2- and 3-lobed; and male genitalia with parameres lacking subapical lateral tooth and dorsal carina. However, lobes on tarsomeres 2 and 3 are smaller in Scutellathous , the carinae on the pronotal hind angles are present and sharp in all Scutellathous (absent or present in A. cucullatus group), and base of pronotum with sublateral incisions near hind angles in all Scutellathous (some without incisions in A. cucullatus group). Further comparison of members of the North American Athous cucullatus species group to Ohirathous is needed.

Key to the male species of Scutellathous Kishii from China

Checklist of Scutellathous from China

Scutellathous habenularis sp. nov. [ China (Yunnan)]

Scutellathous nanlingensis sp. nov. [ China (Guangdong)]

Scutellathous quadrata sp. nov. [ China (Zhejiang)]

Scutellathous spinosus Platia & Schimmel, 2007 [ China (Taiwan)]

Scutellathous yamashitai Arimoto, 1992 [ China (Taiwan)]