Rhinodontodes Voss, 1967

Ren, Li, Borovec, Roman & Zhang, Runzhi, 2020, On Chinese Trachyphloeini with description of four new species (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae), ZooKeys 974, pp. 93-119 : 93

Rhinodontodes Voss, 1967

Rhinodontodes Voss, 1967: 276 (original description); Alonso-Zarazaga and Lyal 1999: 183 (catalogue); Borovec 2003: 31 (note); Borovec 2009: 76 (redescription of the genus); Alonso-Zarazaga et al. 2017: 403 (catalogue).

Remarks.

The genus was described by Voss (1967) for a single species, Rhinodontodes subsignatus Voss, 1967, based on a single specimen from Mongolia. The holotype was later examined by Borovec (2003) and until recently was the only specimen of the genus known. We now have access to 21 more specimens of this genus, mainly from the collections of IZCAS and ZIN, and we are able to discuss characters used for the definition of Rhinodontodes . Voss described the genus as similar to Rhinodontus in its elongated epistome, but distinguishable by tarsomere 3 being wider than tarsomere 2, claws parallel in basal half, apical part of protibiae not distinctly enlarged laterally, rounded, without spines and narrower pronotum, 1.34-1.42 × as wide as long, with anterior margin not distinctly narrower than posterior one. Borovec (2009) in his phylogenetic analysis of the tribe Trachyphloeini confirmed Rhinodontodes as related to Rhinodontus and Pseudocneorhinus , sharing the character states of epistome projected anteriorly and ocular lobes with short setae with Rhinodontus , and having as an autapomorphy, rostrum continuous with head, not separated by any furrow. Some of the characters previously used to distinguish Rhinodontodes are not unique, in comparison with newly known Pseudocneorhinus described in Ren et al. (2019). Males of P. bifasciatus Roelofs, 1880 also have the epistome projected anteriorly ( Borovec 2009: figs 55, 61), creating a striking tooth, and P. glaber Ren, Borovec, Zhang, 2019 also have weak ocular lobes with very short setae and, especially, have a long rostrum and epifrons constricted in the middle. These two species thus show characters very similar to the shape of the rostrum of Rhinodontodes . Thus, Rhinodontodes seems to be more closely related to Pseudocneorhinus than was previously assumed. Study of further material of both genera will confirm whether the two genera are separate or should be placed in synonymy. Presently, Rhinodontodes can be distinguished from Pseudocneorhinus mainly by the rostrum and head being on the same level and the protibiae being laterally weakly enlarged ( Borovec 2009: fig. 58).