Prosthetopinae, Perkins in Perkins & Balfour-Browne, 1994

Perkins, Philip D., 2017, Hydraenidae of Madagascar (Insecta: Coleoptera), Zootaxa 4342 (1), pp. 1-264 : 170

Prosthetopinae : Madagastrini

Although originally placed in the Hydraeninae ( Perkins 1997) , this tribe is hereby moved to the Prosthetopinae Perkins (1994). This is based upon unpublished ongoing DNA sequence data, the preliminary results of which have been generously provided by Ignacio Ribera. One of the key characters that all members of the Prosthetopinae have is the antennal configuration. There are eleven antennomeres, with the configuration of three long basal meres, three shorter intermediate meres, and five club meres (e.g., Figs. 216–220 ). In a few genera some of the club meres are in various stages of what is clearly secondary fusion. Although eleven antennomeres is the theoretical ancestral number for Coleoptera , it appears that this perhaps plesiomorphic condition is enigmatically one of the best key characters for the diagnosis of Prosthetopinae . Other genera with this configuration, which may eventually be moved to the Prosthetopinae include: Coelometopon , Oomtelecopon and Pneuminion (Africa) ; Hydraenida , Parhydraenida , and Haptaenida (South America).

Figures

FIGURES 215 – 218. Madagaster species, antennae and maxillary palpi.

FIGURES 219 – 223. Antennae, maxillary palpi, and spermathecae.