Physciolagria Pic, 1930

Telnov, Dmitry, 2022, Redefinition of Physciolagria Pic, 1930 (Coleoptera: Mycteridae) with a new family placement, genus-rank synonymy, new description, and a key, Zootaxa 5219 (2), pp. 121-138 : 122

Physciolagria Pic, 1930

Pic (1930: 7)

Type species: Physciolagria liturata Pic, 1930 , monotypy.

Type material ( Figs 1–4 ), holotype ♀ [ BMNH]: Type [printed, label circular, red frame] // W. Nile IX-1928. G.D.H.C. handwritten] // Pres. by Imp.Inst.Ent. Brit.Mus. 1930–298. [printed] // Très désiré [handwritten, underlined] // Physciolagria n gen. liturata n sp. [handwritten] // NHMUK014663499 [printed, provided with QR code]. The type is in good condition .

Physciolagria was originally erected to hold one African species, P. liturata Pic, 1930 , on the basis of the following features (translated from Latin and annotated by the author for clarity in accordance with the present situation (as in the studied type specimen); author’s additions in square brackets): “Body elongated; head short, eyes strong, strongly convex, not emarginate, setose; terminal [maxillary] palpomere elongate, truncate at apex; antennae short, strongly widened, second antennomere short, 3 rd antennomere triangular, distally widened, antennomeres 4–10 short and strongly transverse, terminal antennomere elongate, rather wide and depressed [possible meant flattened dorso-ventrally], subtruncate at apex; pronotum laterally emarginated, [pronotal hypomeron] impressed at base, [pronotal] base beaded and [slightly] impressed, anterolateral angles obsolete, posterolateral angles nearly rightangled; elytra wide, elongated, epipleuron narrow, posteriorly indistinct; legs slender, tarsi elongated, penultimate tarsomeres lobate, tarsal claws [basally] subdentate; pro- and mesocoxa conical, contiguous” ( Pic 1930: 7).

The new genus was compared with Physcius Champion, 1889 (now Mycteridae : Eurypinae , at the time of description in Lacconotinae ) but Pic (1930) informally placed Physciolagria in Lagriinae of Tenebrionidae ( Lagriidae at the time of description) (translated from French): “but seems to be that it needs to be placed inside the Lagriidae , rather than the Lacconotinae ” ( Pic 1930: 7).

Borchmann (1936) listed Physciolagria along other Lagriinae ( Lagriidae at the time of the publication) genera, but did not include it in his key to Lagriinae genera, stating that (translated from German, my additions in square brackets) “inadequate description prevented [from] including [it] in the key if [it] belongs in the family at all” ( Borchmann 1936: 23). Physciolagria had not been rediscovered and redescribed since that, so Bouchard et al. (2021) listed it among incertae sedis genera of Tenebrionidae .

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Physciolagria liturata Pic, 1930, holotype ♀. 1—Habitus, dorsal view; 2—ditto, lateral view; 3—Forebody, anterodorsal view; 4—Labels [not to scale].