Menephiloides Fujiyama, 1973

Nabozhenko, M. V. & Bukejs, A., 2021, A new species and a key to Isomira Mulsant, 1856 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Alleculinae) from Eocene Baltic amber, Caucasian Entomological Bulletin (Caucas. entomol. bull.) 17 (1), pp. 51-56 : 55

Menephiloides Fujiyama, 1973

Type species: Menephiloides minensis Fujiyama, 1973 by original designation [ Fujiyama, 1973: 378]. Monotypic genus.

Type stratum. Omine , Japan, Hazegatani coal mine, Monomoki Formation , Carnian, Upper Triassic (235–221.5 Ma) .

This genus was originally included under question in the family Tenebrionidae . Fujiyama [1973] tried to compare the single elytron of M. minensis with those in Menephilus Mulsant, 1854 (Stenochiinae: Cnodalonini) and Tenebrio Linnaeus, 1758 (Tenebrioninae: Tenebrionini). In fact, the elytron of this species has 10 striae without scutellary striole, which is uncharacteristic for Tenebrionidae . Menephiloides minensis specially was not included in the fossil records [Kirejtshuk at al., 2008; Kirejtshuk, Ponomarenko, 2018; Nabozhenko, 2019]. However Bao and Antunes-Carvalho [2020] still wrote that it is Tenebrionidae . Here we propose to interpret Menephiloides minensis as Coleoptera incertae sedis.