Elaphropus Motschulsky, 1839

Bousquet, Yves, 2012, Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico, ZooKeys 245, pp. 1-1722 : 437

Genus Elaphropus Motschulsky, 1839

Elaphropus Motschulsky, 1839: 73. Type species: Elaphropus caraboides Motschulsky, 1839 by monotypy. Etymology. From the Greek elaphros (nimble) and pous (foot), probably alluding to the agility of the adults in the field [masculine].

Diversity.

Worldwide, with about 340 species (Lorenz 2005: 207-211, as Elaphropus and Nototachys ) arrayed in seven subgenera following Sciaky and Vigna Taglianti (2003, as phyletic line of Elaphropus ): Amaurotachys Jeannel (Old World), Barytachys , Elaphropus s.str. (about 40 species in the Eastern Hemisphere), Sphaerotachys Müller (Eastern Hemisphere) with Nototachys Alluaud, Tachyphanes Jeannel, and Trepanotachys Alluaud as synonyms, Tachylopha Motschulsky (40 species in the Eastern Hemisphere), Tachyura , and Tachyuropsis Shilenkov (one species in the Far East).

Taxonomic Note.

Several authors have discussed the taxonomic status of Elaphropus and related taxa and most have different opinions as to the statuses they should be assigned. In view of this, I prefer to include all taxa of the phyletic line of Elaphropus (sensu Sciaky and Vigna Taglianti 2003) into a single genus, as done by Erwin (1974a) and Shilenkov (2002), and recognize several subgenera.