Lorelopsis Champion, 1896

Aalbu, Rolf L., Kanda, Kojun, Merkl, Otto, Ivie, Michael A. & Johnston, M. Andrew, 2023, Reconstitution of some tribes and genera of Lagriinae (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae), ZooKeys 1172, pp. 155-202 : 155

Genus Lorelopsis Champion, 1896 stat. rev.

Figs 17-18 , 19-20

Lorelopsis Champion, 1896: 15. Type species: Lorelopsis pilosa Champion, 1896.

Note.

Champion (1896) described this genus for a single species, Lorelopsis pilosa , from St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, comparing it to Lorelus . He mentioned the lobe beneath the fourth tarsomere; pronotum narrower than elytra; erect, fine dorsal pubescence; and closed mesocoxal cavities as distinguishing generic characters. The only other species ever placed in Lorelopsis was when Wolcott (1936, 1951; see also Blackwelder 1945) mentioned an undescribed species from Yauco, Puerto Rico, determined by Chapin as belonging to this genus. Doyen (1993) described Lorelus wolcotti Doyen, 1993 and listed Wolcott’s citation as a synonym but did not mention having actually seen the specimens cited by Wolcott. Doyen (1993) also stated that " Lorelopsis is probably not distinct from Lorelus ." Bouchard et al. (2021) record the two genera as synonyms, listing Doyen (1993) as a first synonymy ignoring the provisional nature of the statement.

We reestablish Lorelopsis as a valid genus in Prateini based upon several characters mentioned in the key and discussion below. Further, we move several species described in Lorelus by Champion (1913), Doyen (1993), and Doyen and Poinar (1994) to Lorelopsis . The new concept of this genus includes the species given in the checklist below, though a number of undescribed species are also known from the West Indies. Note that Champion (1896: 15) considered this genus to be masculine with his single described species ending in - us and this was followed by all subsequent workers through Bousquet et al. (2018). However, following ICZN Article 30.1.2, Bouchard et al. (2021) appropriately treated this genus as feminine and the species epithets are emended accordingly here.

Lorelopsis bicolor (Doyen, 1993), comb. nov.

Lorelopsis glabrata (Doyen, 1993), comb. nov.

Lorelopsis exilis (Champion, 1913), comb. nov.

Lorelopsis foraminosa † (Doyen & Poinar, 1994), comb. nov.

Lorelopsis minutulis † (Doyen & Poinar, 1994), comb. nov.

Lorelopsis pilosa Champion, 1896, comb. rest.

Lorelopsis trapezidera (Champion, 1913), comb. nov.

Lorelopsis wolcotti (Doyen, 1993), comb. nov.

Besides having the characters of Prateini , Lorelopsis species are small, elongate, parallel-sided, and covered in fine, silky, erect to suberect setae. The pronotum is slightly to distinctly narrower than the base of the elytra and microspiculate on the lateral margin, each spicule with an associated projecting seta forming a fringing row of projecting setae. A distinct and newly observed character is a long, stout projecting seta on the dorsum of the head close to the hind edge of the eye. This seta is clearly visible in species with relatively sparse and short setae on the head (Fig. 19 ) but becomes less distinct when more dense and longer setae are present, blending with others (Fig. 20 ). Since not all species assigned here have been examined (specifically several of the Champion species from the mainland), and since this character has not previously been mentioned, it is possible that it does not occur in all the mainland species, but it is there in the species we have seen. Some, but not all, species have the fourth tarsomere lobed beneath for a variable length. Champion used this as a primary character when he described the genus, but it has proved to be a species-level character.

Figures

Figures 15 - 18. Dorsal habitus of species of Prateus LeConte, 1862 and Lorelopsis Champion, 1896. 15 Prateus fusculus LeConte, 1862, type species of Prateus 16 P. priscus (Sharp, 1876), type species of Lorelus Sharp, 1876 17 Lorelopsis exilis (Champion, 1913) 18 L. trapeziderus (Champion, 1913). Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figures 19 - 20. Head of two Lorelopsis species. 19 Lorelopsis sp. with clearly discernible supraorbital setae (SupS) 20 L. trapeziderus (Champion, 1913), a densely setose species in which the supraorbital setae are not discernible.