Chlaenius (Lithochlaenius), Kryzhanovskij, 1976

Bousquet, Yves, 2012, Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico, ZooKeys 245, pp. 1-1722 : 615-616

Subgenus Lithochlaenius Kryzhanovskij, 1976

Hemichlaenius Lutshnik, 1933b: 169 [junior homonym of Hemichlaenius Bates, 1892]. Type species: Chlaenius rambouseki Lutshnik, 1933 by monotypy. Etymology. From the Greek prefix hemi - (half) and the generic name Chlaenius [q.v.] [masculine].

Lithochlaenius Kryzhanovskij, 1976b: 9, 12. Replacement name for Hemichlaenius Lutshnik, 1933. Etymology. From the Greek lithos (stone) and the generic name Chlaenius [q.v.] [masculine].

Agilochlaenius Kirschenhofer, 1997: 116. Type species: Chlaenius latro LaFerté-Sénectère, 1851 by original designation. Synonymy established by Kirschenhofer (2000: 58). Etymology. From the Latin agilis (quick, nimble) and the generic name Chlaenius [q.v.] [masculine].

Diversity.

Nineteen species can be assigned to this subgenus: five in North America (Bell 1960: 109, as solitarius group), six in the Neotropical Region ( Chlaenius argentinicus Jedlička, Chlaenius chlorochrous Chaudoir, Chlaenius ecuadoricus Jedlička, Chlaenius leucoscelis Chevrolat, Chlaenius peruanus Erichson, and Chlaenius purpureus Chaudoir), and ten in the Palaearctic Region (see Liu et al. 2011), of which one extends into the Oriental Region.

Taxonomic Note.

Liu et al. (2011: 22) argued that it is premature to place any of the Western Hemisphere species of Chlaenius in the subgenus Lithochlaenius because they differ from the Palaearctic species of Lithochlaenius in having the lateral edge of elytron rounded at level of the humerus, instead of being angulate. However, I agree with Robert L. Davidson (pers. comm.) that the Western Hemisphere species related to Chlaenius prasinus are closely related to the Palaearctic species of Lithochlaenius and at this time I prefer to include these species in the subgenus Lithochlaenius .