Selenophori

Shpeley, Danny, Hunting, Wesley & Ball, George E., 2017, A taxonomic review of the Selenophori group (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Harpalini) in the West Indies, with descriptions of new species and notes about classification and biogeography, ZooKeys 690, pp. 1-195 : 5-6

Selenophori

Classification.

For the general ranking and arrangement of the West Indian Selenophori, we accept that proposed by Noonan (1985a, b), with treatment of the taxa of Amblygnathus Dejean as proposed by Ball and Maddison (1987), and treatment of Stenomorphus Dejean as proposed by Ball et al. (1991).

The classification of Selenophorus Dejean is based principally on details of the male genitalia, with sequence of species groups being alphabetical. Like the selenophorine groups, the members are arranged alphabetically according to species name.

Because of the remarkable structure of the female genital tract and its similarity to that of Neoaulacoryssus Noonan, we place Selenophorus puertoricensis Mutchler in a new monobasic genus named Paraulacoryssus gen. n., following Neoaulacoryssus in a linear arrangement.

Diagnosis.

Noonan (1985a: 4-8) discussed the definition and composition of the New World Selenophori group, and included a detailed description of adult selenophorines. In this paper we limit the West Indian Selenophori group to harpaline adults that have seta bearing punctures in striae 2 and 5 or in striae 2, 5 and 7 which includes the following genera: Neoaulacoryssus Noonan, Paraulacoryssus gen. n., Athrostictus Bates, Amblygnathus Dejean, Neodiachipteryx Noonan, Selenophorus Dejean, Stenomorphus Dejean and Discoderus LeConte.

Way of life.

Information available in the form of label data about this topic is limited, as shown by number of species (Table 2) and number of specimens per species (Table 3). Basically, selenophorines are geophilous and lowland. Collectively, they occupy habitats ranging from swamps to desert and from fresh water to brackish tidal flats. They are night-active, adults of most species being macropterous, many being taken by light traps.

Key to genera and species of West Indian Selenophori Group