Oxypselaphus Chaudoir, 1843

Bousquet, Yves, 2012, Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico, ZooKeys 245, pp. 1-1722 : 745

Genus Oxypselaphus Chaudoir, 1843

Oxypselaphus Chaudoir, 1843a: 415. Type species: Oxypselaphus pallidulus Chaudoir, 1843 (= Carabus obscurus Herbst, 1784) by monotypy. Etymology (original). From the Greek oxys (acute, sharp) and pselaphos (palpus), alluding to the acuminate last maxillary palpomere (" palpi maxillares ... 4o acuminato ") of the adult [masculine].

Anchus LeConte, 1854b: 38. Type species: Anchus pusillus LeConte, 1854 by monotypy. Etymology. From the Greek ancho (strangle), probably alluding to the basally narrow pronotum ("thorax ... cordate, almost turned into a pedicel at the base") of the adult [masculine].

Diversity.

Four species, two endemic to northern Africa, one to Europe and western Asia, and one to North America.

Identification.

The North American species is covered in Lindroth’s (1966: 633-634, as Agonum puncticeps ) monograph.

Taxonomic Note.

Jeanne (1988: 77-78) pointed out the morphological differences between the type species of Oxypselaphus and Anchus and suggested that the two should be treated as generically distinct.