Bembidion

Toledano, Luca & Nakládal, Oto, 2011, Bembidion (Plataphodes) kmecoi sp. nov. from China, Sichuan (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Bembidiina), Zootaxa 2882, pp. 64-68 : 65

Bembidion subg. Plataphodes Ganglbauer, 1891

Systematic notes. The Holarctic subg. Plataphodes Ganglbauer, 1891 belongs to the “ Plataphus complex” ( Toledano 2008). It includes 37 species, of which 18 Palaearctic, 3 Holarctic and 16 Nearctic. A revision of the subgenus is still pending in order to make clear the systematic relationships of the species. The synapomorphy shared by all the species is the basal elytral margin reaching the apical end of stria 5 and then extended with a transverse, straight prolongation reaching the apical end of stria 4. In the species of the subg. Plataphus Motschulsky, 1864 , probably the subgenus more strictly related to Plataphodes , the basal elytral margin ends at the beginning of stria 5, without this transverse prolongation. Otherwise, for remaining external characters both subgenera are very similar to one another. We were able to examine the type of B. elatum Andrewes, 1930 (BMNH), formerly attributed to Plataphodes : actually the basal end of the lateral margin of B. elatum exactly reaches the beginning of stria 5 without prolongation to base of stria 4. Furthermore this species belongs to the group of subgenera with supernumerary abdominal setae ( Toledano & Schmidt 2010), and more precisely to Blepharoplataphus Netolitzky, 1920 because it shows supernumerary, short setae in a single row on each of the last abdominal sternites, including the last one (which in Trichoplataphus Netolitzky, 1914 is almost entirely covered by setae).