Pyropterus Mulsant 1838
Creators: name: Kazantsev, Sergey V.
name: Motyka, Michal
name: Bocak, Ladislav
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Lycidae
Pyropterus

description: The Pyropterus clade
Remarks
Dictyopterini was recently analyzed (Kazantsev 2004; Motyka et al. in press) and close relationships were recovered for a group of four genera: Pyropterus, Helcophorus, Benibotarus, and Gomezzuritus gen. nov., described here. Additionally, based on morphology, Greenarus Kazantsev, 1995 is added to this clade. The pyropterine genera are characterized by the wide pronotal areola that differs from the basally constricted areolae of other dictyopterine genera. Additionally, the antennomeres are subequal in length. None of these characters is clearly defined in all taxa and all specimens. The shape of the pronotal costae is particularly often variable, as net-winged beetles are soft-bodied. Therefore, we propose to use an informal designation, ‘the Pyropterus clade’. We also avoid the description of a subtribe as Dictyopterini is a relatively small group and we are still unsure about the relationships of some dictyopterine taxa. An eventual reclassification would have to consider the entire global diversity.
Genera included in the pyropterine clade
Pyropterus, Gomezzuritus gen. nov., Helcophorus, Greenarus, and Benibotarus.
Distribution
The pyropterine clade is distributed in the Palaearctic, Nearctic, and Oriental (northern part only, i.e., northern Thailand and Laos) realms (Masek et al. 2018; Kazantsev, 2020). Fossil taxa of these groups have been recorded from Baltic and Rovno amber (Kazantsev & Perkovsky 2022).
Identification key to the genera of the Pyropterus clade
1. Each elytron with four longitudinal costae, no secondary costae present in the middle part of elytron, at most vestiges present in humeri .................................................................................................... 2
– Each elytron with three longitudinal costae in the whole length, secondary costae present in the whole elytron (Fig. 1B, D–E) ........................................................................................................... 3
2. Elytral cells strongly transverse ................................................................ Pyropterus Mulsant, 1838
– Elytral cells quadrate or only slightly transverse ................................ Helcophorus Fairmaire, 1891
3. Male antennomeres 3–11 with decumbent pubescence, the apex of phallus simple ........................ 4
– Male antennomeres 3–11 with erect pubescence, the apex of phallus preapically toothed (Fig. 2I– K) .................................................................................................................. Gomezzuritus gen. nov.
4. Parameres of aedeagus complete ............................................................... Benibotarus Kôno, 1932
– Parameres of aedeagus ventrally greatly incised ................................... Greenarus Kazantsev, 1995
description: Published as part of Kazantsev, Sergey V., Motyka, Michal & Bocak, Ladislav, 2023, European net-winged beetles of the Pyropterus clade, with the description of Gomezzuritus gen. nov. (Coleoptera: Lycidae), pp. 159-174 in European Journal of Taxonomy 888 on pages 161-162, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.888.2239, http://zenodo.org/record/8269556