Lechanteuria S. Endrody-Younga 1978
Creators: name: Audisio, Paolo
name: Cline, Andrew Richard
name: Biase, Alessio De
name: Antonini, Gloria
name: Mancini, Emiliano
name: Trizzino, Marco
name: Costantini, Lorenzo
name: Strika, Sirio
name: Lamanna, Francesco
name: Cerretti, Pierfilippo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Nitidulidae
Lechanteuria

description: 40. Lechanteuria S. Endrödy-Younga, 1978   
(Figs. 40 a–g)  
 Prianella Lechanteur, 1955: 238. Junior homonym of Prianella Reitter, 1919: 16.   
 Lechanteuria S. Endrödy-Younga, 1978: 303, 307. Substitute name for Prianella Lechanteur, 1955 (non Reitter, 1919).   
 Type species. Prianella binotata Lechanteur, 1955: 239 (by original designation) [= Lechanteuria binotata (Lechanteur, 1955)].   
 Generic redescription and diagnosis. The single known species (4.2–4.3 mm length; 2.4–2.5 mm width) exhibits the combination of characters listed by LECHANTEUR (1955) and ENDRÖDY- YOUNGA (1978) (Figs. 40 a–g; drawings from LECHANTEUR 1955, ENDRÖDY- YOUNGA 1978, and KIREJTSHUK 1980b).   
 Fig. 40. Lechanteuria S. Endrödy-Younga, 1978: a–g – L. binotata (Lechanteur, 1955). a – male habitus; b – dorsal view of male head and first three antennomeres; c – male antenna; d – ovipositor; e – mentum; f–g – male genitalia. Drawing a modified from LECHANTEUR (1955); drawings b, e modified from ENDRÖDY- YOUNGA (1978); drawings c–d, f–g modified from KIREJTSHUK (1980b). Refer to LECHANTEUR (1955), ENDRÖDY- YOUNGA (1978), and KIREJTSHUK (1980b) for scale.   
 Etymology. The generic name was derived from F. Lechanteur, a renowned Belgian specialist on Afrotropical Nitidulidae, who was active mostly in the second half of the past century, and who first described this genus under Prianella, a preoccupied name by REITTER (1919) (see ENDRÖDY- YOUNGA 1978). Gender feminine.   
 Biology. The biology of the single representative of Lechanteuria, L. binotata from Zaire, is not completely known (LECHANTEUR 1955, ENDRÖDY- YOUNGA 1978, KIREJTSHUK 1980b). The type series was collected in Zaire on fruits of Treculia africana var. engleriana (De Wild. & Th. Dur.) Engl. (Moraceae), but a frugivorous larval life style seems unlikely. However, we cannot exclude that Lechanteuria is associated with inflorescences of Moraceae.   
 Phylogenetic position. Available morphological data provide evidence of a likely sister-group relationship to Microporodes and Palmopria (ENDRÖDY- YOUNGA1978). Weaker relationships may also be postulated with members of Microporum and Cornutopria. A revision of the whole Afrotropical complex of genera including Microporodes, Palmopria, Lechanteuria, Cornutopria, and Microporum s. l. is currently in preparation (AUDISIO et al. in prep.). See also the discussion below on the phylogenetic position of Microporodes. No molecular data are currently available.   
 Taxonomy and geographic distribution. The genus includes a single species from central Africa (LECHANTEUR 1955, ENDRÖDY- YOUNGA 1978).   
 Lechanteuria binotata (Lechanteur, 1955) Zaire
description: Published as part of Audisio, Paolo, Cline, Andrew Richard, Biase, Alessio De, Antonini, Gloria, Mancini, Emiliano, Trizzino, Marco, Costantini, Lorenzo, Strika, Sirio, Lamanna, Francesco & Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2009, Preliminary re-examination of genus-level taxonomy of the pollen beetle subfamily Meligethinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), pp. 341-504 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (2) on pages 483-484, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5319334