Aspitonis OPITZ 2015, nov. gen.
Creators: name: Opitz, Weston
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Lycidae
Aspitonis

description: Aspitonis OPITZ nov. gen.
Type species: Aspitonis gramilis OPITZ, new species. By present designation.
Diagnosis: Within Platynopterinae only in members of Aspitonis are the funicular antennomeres subquadrate and moderately setose (Fig. 93).
Description: Size: Length 5.5-9.0 mm; width 1.7-2.0. Form: Elytra rectangular, posterior angle narrowly rounded. — Integumental color: Antenna black; mandible black, other mouthparts flavotestaceous, maxillary and labial terminal palpomeres brown; cranium bicolorous, may be mostly black with lower frons and venter flavotestaceous, rarely mostly red; pronotum bicolorous, sides and disc narrowly black and remainder flavotestaceous, rarely mostly red; elytra unicolorous, flavotestaceous, red, or black; legs black; pterothorax and abdomen black. Vestiture: Integument highly setose, funicular antennomeres slightly setose, cranium and pronotum densely vested with decumbent setae, elytra densely vested with short 2° setae and fewer 1° setae that become more prominent along epipleural and sutural margins; legs highly setose. Head: Cranial setose punctation cribrate; eyes bulging, finely faceted and deeply broadly incised along frontal margin; antenna (Fig. 66) capitate, inserted at level of eye incision (= ocular notch); antennal carina very prominent, comprised of 11 antennomeres, scape very robust, pedicel rotund, funicular antennomeres subquadrate, capitulum very long, about 3 times longer that length of other antennomeres combined, anterior margin of capitular antennomeres undulated; labrum deeply incised; mandible robust; maxilla well developed, terminal palpomere subsecuriform; labium well developed, terminal palpomere subsecuriform; gula triangular. Thorax: Pronotum (Figs 95) with incipient trichobothrium (Fig. 94), transverse, oblong, or quadrate, side margins with tubercle, anterior margin linear, prebasal depression feebly developed, dorsolateral carina not extended to anterior margin of pronotum, joins pronotal hem at pronotal posterior angle; elytra rectangular, posterior angles gradually round, discal carinae faintly visible; mesoscutellum quadrate; protibial anterior margin not spinous; ungues without denticle; tibial spur formula 0-2-2; tarsal pulvillar formula 3-3-3; glandular pit not present on male metatibia. Abdomen: Six visible sternites; pygidium usually rounded distally in males and females; rarely incised in males. Male genitalia (Figs 117, 118): Aedeagus short, tegmen feebly sclerotized, lobate distally; phallus more sclerotized; spicular fork comprised of two narrow plates that connect at posterior apex, intraspicular plate narrow and long.
Distribution: The members of this genus range from México to Panamá.
Etymology: The generic epithet is a Greek compound name derived from aspis (= shield) and tonus (= stretching). I refer to the pronotal lateral expansion resulting from a well-developed tubercle.
description: Published as part of Opitz, Weston, 2015, Systematics of the checkered beetle subfamily Platynopterinae SPINOLA (Coleoptera Cleridae), pp. 1513-1572 in Linzer biologische Beiträge 47 (2) on pages 1529-1530, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5282503