FNZ 45 - Nemonychidae, Belidae, Brentidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) - Abstract
Kuschel, G 2003. Nemonychidae, Belidae, Brentidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Fauna of New Zealand 45, 100 pages.
(
ISSN 0111-5383 (print),
;
no.
45.
ISBN 0-478-09348-9 (print),
).
Published 28 Apr 2003
ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/References/9143DAB5-942F-4E3B-8E68-D47BB28498D5
Abstract
The curculionoid families Nemonychidae, Belidae, and Brentidae are revised: Nemonychidae comprising 4 species in 1 genus; Belidae 6 species in 4 genera; and Brentidae 7 species in 6 genera (including 1 species introduced for biological control). The Nemonychidae and the 5 species of Belinae are associated with the conifer families Podocarpaceae and Phyllocladaceae, the species of Aglycyderinae with Araliaceae, the winged native Apioninae with Cupressaceae, Fagaceae, and Myrtaceae, and the introduced Apioninae with Fabaceae (Ulex). The species of Brentinae lives in dead wood of various dicotyledonous trees, and the host of the flightless apionine remains unknown. Introductory sections deal with faunal richness, composition, fossil families of Curculionoidea, biogeography, and deposition of types and other specimens. A further section completes information on female pouches and rectifies a past error on the nature of some of these.
Four new genera proposed are: Rhicnobelus n.gen. (Belidae, type-species Pachyura metallicus Pascoe), Zelapterus n.gen. (Brentidae: Apioninae, type-species Apion terricola Broun), Cecidophyus n.gen. (Apioninae, type-species C. nothofagi n.sp.), and Strobilobius n.gen. (Apioninae, type-species S. libocedri n.sp.). Agathinus Broun is removed from synonymy with Cyrotyphus Pascoe. Six new species are erected: Rhinorhynchus halli n.sp., R. halocarpi n.sp., R. phyllocladi n.sp., Cecidophyus nothofagi n.sp., Strobilobius libocedri n.sp., and Neocyba regalis n.sp.. There are 4 new combinations proposed: Rhicnobelus aenescens (Broun), R. metallicus (Pascoe), and R. rubicundus (Broun) are transferred from Pachyura to Rhicnobelus; and Z. terricola (Broun) is transferred from Apion to Zelapterus. New synonymies are: Pachyura albocoma (Broun), P. brookesi (Broun), P. sumptuosus (Broun), and P. venustus (Broun) are synonymised with Rhicnobelus metallicus (Pascoe); and Pachyura pilosus (Broun) and P. violaceus (Broun) are synonymised with Rhicnobelus rubicundus (Broun).
The ratios for weevil groups on conifers with straight vs geniculate antennae (Orthoceri over Gonatoceri) show markedly different percentages in the northern and southern hemispheres. The percentage of conifer-associated Orthoceri over Gonatoceri is 63% in New Zealand, 61% in Australia, 52% in Chile, and only 2.5% in Europe. It is estimated that the New Zealand weevil fauna amounts to approximately 1800 species. It currently numbers 1500 validly established names, but about one-quarter of these are expected to fall into synonymy. Of the six recognised orthocerous families, Attelabidae and Caridae are not represented. The Anthribidae, Aglycyderinae (Belidae), and Apioninae (Brentidae) are most closely related to the fauna of New Caledonia, Belinae with Australia, and Nemonychidae with Chile. The early fossil fauna is summarised with comments on the status of four weevil families based on strata imprints. The phylogenetic relationships of 28 terminal taxa of Belinae are discussed in Appendix 1, and the genus Atractuchus is synonymised with Dicordylus.
Keywords. Nemonychidae, Belidae, Brentidae, Curculionoidea, species richness, composition, biogeography, taxonomy, hosts, systematics, cladistics, keys.