taxonID	type	description	language	source
2B07C032FFF6FFC0FF2CC0AE403CFBF2.taxon	description	Description. Brachiacanthini with form slightly variable, usually elongate or oval. Elytra usually dark with pale maculae, or pale with dark maculae (Fig. 1, 7, 139). Head usually yellow in male but usually entirely or partially brown or black in female. Antenna with 11 articles, basal article longer than wide, antennal insertion exposed. Clypeus with apical margin truncate to weakly or deeply emarginate. Labrum rectangular. Apical maxillary palpomere securiform with sides slightly diverging. Scutellum large, wider than long. Elytral epipleuron narrow or wide, deeply excavated for reception of tibiae. Prosternal process slightly convex, nearly always with two carinae joined apically or not. Protibia with narrow flange, flange occasionally as wide as remainder of protibia (Fig. 37, 70, 96, 121). Abdomen without visible primary pores between ventrites 4 and 5. Tarsal claw with subquadrate basal tooth. Male abdominal ventrites 5 – 6 modified, sometimes with ventrites 3 – 6 medially depressed, or with cusps on 3 rd or 5 th ventrite. Female abdominal ventrites unmodified, ventrite 5 truncate or feebly emarginate apically, ventrite 6 apically arcuate. Male genitalia with basal lobe symmetrical (Fig. 8, 14), except those of B. bistripustulata asymmetrical (Fig. 2).	en	Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio, Hanley, Guy A. (2014): South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVI: systematic revision of Brachiacantha Dejean (Coccinellinae: Hyperaspidini). Insecta Mundi 2014 (390): 1-76, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5179676
2B07C032FFF6FFC0FF2CC0AE403CFBF2.taxon	discussion	Remarks. Species with a protibial tooth are quickly recognized as members of Brachiacantha, those with reduced or without a protibial tooth are more difficult to recognize. One species, B. darlene, lacks the protibial tooth but is considered a member of Brachiacantha because the male 5 th abdominal ventrite has distinct cusps. Because primary pores are absent in both Brachiacantha and Cyrea, species of Brachiacantha with reduced or absent protibial teeth are most likely to be considered species of Cyrea. A total of 49 species are recognized as members of Brachiacantha, 29 of them newly described. In addition to generic characters described above, species of this genus have other characters not unique to Brachiacantha, but useful in aiding recognition. These are: 1) male head often black; 2) head and pronotum usually alutaceous, dull, especially the head; 3) prosternal carinae often not joined at apices, or if so then usually not connected to the prosternal base by a single carina; 4) punctures on apical 1 / 4 of metasternum usually evenly sized and spaced throughout, not larger and denser toward lateral margin; 5) and male genitalia nearly always with paramere Psc. Brachiacantha bistripustulata differs from all other South American species by the strongly asymmetrical male genitalia and presence of median cusps on the 3 rd abdominal ventrite. Brachiacantha dentipes (F.), the North American type species of the genus, as well as numerous other North American species, have extremely similar, asymmetrical genitalia. Brachiacantha should perhaps be restricted to this group with all other species having asymmetrical male genitalia placed in a new genus. Species groups are recognized based primarily on male genitalia. Those groups are defined as follows: bistripustulata group - this species contains B. bistripustulata, the only South American species of this genus having an asymmetrical basal lobe of the male genitalia (Fig. 1). buckleyi group - male genitalia have a long, slender, apically truncate basal lobe; paramere longer than basal lobe, very wide at base, narrowed to rounded apex (Fig. 8, 9). sellata group - male genitalia with basal lobe apically lunulate (Fig. 19); paramere highly modified, usually dorsally flattened (Fig. 19). juanita group - male genitalia with basal lobe short, evenly, ovately narrowed from base to apex, apex narrowly rounded, sometimes acute (Fig. 57); sipho with inner arm of basal capsule apically bifid (Fig. 66). Female genitalia with spermatheca long, slender, basal 1 / 4 widened, cornu bulbous or narrowed to acute apex (Fig. 62). jill group - male genitalia with basal lobe long, very slender, sides slightly convergent from base to rounded apex (Fig. 141). blandula group - male genitalia with basal lobe narrowed from base to about apical 1 / 3, apical 1 / 3 narrowed to broadly rounded apex (Fig. 147). groendali group - male genitalia with basal lobe long, slender, longer than paramere, penis shaped (Fig. 163). debbie group - male genitalia with basal lobe long, slender, as long or longer than paramere, with truncate apex (Fig. 176). leslie group - male genitalia with basal lobe long, longer than paramere, slender, narrowed from base to apical 2 / 3, then widened into slightly triangular apical 1 / 3 (Fig. 200); paramere abruptly narrowed in apical 1 / 5, upper 1 / 3 of paramere darker, more heavily sclerotized than lower 2 / 3. trimaculata group - male genitalia with basal lobe longer than paramere, sides parallel in basal 1 / 2, widened in apical 1 / 2, sides rounded to acute apex (Fig. 206). tucumanensis group - male genitalia with basal lobe about as long as paramere, slightly “ pinched ” laterally at basal 1 / 3, widened in apical 1 / 2, sides rounded to acute apex (Fig. 220). bahiensis group - male genitalia with basal lobe apically triangular, dorsal surface with large, arcuate dorsal keel (Fig. 231), or with dorsal keel on each side of middle.	en	Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio, Hanley, Guy A. (2014): South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVI: systematic revision of Brachiacantha Dejean (Coccinellinae: Hyperaspidini). Insecta Mundi 2014 (390): 1-76, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5179676
