Paraphytini Scholtz, Davis & de Klerk, 2025

Paraphytini Scholtz, Davis & de Klerk View in CoL , new tribe

Type genus: Paraphytus Harold, 1877 View in CoL , here designated ( Fig. 6 View FIGURES 6–8 )

Diagnosis

Differs from other tribes by a combination of characters, primarily a habitus similar to that of the sister subfamily, Aphodiinae combined with a quadridentate clypeus and apical excavation of the tridentate protibiae.

Description

Head: Anterior clypeal margin quadridentate.

Thorax: Pronotal disc punctate and evenly convex lacking carinae or other protrusions.

Wings: Vein characters of metathoracic wing not modified ( Fig. 7a View FIGURES 6–8 ) compared to those shown in Fig. 7b View FIGURES 6–8 : (1) anal area not reduced, (2) no widening of CuA vein at wing margin, (3) RA 4 vein reaches wing margin. Elytra punctate and evenly convex with seven dorsal striae and an eighth short stria positioned laterally. Epipleurae only very weakly sinuate (see Fig. 34h in Tarasov & Génier 2015).

Legs: Short tarsi inserted on the upper side of the tridentate fore tibiae ( Tarasov & Génier 2015) within an apical excavation.

Abdomen: Pygidium longitudinally grooved in the centre or not (see Paulian 1936).

Male genitalia: Using the terminology of Tarasov & Solodovnikov (2011) and Tarasov & Génier (2015) for the complex of accessory sclerites occurring within the basal part of aedeagal sacs (in general: A, AS, BSc, FLP, SA, SRP and X), Paraphytus shows: (1) a long spur (=TS) and a short lobe extending from the A sclerite, (2) presence of a BSc sclerite and (3) absence of other sclerites ( Tarasov & Génier 2015: p. 36). However, somewhat similar characterization of the endophallites is also shared with genera of the Coptorhinini new tribe (see below) and some other “basal Scarabaeinae ” ( Tarasov & Dimitrov 2016) that are now in the tribes Elassocanthonini or Endroedyolini ( Tarasov & Génier 2015: pp. 35–37) .

Sexual dimorphism: Limited to differences in the sculpture of the pygidium, abdominal sternites and clypeal margin.