Selasia, LAPORTE, 1838: 19

GENUS SELASIA LAPORTE, 1838: 19

( FIG. 9C, I, S)

Type species: Selasia rhipiceroides Laporte, 1838 ; by monotypy.

Diagnosis: Selasia as defined here can be recognized by the following combination of characters: frontoclypeal region short and wide; labrum transverse, more than four times wider than long, sometimes membranous; antenna flabellate; pronotum transverse, 1.60–1.90 times as wide as long (about 1.35 times in S. socotrana ), with posterior margin shallowly and widely arcuately emarginate ( Fig. 9C), lateral carina almost complete, sublateral carina usually missing; prosternum ( Fig. 9C) transverse, with prosternal process reduced or short and narrow; scutellar shield longer than wide; mesoventrite ( Fig. 9I) with anterior margin slightly concave, without distinct margin; seven free abdominal ventrites ( Fig. 9S); and sternite IX basally emarginate.

Species included: Altogether 64 species. Selasia apicalis Pic, 1914 , S. arabica Geisthardt, 2003 , S. atriventris Pic, 1914 , S. auberti Pic, 1921 , S. basalis Gorham, 1895 , S. boruckae Kundrata, 2012 , S. decipiens Guérin-Méneville, 1829 , S. dembickyi Kundrata & Sormova, 2018 , S. erlangeri Geisthardt, 2007 , S. etoshaensis Wittmer, 1989 , S. fulva Gorham, 1883 , S. grandis Pic, 1914 , S. incognita Geisthardt, 2007 , S. jenisi Kundrata & Sormova, 2018 , S. kilimana Kolbe, 1897 , S. lata Pic, 1954 , S. laticeps Pascoë, 1887 , S. merkli Kundrata, 2012 , S. minuta Kolbe, 1897 , S. nigrobrunnea Kundrata, 2017 , S. oberprieleri Wittmer, 1989 , S. obscura Wittmer, 1962 , S. pectoralis Pic, 1946 , S. pulchella Gestro, 1878 , S. raffrayi Pic, 1921 , S. rhipiceroides Laporte, 1836 , S. robecchii Gestro, 1892 , S. sabatinellii Kundrata, 2017 , S. socotrana Kundrata, 2012 , S. striata (Pic, 1929) , S. variabilis Wittmer, 1989 , S. venusta Olivier, 1914 , S. widenmanni Kolbe, 1897 . The type material of S. asperulipennis Fairmaire, 1893 and S. isabellae Bourgeois, 1909 is most probably lost and their identity cannot be confirmed from the brief original descriptions. The following species currently placed in this genus differ morphologically from the here defined Selasia , but are not yet placed elsewhere: Selasia angustior Pic, 1954 , S. atricornis Pic, 1946 , S. basipennis Pic, 1913 , S. bicolor Wittmer, 1953 , S. castanea Wittmer, 1989 , S. chaboti Pic, 1921 , S. curtipennis Pic, 1918 , S. diversicornis Pic, 1929 , S.dumosa Geisthardt, 2007 , S. endroedyi Wittmer, 1989 , S. fuscula (Boheman, 1851) , S. homhilia Geisthardt, 2003 , S. incostata Wittmer, 1989 , S. intermedia Wittmer, 1997 , S. maynei Pic, 1931 , S. murtulai Pic, 1930 , S. nigricollis Wittmer, 1989 , S. nigripennis Pic, 1925 , S. pectinata Wittmer, 1989 , S. posticalis Pic, 1931 , S. pseudopectinata Geisthardt, 2007 , S. ruficolor Pic, 1946 , S. sibutensis Pic, 1914 , S. testaceicolor Pic, 1914 , S. transkeiensis Wittmer, 1989 , S. transvaalensis Wittmer, 1989 ; S. unicolor Guérin-Méneville, 1829 , S. wittmeri Geisthardt, 2007 , S. zernyi Hicker, 1944 . The systematic placement of these species will be examined in detail in future studies.

Relationships: Selasia arabica from Yemen and Selasia sp. from Nigeria form an unsupported clade sister to S. erlangeri from Kenya in all but one analysis ( Fig. 1; Supporting Information, Fig. S1).

Distribution: Afrotropical Region, southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, Socotra, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand.