Danae Reiche, 1847

Genus Danae Reiche, 1847 View in CoL

Type species: Danae rufula Reiche, 1847

Taxonomic assignment. The inclusion examined shows a combination of external characters corresponding to the subfamily Endomychinae within the family Endomychidae : (1) elongate oval, convex body with pubescent dorsum, (2) 11-segmented antennae with loose 3-segmented antennal club, (3) discernible fronto-clypeal suture, (4) presence of two longitudinal sulci on the pronotum, (5) pronotum with broad lateral, raised margins, (6) postcoxal lines on abdominal ventrite 1 absent, (7) abdominal ventrite 1 longest, and (8) tarsi pseudotrimerous with lobed tarsomeres 1 and 2.

The specimen considered here is assigned to the genus Danae Reiche based on a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) pronotum with broad, raised side margins (in contrast to extant Africanasaula , Saula and Tragoscelis or extinct Zemyna ), and not distinctly narrower than elytral base (contrary to Africanasaula , Saula or Zemyna ); (2) dorsum distinctly pubescent (in contrast to extant Endomychus with glabrous or very finely pubescent dorsum); (3) distinct transverse basal sulcus of pronotum (absent in Ectomychus ); (4) elongate, loose antennal club, and elongate body form (antennal club rather short and compact, and comparatively more oval and more globose body in most species of Stenotarsus ); (5) pronotal posterior angles not indented to receive the humeral portion of elytra (in contrast to Tharina ); (6) elytra not striate, only with fine incomplete sutural striae (in contrast to deeply punctate-striate elytra in Paniegena ); (7) lobed tarsomeres 1–2 (in contrast to feebly developed or absent lobation on the tarsomere 2 in Chondria ); (8) anterior pronotal angles widely rounded and distinctly projecting anteriad (in contrast to acute anterior pronotal angles in Tragoscelis ); (9) symmetrical antennal club (asymmetrical antennal club in Ectomychus ); (10) comparatively long lateral sulci and basal sulcus without oval pit on each side (in contrast to short lateral sulci and basal sulcus with oval pits in Perrisina ); (11) sutural stria discernible in posterior two-third of elytron and ovoid terminal antennomere with rounded apex (elytra with complete sutural striae and antennomere 11 obliquely truncate apically in extinct Mesozoic Cretostenotarsus ). The non-modified antennomere 9 (not enlarged, toothed or excavate) could be interpreted either character of female sex of the specimen or probable absence of sexually dimorphic antennal structure in Eocene representatives of the genus.