Neobrachinus Erwin, 1970

Subgenus Neobrachinus Erwin, 1970

Neobrachinus Erwin, 1970a: 47. Type species: Carabus fumans Fabricius, 1781 by original designation. Etymology. From the Greek prefix neo - (new) and the generic name Brachinus [ q.v.], probably alluding to the fact that all but one of these Brachinus species inhabit the New World [masculine].

Distribution.

Eighty-three species in the temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions of the Western Hemisphere and one species ( Brachinus dryas Andrewes) in the Himalayas. Forty-eight species inhabit North America.

Taxonomic Note.

In a cladistic analysis based on adult characters carried out by Erwin (1970a: 170), Neobrachinus was positioned as the sister-group to Cnecostolus whose members inhabit Eurasia.

Faunistic Note.

The records of Brachinus cinctipennis Chevrolat from Albuquerque in New Mexico and Nogales in Arizona (Schaeffer 1910: 401) are probably in error since the species is recorded only from Mexico, as far north as San Luis Potosí, by Erwin (1970a: 98).