Schizogenius Putzeys, 1846

Genus Schizogenius Putzeys, 1846 View in CoL

Schizogenius Putzeys, 1846: 131. Type species: Schizogenius strigicollis Putzeys, 1846 designated by Desmarest (1851: 102). Etymology. From the Greek schizo (cleave, split) and geneion (chin, by extension mentum), alluding to the indented shape of the lateral lobes of the mentum (" lobes lateraux [du menton] profondément échancrés, tellement que chacun d’eux semble partagé en deux ailes ") of the adult [masculine].

Diversity.

Western Hemisphere, with 75 species in temperate, subtropical, and tropical areas of the Nearctic (24 species) and Neotropical (about 60 species) Regions arrayed in three subgenera: Genioschizus (10 species), Listropus Putzeys (eight Neotropical species), and Schizogenius s.str. (57 species). One species has been described by Baehr (1983) from the Fiji Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean based upon a single specimen. In my opinion, the specimen could be mislabeled and confirmation is needed.

Identification.

Whitehead (1972) revised all the North American and some of the Neotropical species.