BATRISINI 249 



David Sharp described two similarly unplaced species in 1887, Batrisus 

 crassipes and Batrisus lamellipes from Bugaba, Panama. Without recourse to 

 the types I am unable to place either in a genus: (1) their body shapes take 

 them from Phalepsoides and Euphalepsus, and Sharp was familiar with the 

 latter genus; (2) they are not Batoctenus on the integumental punctation, and 

 Sharp erected this genus in 1887 so that this preclusion is assured; (3) they 

 are not Iteticus as both of Sharp's species lack spines, longitudinal and trans- 

 verse pronotal sulci; (4) they are not Arthmius, Syrbatus or Syrmocerus as 

 they lack a transverse pronotal sulcus and do have a short dorsal striaform 

 depression. Therefore they are not members of any neotropical genus known. 

 Raffray left them unplaced in his revision (1897), left them without definite 

 generic assignment (1904) and in 1908 left them as unplaced but near Iteticus. 



BATOCTENUS (Sharp, 1887) 



Sharp (1887) 

 Raffray (1904, 1908) 



This is a neotropical genus of five species, two from Panama and three 

 from South America (Bolivia 1 and Brazil 2). 



Morphologically it is very isolated from the other neotropical genera, and 

 the species of the genus have an unusually striking similarity in habitus. The 

 body is very elongate-cylindrical, with an elongate head which is always 

 coarsely, rugosely punctate, with a relatively simple vertex, indistinct vertexal 

 foveae, very large eyes and flat antennal tubercles. The pronotum is similarly 

 rugosely punctate with the exception of the genotype, and lacks longitudinal 

 and transverse sulci. Elytra elongate, with prominent, usually subcarinoid 

 humeri; each elytron with four basal foveae and a well-formed sutural and 

 dorsal stria. Abdomen with five tergites, of which the first is laterally margined 

 by an external and an internal carina and the next two tergites have the mar- 

 gins less distinctly formed by two carinae which tend to form between them a 

 minute longitudinal fold of the integument near tergite base. Seven sternites in 

 the male and six sternites in the female sex, the first five subequally long, 

 sixth relatively very large; seventh sternite of the male small, indistinctly 

 lodged between the last tergite and sixth sternite. The males have the distal 

 (eleventh) antennal segment, metasternum, legs and prosternum variously 

 ornamented, modified or armed. 



Maxillary palpi four-segmented, relatively short in comparison to Oxar- 

 thrius, Iteticus and the arthmioid genera, but not minute as in Euphalepsus; 

 first segment minute; second elongate-arcuate, distally wider; third short, sub- 

 triangular, nearly as wide as long; fourth longer than the preceding two seg- 

 ments but relatively short when contrasted with Oxarthrius, ovate to sub- 

 conical, with a very acute apex and a minute palpal cone. 



The cribrate, elongate vertex; large eyes; depressed antennal tubercles; 

 relatively short distal palpomere and better devloped abdominal margins 

 readily isolate the genus. 



