Proceedings of 

 the United States 

 National Museum 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION • WASHINGTON, D.C. 



Volume 124 1968 Number 3616 



The Taxonomic Status of 



Dineutus serrulatus and Dineutus analis 



in North America 



(Gyrinidae: Coleoptera) l 



ByF. E.Wood 



The genus Dineutus in North America is represented by a number 

 of common species that, since the study by Roberts (1895), have 

 been recognized fairly easily. Roberts' taxonomic work is reflected 

 in nearly every species, and his concepts have been accepted so 

 widely that a few errors in his work have not been apparent. 



An example of this is Dineutus serrulatus LeConte (1868), a well- 

 known lotic species described from one male and one female from 

 the middle and southern states respectively. This form was recognized 

 by its broadly oval shape, which is slightly narrowed in front, the 

 strong, sharp tooth on the front femur of the male, and the serrulate 

 apices of the elytra. It was characterized further by Roberts (1895) 

 as having, among other things, the "surface polished black" and the 

 "under surface chestnut-brown." A key and complete description 

 by Roberts, accompanied by good illustrations of the male genitalia 

 and the male and female elytral apices, established D. serrulatus as 

 an easily recognized species from Florida. 



1 Scientific Article No. A1341, Contribution No. 3901, Maryland Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. 

 J Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. 



1 



