Journal of Natural History
Vol. 44, Nos. 1–2, January 2010, 41–80
ISSN 0022-2933 print/ISSN 1464-5262 online
© 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/00222930903383495
http://www.informaworld.com
TNAH 0022-2933 1464-5262 Journal of Natural History, Vol. 1, No. 1, Oct 2009: pp. 0–0 Journal of Natural History
Redescriptions of critical type species in the Eustylini Lacordaire
(Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae)
Journal of Natural History N.M. Franz
Nico M. Franz*
Department of Biology, PO Box 9012, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, PR 00681, USA
(Received 30 December 2008; final version received 1 October 2009)
Detailed morphological redescriptions and illustrations are provided for the following
type species of six diverse and taxonomically overlapping genera of broad-nosed
weevils, traditionally placed in or near the Neotropical tribe Eustylini Lacordaire
(Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae): Compsus argyreus (Linnaeus), Diaprepes
abbreviatus (Linnaeus), Eustylus puber (Olivier), Exophthalmus quadrivittatus
(Olivier), Exorides wagneri (von Harold), and Lachnopus valgus (Fabricius), which
is apparently not a member of this tribe. Descriptions of mouthparts, male and
female terminalia, and of other external and internal structures are reported for
the first time, and thus build a foundation for re-examining the taxonomic limits
and phylogenetic relationships among eustyline genera. It is suggested that the
type specimen of D. abbreviatus, originally described by Linnaeus, pertains to
populations that occur along the northern coast of Puerto Rico.
Keywords: Compsus; Diaprepes; Exophthalmus; morphology; systematics (the
discipline)
Introduction
Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) are probably the most diverse lineage of beetles,
with 220,000 species estimated to occur worldwide (Oberprieler et al. 2007). Perhaps
not surprisingly, the classification of weevils at and above the generic level has under-
gone substantial changes since the advent of modern phylogenetic methods (Kuschel
1995; Marvaldi 1997; Marvaldi et al. 2002). Although the delimitation of weevil
families has now reached some measure of stability and support, seemingly insur-
mountable problems persist at the subfamiliar and tribal levels where hundreds of
taxonomic names remain in use, yet lack a modern phylogenetic underpinning. This
holds true in particular for the curculionid subfamily Entiminae Schoenherr, the
broad-nosed weevils, a monophyletic group that includes at least 1150 genera and
more than 12,000 species (Marvaldi 1998). Alonso-Zarazaga and Lyal (1999) recog-
nized 55 tribes in the Entiminae, many of which are still rooted in Lacordaire’s (1863)
concepts.
One such tribe is the Eustylini Lacordaire (= Exophthalmina Champion, 1911),
a primarily Neotropical assemblage with 20 genera and approximately 325 species
described to date (mainly sensu Alonso-Zarazaga and Lyal [1999]; with additions of
Anderson and Lanteri [2000], O’Brien and Kovarik [2001], and Franz and Girón
[2009]; species numbers taken from O’Brien and Wibmer [1982], Wibmer and
O’Brien [1986], and Morrone [1999]; though see Morrone [1999] for an alternative
*Email: nico.franz@upr.edu