J  N H, 2003, 37, 57–105 More than black and white: a new genus of nanophyine seed predators of Dipterocarpaceae and a review of Meregallia Alonso-Zarazaga (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea: Nanophyidae) C. H. C. LYAL† and L. M. CURRAN‡ † Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW 7 5BD, UK; e-mail: chcl@nhm.ac.uk ‡ John Musser Director, Tropical Resources Institute, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 370 Prospect St., New Haven, CT 06511, USA; e-mail: lisa.curran@yale.edu ( Accepted 20 March 2001 ) Pre-dispersal seed predation of dipterocarp trees in South-East Asia is of increas- ing importance to regeneration. A new genus of nanophyid beetles, Damnux gen. nov., is described, of which all known larval hosts are seeds of Dipterocarpaceae. Most of the species feed on multiple hosts, and several hosts are attacked sympatr- ically by more than one Damnux species. The type species of Damnux is Nanophyes dipterocarpi Marshall, comb. nov. from Meregallia, and eight other species are described as new: D. borneensis sp. nov., D. confusa sp. nov., D. conviva sp. nov., D. grandis sp. nov., D. seminivorax sp. nov., D. tenebriosa sp. nov., D. tindaleorum sp. nov. and D. wagneri sp. nov. The genus Meregallia is reviewed and redescribed, and the type species fixed as M. ligata Hustache. Three new species, M. sulawesiensis sp. nov., M. zarazagai sp. nov. and M. aratra sp. nov., are described. A lectotype is designated for Meregallia ligata (Hustache) by Dr V. Zherikhin. K: Dipterocarpaceae, weevil, seed predator, Asia, Meregallia, Damnux, Borneo, Kalimantan, Brunei, Nanophyidae. Introduction Every 5 or 6 years the dipterocarp-dominated forests of South-East Asia erupt in a massive fruiting event. Over a few months, vast numbers of seeds are produced as the majority of tree species over wide areas reproduce. The dipterocarps them- selves, which may contribute 70% of the canopy biomass, produce single-seeded fruit that germinate within days of dispersal; seedling density of nearly 156,000 per ha has been recorded 3 months after fruitfall (Curran and Leighton, 2000; Curran and Webb, 2000). Regeneration of the dipterocarps seems to depend on this vast seed production, which has also profoundly influenced the ecology and evolution of many other forest organisms (Curran et al., 1999; Curran and Leighton, 2000; Journal of Natural History ISSN 0022-2933 print/ISSN 1464-5262 online © 2003 Taylor & Francis Ltd http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals DOI: 10.1080/00222930110096483