Forum Entomologi Italiani

Hi,
I revert to English language because I do not understand 100 % of what the french-italian automatic translator writes down
As my Stenocara did not meet much interest, I change this time the genus for what I believe might be a Parastizopus, according in particular with the special shape of its protibias.
The size is 16 mm.
Would it be possible to confirm, or even more ambitiously ascertain the species ? Thank you for that.

hello! I think is not a problem of interest but a problem of lack of specialist for those southafrican Tenebrionids. I have posted many of them but rarely it has been possible to identify the species also because of lacking of keys available in web pages.
I often try to find something but articles are almost always incomplete for the entire local fauna.

Thank you for the explanation; I did'nt imagine the situation was that bad, even if I have devoted many hours myself looking in vain for proper documents. Let us hope that in the future they will give access more openly to their information (a lot of work has certainly be made internally in the country).

The group (subtribe Stizopina) is somehow approcchable due the recent works of Iwan, Kaminski and others. In order to proceed with an identification also ventral charcaters are needed.
Your specimen does not match any described Parastizophus but even genus placement should be confirmed.
If you have time to do that, I reccoment to revise the basic literature cited in this paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318252603_Species_Group_in_the_Genus_Parastizopus_Gebien_1938_Coleoptera_Tenebrionidae

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«Discendiamo da scimmie evolute, non da angeli caduti» Robert Ardrey

Thanks a lot, I revised the basic litterature you indicated, and am convinced now that my insect is not a Parastizopus.
I also investigated among the other genuses of the tribe, but without any success.
I am joining the requested photo of the ventral side, I have cleared it so that a maximum information could be read, could you please tell me if you find a clue ?

Give me few days and I will try to give you an ID

E.

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«Discendiamo da scimmie evolute, non da angeli caduti» Robert Ardrey

Very difficult subgenus with many known and recently described species.

Main references:

KOCH C. 1963. The Tenebrionidae of South Africa XXIX Luebbertia plana gen et spec nov. with a dichotomic Analysis of Stizopina (Opatrini) Scientific papers of the Namib Desert Research station 18: 1-87.

IWAN D. & S SCHIMROSCZYK D. * . 2009. Catalogue of the World Stizopina (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Opatrina). Annales Zoologici, 59: 259-280.