Laccornellus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), a new hydroporine genus from austral South America

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Laccornellus, new genus, is proposed for two austral South American species previously assigned to Laccornis Gozis (L. lugubris (Aube, 1838), the type species, known from Argentina and Uruguay, and L. copelatoides (Sharp, 1882), known from Chile). The valvifer is absent in the adult stage of females of these species and the males have a greatly enlarged internal sac on the aedeagus; these characters exclude them from Laccornis. The most similar and possibly most closely related genus to Laccornellus is the African genus Canthyporus Zimmermann, although no conclusive synapotypy was found. Relationships of extant, plesiotypic hydroporines remain problematic; however, divergence of Laccornellus and Canthyporus probably began about 120 million years ago when Africa and South America separated. The vicariant event preceding divergence of L. copelatoides and L. lugubris probably was the uplift of the Andes Mountains which began in the late Oligocene – early Miocene.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: