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Presently the only keys available for identification of genera of Anthonomini are limited to those of the United States of America and Canada. A dichotomous key is presented to identify all genera of Mexican and Central American Anthonomini. Previous keys do not include the genera Achia, Botanebius, Loncophorus, Loncophorellus and Melexerus. A brief synopsis is given for each genus and photographs of representative species are included.
Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Weevils, dichotomous key
The family Curculionidae of Mexico and Central America is rich in species (
Anthonomini is a tribe within the subfamily Curculioninae of the Curculionidae (sensu
The host plants or plant associates of Anthonomini represent more than 35 families, including many species of agricultural importance. Two of the best-known pest species are the cotton boll weevil Anthonomus grandis Boheman and the pepper weevil Anthonomus eugenii Cano; Anthonomus grandis is a widespread and well-known pest of cotton. Anthonomus eugenii is widely distributed in the Southeastern United States, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It feeds and develops in several species of Solanaceae but is better known as a pest of peppers, Capsicum spp. (
The objective of the key presented here is to allow identification of genera of this tribe in Mexico and Central America.
Tarsal claws of Anthonomini species: 1 simple tarsal claws 2 tarsal claws with an acute tooth 3 tarsal claws with a stout tooth.
A list of genera of Anthonomini reported in Mexico and Central America was compiled from the following works:
Specimens of 1, 529 adults of the tribe Anthonomini were examined from collections of the following institutions: Instituto de Ecología, A.C, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. (IEXA), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Mexico (UAQE), Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Saltillo, Coahuila, México (UAAAN), Texas A&M University Insects Collection, College Station, Texas, U.S.A. (TAMUIC).
Images of specimens of each genus were captured with the aid of a stereoscopic microscope and digital camera and processed using COMBINEZP software (
1 | Tarsal claw simple, without basal process or tooth (Fig. 1) | 2 |
– | Tarsal claw with basal process or tooth (Figs 2 and 3) | 3 |
2 | Lateral rostral groove defined near eye (Fig. 22); elytra in lateral view rounded from middle to apex (Figs 48 and 49); metafemur lacking tooth | Epimechus |
– | Lateral rostral groove not defined near eye (Fig. 20); elytra sloped slowly from middle to apex (Fig. 41); metafemur with a ventral tooth | Brachyogmus |
3 | Procoxae separated by process of the prosternum; mesocoxae separated by a distance nearly equal to width of one coxa (Fig. 4); antennal funiculus with 6 articles (Fig. 42) | Huaca |
– | Procoxae contiguous (Fig. 6), if separated then profemur with a large and triangular tooth (Fig. 17); mesocoxae separated by a distance less than width of one coxa; antennal funiculus with 5, 6 or 7 articles | 4 |
4 | Mesocoxae narrowly separated by distance less than 0.2× the width of one mesocoxa (Fig. 5); tarsal claw with an acute tooth arising from inner margin slightly distal of base (Figs 2 and 54) | Madgalinops |
– | Mesocoxae widely separated by distance more than 0.2× the width of one mesocoxa; tarsal claw with a stout tooth arising from base of claw (Figs 3 and 6) | 5 |
5 | Rostrum short and moderately stout, equal to or slightly shorter than length of pronotum; elytra, base of interval 3 swollen and toothed; profemur with tooth moderately large (Figs 17, 59 and 60) | Smicraulax |
– | Rostrum slender and longer than length of pronotum (Fig. 19); elytra, interval 3 not swollen and toothed; profemur with ventral tooth various (Figs 11–13) | 6 |
6 | Antennal funiculus with 5 articles; antennal club with basal article glossy, almost glabrous; femur lacking tooth or with a single minute ventral tooth (Fig. 57) | Neomastix |
– | Antennal funiculus with 6 or 7 articles; antennal club various; femur with a small or large ventral tooth (Figs 13–16) | 7 |
7 | Lateral rostral groove with the dorsal margin directed toward ventral margin of eye and the ventral margin directed toward ventral margin of rostrum (Fig. 24) | 8 |
– | Lateral rostral groove directed toward middle of eye (Fig. 19) | 11 |
8 | Antennal funiculus with 7 articles; profemur with a large and triangular ventral tooth, base of tooth equal to width of the protibia; protibia stoutly expanded on inner margin at midpoint (Figs 14, 43 and 44) | Cionomimus |
– | Antennal funiculus with 6 articles; profemur with a small ventral tooth, base of tooth less than width of the protibia; protibia only slightly expanded or if expanded, not at midpoint (Fig. 13) | 9 |
9 | Pronotum and elytra humpbacked; profemoral tooth curved toward the tibia (Fig. 13); dense and decumbent hair-like scales throughout body and anterior 2/3 of rostrum (Fig. 40) | Botanebius |
– | Pronotum and elytra not humpbacked; profemur with triangular tooth not curved; body and rostrum vestiture various (Figs 55 and 58) | 10 |
10 | Pronotum, elytra and legs densely clothed with scales, intermixed with distinct semierect to erect scattered scales; profemoral tooth smaller than a tarsal claw; metafemur lacking tooth (Fig. 55) | Melexerus |
– | Pronotum, elytra and legs usually with decumbent scales; profemoral tooth nearly equal in length to a tarsal claw; metafemur with a ventral tooth (Fig. 58) | Pseudanthonomus |
11 | Profemur expanded, ca. 2× stouter than metafemur (Figs 10 and 15); mesocoxae narrowly separated by distance ca. ¼ width of one coxa (Fig. 6) | 12 |
– | Profemur expanded by less than 2× width of metafemur (Figs 11, 12 and 16); mesocoxae separated by distance more than ¼ width of one coxa | 13 |
12 | Head strongly constricted behind eyes (Fig. 18); eyes prominent, strongly convex; body densely covered with broad to elongate hair-like scales; dark rounded or triangular patch present on disc of elytra at base (Figs 25–27) | Achia |
– | Head subconical, slightly constricted behind eyes (Fig. 21); eyes slightly to moderately convex; vestiture of dense, elongate scales which may be intermixed with semierect, erect or recumbent scales; dark subtriangular patch of scales on each elytron past middle (Figs 45–47) | Cionopsis |
13 | Pro- and mesofemur with an anterior emargination (Figs 9 and 16); profemoral tooth slightly serrate distal to the emargination; elytral disk and declivital area covered by dense, pallid scales (Figs 52 and 53); mesotrochanters trapezoidal (Fig. 7) | Loncophorus |
– | Pro- and mesofemur lacking emargination, if present, profemoral tooth not serrate and protibia curved (Fig. 11); elytra various (Figs 28–39); mesotrochanter triangular (Fig. 8) (Anthonomus subgenus Anthonomorphus males have a trapezoidal shaped mesotrochanter) | 14 |
14 | Rostrum densely covered with broad scales to near apex (Fig. 23); eyes small, diameter of each eye nearly equal to width of rostrum at base, slightly or strongly free behind (Fig. 56) | Narberdia |
– | Rostrum with scales limited to basal half of length; eyes moderately large, diameter slightly or much greater than rostrum at base | 15 |
15 | Body with smooth and shining integument with scattered, narrow, white scales; posteromedian sides of pronotum straight; elytra strongly convex dorsomedially or posteromedially, sides convergent to apices (Figs 50 and 51) | Lonchophorellus |
– | Body vestiture and shape variable; posteromedian sides of pronotum curved; elytra not strongly convex and apical sides rounded (Figs 28–39) | 16 |
16 | Elytra usually with a transverse basal patch of black scales (Figs 36, 37 and 39); subbasal, anteromedian or posteromedian elevation on even-numbered interstriae usually well-developed; profemur strongly expanded 1.5× wider than metafemur; protibia curved, apical half of inner margin expanded and carinate (Figs 12, 35–39) | Atractomerus |
– | Elytra lacking a transverse basal patch of black scales (Figs 29 and 33); elytral elevation if present limited to odd-numbered interstriae; profemur if 1.5× wider than metafemur then, profemoral tooth usually with shallow to deep anterior emargination (Fig. 11); protibia usually straight and inner margin various (Figs 28–34) | Anthonomus |
Pro- and mesocoxae (→) of Anthonomini species: 4 Huaca mudca 5 Magdalinops vittipennis 6 Achia rhombifera.
Mesotrochanter shape of two Anthonomini genera: 7 Trapezoidal, Loncophorus sp. 8 Triangular, Anthonomus sp.
Mesofemoral tooth with an acute emargination, Loncophorus pustulatus.
Profemora and protibiae of Anthonomini species: 10 Achia rhombifera 11 Anthonomus flavirostris 12 Atractomerus nigrocalcaratus 13 Botanebius gibbosus 14 Cionomimus brevis 15 Cionopsis lineolata 16 Loncophorus crossi 17 Smicraulax nigrinus.
Rostra of Anthonomini species: 18 Achia rhombifera 19 Anthonomus flavirostris 20 Brachyogmus ornatus 21 Cionopsis lineolata 22 Epimechus flavirostris 23 Narberdia aridulus 24 Pseudanthonomus helvolus.
Anthonomini species: 25 Achia serjaniae 26 and 27 Achia rhombifera 28 Anthonomus aeneolus 29 Anthonomus abdominalis 30 Anthonomus eugenii 31 Anthonomus grandis 32 and 33 Anthonomus flavirostris.
Anthonomini species: 34 Anthonomus (Cnemocillus) tenuis 35 and 36 Atractomerus albolateralis 37 Atractomerus recessus 38 and 39 Atractomerus indicivus 40 Botanebius gibbosus 41 Brachyogmus ornatus 42 Huaca mayu 43 Cionomimus championi 44 Cionomimus insolens 45 Cionopsis crispula 46 Cionopsis maculata 47 Cionopsis lineolata 48 Epimechus hesperius.
Anthonomini species: 49 Epimechus flavirostris 50 Lonchophorellus scyla 51 Lonchophorellus callosus 52 Loncophorus crossi 53 Loncophorus pustulatus 54 Magdalinops vittipennis 55 Melexerus hispidus 56 Narberdia aridulus 57 Neomastix spatium 58 Pseudanthonomus helvolus 59 and 60 Smicraulax tuberculatus.
The tribe Anthonomini (sensu
Achia Champion, 1903. New World species 19, with 6 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: Bolivia, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico and Panama. States of Mexico: Chiapas, Mexico, Guerrero, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Veracruz. Families of associated plants include: Sapindaceae, Mimosoideae, Lauraceae, Bromeliaceae. See
Anthonomus Germar, 1817. New World species 491, with 172 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: worldwide in all geographical regions except Antarctica. Associated plant families include: Asteraceae, Combretaceae, Cupressaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Juglandaceae, Kramericeae, Malpighiaceae, Malvaceae, Myrtaceae, Rosaceae, Rutaceae, Rhizophoraceae, Sapindaceae, Solanaceae and Vitaceae. See
Atractomerus Duponchel and Chevrolat, 1849. New World species 45, with 17 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: Bolivia, Brazil, French Guyana, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Panamá; states of Mexico: Chiapas, Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Tamaulipas and Veracruz. Associated plant families include: Myrtaceae and Melastomataceae. See
Botanebius Schoenherr, 1836. New World species 2, with 1 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Belize, Honduras, Mexico and Panama; states of Mexico: Chiapas. Associated plant is unknown.
Brachyogmus Linell 1897. New World species 1, monotypic genus, Brachyogmus ornatus Linell 1897. Distribution: United States of America and Mexico; states of Mexico: Sonora. The species has been associated with Solanaceae
Cionomimus Marshall, 1939. New World species 11, with 9 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama; states of Mexico: Baja California, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Chiapas, Durango, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Querétaro, Oaxaca, Nuevo León and Veracruz. Species have been associated with Santalaceae. See
Cionopsis Champion, 1903. New World species 5, with 3 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama; states of Mexico: Chiapas, Guerrero, Jalisco, Morelos, Sinaloa and Veracruz. Species have been associated with Sapindaceae. See
Epimechus Dietz, 1891. New World species 11, with 7 species from Mexico. Distribution: United States of America and Mexico; States of Mexico: Baja California Coahuila, Durango, Oaxaca, Michoacan, Nayarit and Nuevo Leon. Species have been associated with Asteraceae. See
HuacaClark, 1993. New World species 26, with 11 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: United States of America (Florida), Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panamá, Puerto Rico, Saint Christopher, Virgin Islands, Brazil, Trinidad, Uruguay, Venezuela; states of Mexico: Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo and Tamaulipas. Families of associated plants include: Malpighiaceae, Myrtaceae, Phytolaccaceae, Rhizophoraceae, Rubiaceae and Rutaceae. See
Loncophorus Chevrolat, 1832. New World species 14, with 8 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Paraguay, Peru Surinam, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama; states of Mexico: Oaxaca and Veracruz. Species have been associated with Bombacaceae. See
Lonchophorellus Clark, 1989. New World species 4, with 2 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama; states of Mexico: Chiapas, Guerrero, Morelos, Puebla and Veracruz. Individuals have been associated with: Flacourtiaceae, Malpighiaceae, Myrtaceae and Sterculiaceae. See
Magdalinops Dietz, 1891. New World species 4, with 1 species from Mexico. Distribution: United States of America and Mexico; states of Mexico: Baja California. Individuals have been associated with Asteraceae. See
Melexerus Burke, 1982. New World species 1, monotypic genus, Melexerus hispidus
Narberdia Burke, 1976. New World species 1, monotypic genus, Narberdia aridulus
Neomastix Dietz, 1891. New World species 10, with 4 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, United States of America, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Island Virgin, México, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico; states of Mexico: Guerrero, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Tamaulipas. Families of associated plants include: Asteraceae, Ericaceae, Fabaceae, Palmaceae, Sapindaceae and Sterculiaceae. See
Pseudanthonomus Dietz, 1891. New World species 35, with 14 species from Mexico and Central America. Distribution: Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, United States of America, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela; states of Mexico: Baja California and Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Durango Guanajuato Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Puebla, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco Tamaulipas and Veracruz. Families of associated plants include: Betulaceae, Boraginaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Ericaceae, Hamamelidaceae, Krameriaceae, Malpighiaceae, Malvaceae, Rosaceae Saxifragaceae and Verbenaceae. See
Smicraulax Pierce, 1908. New World species 6, 6 in Mexico and Central America. Distribution: United States of America, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama: states of Mexico: Chiapas, Durango, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Nuevo León. Species have been associated with Santalaceae. See
Thanks are extended to the individuals and institutions listed in the Materials and Methods section for loans of Anthonomini, also CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia) for support to visit to Texas A&M University (Becas Mixta). Horace R. Burke, John D. Oswald, Joshua R. Jones, Julio Bernal, Peter Krauter, Allen Dean and Edward Riley of Texas A&M University U.S.A. provided invaluable assistance during the visit to the TAMUIC; Danny Shpeley Alberta University, Canada provided references. José Antonio Ángeles Valera of Instituto de Ecologia, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico helped with photography and Oswaldo García Martínez, Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico added valuable comment to the manuscript.