Subtribe Chalcophorina Lacordaire, 1857

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Subtribe Chalcophorina Lacordaire, 1857

Chalcophorides Lacordaire, J.T. 1857. Histoire naturelle des insectes. Genera des Coléoptères ou exposé méthodique de critique de tous les genres proposés jusqu'ici dans cet ordre d'insectes. Paris : Roret Vol. 4 554 pp. [20].
Type genus:
Chalcophora Serville in Dejean, 1833 [by indication].

Introduction

The placement in the hierarchy of buprestid classification of the chalcophorine lineage has varied between the subfamily level (Cobos 1980) to the subtribe (Holynski 1993). Long separated from the buprestine lineage by virtue of a different type of antennal sensory pore structure and distribution, Toyama (1987) first proposed that taxa placed within one or the other of these two groups were structurally more similar than where their particular antennal morphology might place them. It now seems clear that a better placement comes from the subtribal system of Holynski (1993), although the clear distinction between taxa placed in the Chalcophorina and Chrysochroina awaits better definition.

In one area, a fairly radical departure has been suggested by Holynski (1997) who proposed a very different approach to certain genera placed in one or the other of those two subtribes. The proposal is innovative in that it combined several taxa as geographically restricted subgenera and established a hypothesis of relationship between the Asian, Australian and African fauna that has not been considered before. Due to the very different outcomes of this proposal, shifts of taxonomy and nomenclature, I have not followed this proposal in the Catalogue. This is not because I reject such a hypothesis, but because for a work of this type I feel it will serve the users better to present a more widely accepted classification and wait until more evidence is gathered to lend support, or to refute, the changes proposed by Holynski.

The four genera representing the chalcophorine lineage in Australia are Chalcotaenia Deyrolle, Chacophorotaenia Obenberger, Chrysodema Laporte & Gory and Pseudotaenia Kerremans.

The erection of the genus Chacophorotaenia by Obenberger (1928) removed all but the type species from Chalcotaenia. Despite the fact that this took place before the checklist of Carter (1929), it was not mentioned therein and this classification is apparently not widely known by contemporary Australian jewel beetle workers. The last review of the genus was by Carter (1922).

Pseudotaenia contains the large species formerly placed in Chalcotaenia, and these beetles seem to be associated with species of Acacia (e.g. Pullen 1987). The last review of the species was by Kerremans (1909b). The genus Austrophorella was erected by Toyama (1987) for Pseudotaenia quadrisignata (Saunders) on the basis of a minor difference in wing venation; Holynski (1993) synonymized Austrophorella under Pseudotaenia. Unpublished biological information indicates a biological difference that might support an eventual resurrection of Austrophorella. All species of Pseudotaenia use various species of Acacia as larval hosts with the adults nearly always found on the leaves of adjacent Eucalyptus spp. Sometimes the females can be found on the Acacia trunks, likely searching for an oviposition site. Pseudotaenia quadrisignata is the only species that uses Alphitonia sp. as the larval hostplant.

Chrysodema is essentially an Oriental Region genus with species found throughout Southeast Asia, the Indo-Malaysian region, the Philippine archipelago, New Guinea and into northern Australia. The last revision of the genus was by Kerremans (1909a) with comments on the Australian species by Carter (1921).