Morphology of the Male Genitalia of Two Species of the Genus Ammocleonus Bedel, 1907 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), with a Key to the Species in Egypt

Abstract

The genus Ammocleonus Bedel, 1907 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) belongs to the tribe Cleonini in the subfamily Lixinae and is represented worldwide by five species, two of which, Ammocleonus hieroglyphicus and A. aschabadensis, have been recorded from the Egyptian fauna. This genus shows a range of morphological variation among the species so it is necessary to give some attention to the structure of their genitalia. As the genitalia of male Coleoptera have been considered to be a valuable source of taxonomic characters for more than 200 years and, more specifically, as the male genitalia in Curculionidae have had an established impact on species diagnosis, the male genitalia of the two Egyptian species are dissected, illustrated and described for the first time in the current work. As a result, the morphology of the male genitalia shows distinct differences between the two species and this has a taxonomic impact on the identification of the species. In addition, notes on the differentiation between the male and female sexes within the genus and data on material examined of the two species are given. A key to differentiate the two species Ammocleonus hieroglyphicus and A. aschabadensis is also given.