Protinodes Sharp 1888

Genus Protinodes Sharp, 1888 Protinodes Sharp, 1888: 377 (original description; type species: Protinodes puncticollis Sharp, 1888); Maruyama et al., 2014: 395 (diagnosis). Himalusa Pace, 2006: 357 (original description; type species: Himalusa annapurnensis Pace, 2006). Syn. nov. Diagnosis. The genus Protinodes is distinguished from Parabrachida by the transverse labrum, the ligula (Maruyama et al. 2014: fig. 3) not prominent medially, and the symmetrical median lobe of the aedeagus (Figs. 1D–E; Pace, 2006: figs. 75–76). This genus differs from Sinanarchusa in the narrow and styliform apical lobe of the paramere of the aedeagus. Remarks. The habitus, mouthparts, and aedeagus of the type species of the genus Himalusa, Himalusa annapurnensis Pace, 2006, suggest a close relationship with Protinodes puncticollis Sharp, 1888. In particular, the morphology of the mouthparts—which are often considered critical fo the classification of Aleocharinae— is so similar between the two species that it does not justify their separation at the generic level. According to their original descriptions (Sharp 1888 and Pace 2006), these two species differ in the tarsal formula (Protinodes puncticollis: 4-4-4; Himalusa annapurnesis: 4-4-5), a character traditionally considered important for the generic classification within Aleocharinae. However, the hind tarsi of Protinodes puncticollis were previously miscounted and are in fact 5-segmented. It is worth noting that Maruyama et al. (2014) also mistakenly recorded the hind tarsi as 4-segmented, due to the difficulty of observing this character accurately under dry conditions. Therefore, we propose the following new synonymy and a new combination: Protinodes = Himalusa syn. nov., Protinodes annapurnensis (Pace, 2006), comb. nov.