Alfred F. Newton, Jr.
New Name for the Extinct Genus Mesagyrtes Ponomarenko (Coleoptera: Silphidae S.L.).
Psyche 88:335-336, 1981.

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NEW NAME FOR THE EXTINCT GENUS MESAGYRTES PONOMARENKO (COLEOPTERA: SILPHIDAE S.L.) BY ALFRED F. NEWTON, JR.
Museum of Comparative Zoology
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Mesagyrtes communis Ponomarenko, a new beetle genus and species attributed to Silphidae, has recently been described from fossil-bearing beds of Jurassic age from the locality of Novospassk, USSR (Arnoldi et al., 1977: 117). Unfortunately the generic name is preoccupied by Mesagyrtes Broun (1895: 95), proposed for a Recent New Zealand species originally placed in Silphidae; this genus is now considered a subgenus of the genus Colon Herbst of the family Leiodidae (Szymczakowski 1964).
I have brought the homonymy to the attention of Dr. Ponoma- renko, who has kindly allowed me to propose a replacement name for use in publications on the family Silphidae now in preparation. Accordingly, I propose Mesecanus, new name, to replace Mesa- gyrtes Ponomarenko (not Broun). The new name alludes to the resemblance in habitus between the extinct genus and the Recent agyrtine silphid genus Ecanus Stephens.
ARNOLDI, L. V., V. V. ZHERIKHIN, L. M. NIKRITIN AND A. G. PONOMARENKO 1977.
"Mesozoic Coleoptera" [in Russian]. Trudi Paleont. Inst. Akad. Nauk SSSR 161, 204 pp.
BROUN, T.
1895.
Descriptions of new Coleoptera from New Zealand. ANN. MAG. NAT. HIST. (6)15: 67-88.
SZYMCZAKOWSKI, W.
1964.
Revision des Colonidae (Coleoptera) des regions orientale et austra- lienne. Acta Zool. Cracov. 9(8): 1~59.
lienne. Acta Zool. Cracov. 9(8): 1-59.
Pachc 88:335 III81). http //psyche enlcliib ore/88/8%335 him1



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