Jałoszyński Paweł
Museum of Natural History, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland..
Zootaxa. 2017 Feb 16;4232(3):zootaxa.4232.3.10. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4232.3.10.
Drastophus and Smicrophus were originally described as genera of Nearctic Scydmaeninae. Drastophus was later synonymized with Euconnus s. str., and subsequently resurrected as a subgenus of Euconnus. Smicrophus was also proposed as a genus, and later placed as a subgenus of Euconnus. However, examination of the type species of each subgenus in the present study led to different conclusions. Drastophus laevicollis differs only in minor details from the type species of Euconnus (Tetramelus), namely in a shorter head, and the pronotum not constricted near base and lacking the median longitudinal antebasal carina. These differences are not sufficient to maintain Drastophus as a separate subgenus, and this name is placed as a junior synonym of Tetramelus. Smicrophus leviceps, in turn, is very similar to Euconnus (Napochus); the only differences in relation to the type species of Napochus are the pronotum broadest slightly in front of base instead of at base, head lacking bristles, lateral antebasal pronotal pits shifted to a more submedian position, and a different shape of hypostomal ridges. Some of these characters were previously found to be variable within Napochus, and others are only minor differences that can also be interpreted as variability within a subgenus. Consequently, Smicrophus is placed as a junior synonym of Napochus.
Drastophus和Smicrophus最初被描述为新北区球蕈甲亚科的属。Drastophus后来被同义化为真康蜣螂属（Euconnus）的狭义概念，随后又被重新确立为真康蜣螂属的一个亚属。Smicrophus也曾被提议作为一个属，后来被列为真康蜣螂属的一个亚属。然而，在本研究中对每个亚属的模式种进行检查后得出了不同的结论。光颈Drastophus与真康蜣螂属（Tetramelus）的模式种仅在一些细微细节上有所不同，即头部较短，前胸背板基部附近不缢缩且没有中纵向前基部隆线。这些差异不足以将Drastophus维持为一个独立的亚属，因此该名称被列为Tetramelus的次异名。另一方面，细头Smicrophus与真康蜣螂属（Napochus）非常相似；与Napochus模式种相比，唯一的差异在于前胸背板最宽处略在基部前方而非基部，头部没有刚毛，前胸背板基部外侧凹坑移至更靠近亚中线的位置，以及下咽脊形状不同。这些特征中的一些先前已发现在Napochus内具有变异性，而其他一些只是细微差异，也可解释为一个亚属内的变异性。因此，Smicrophus被列为Napochus的次异名。
