NEW DATA ON THE TAXONOMY AND MORPHOLOGY OF WEEVILS OF THE GENUS PLINTHUS (COLEOPTERA, CURCULIONIDAE)

The taxonomic composition of the genus Plinthus Germar 1817 is considered. The procedure of the dissection of weevil genitalia, variations in internal sac armament, proventriculus and crop in Plinthus species are described, and the terms used for describing these structures are explained. The taxonomic significance of the morphological characters of the internal sac, proventriculus and crop, as well as the phylogenetic relationships of the genus Plinthus and its subgenera are discussed. New data on the taxonomy, morphology and distribution of species from the subgenera Plinthomeleus Reitter 1913 and Plinthus s. str. are presented. Keys to the subgenera of Plintus and to species groups of the subgenus Plinthomeleus are given. Plinthus squalidus is recorded from the Caucasus and Russia for the first time.