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 dissection of the weevil genitalia, variations in the endophallus armature, proventriculus, and crop in Plinthus species are described, and the terminology for these structures is explained. The taxonomic significance of the morphological characters of the endophallus, 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 Plinthus and to species groups of the subgenus Plinthomeleus are given. Plinthus squalidus is recorded from the Caucasus and Russia for the first time. © 2017, Pleiades Publishing, Inc.