REVISION OF THE GENUS ULUS HORN, 1870 COLEOPTERA: TENEBRIONIDAE: (COPATRINI: BLAPSTININA)

Previously comprised of 12 species, this revision is based on examination of over 4,200 museum specimens of Ulus Horn, 1870 collected throughout its range, encompassing North, Central, and South America. Lectotypes are designated for Blapstinus crassus LeConte, 1851, Ulus comatus Champion, 1893, Ulus elongatulus Casey, 1890, Ulus fimbriatus Casey, 1890, Ulus hirsutus Champion, 1885, Ulus maritimus Casey, 1890, and Ulus venezuelensis Marcuzzi, 1954 in order to clearly fix their taxonomic status. This study has revealed three new species: (fins steineri Lumen & Smith, sp. nov. from Monahans Dunes, TX; U. paniculus Lumen & Smith, sp. nov. from Padre and Corpus Christi islands, TX; and U. guapo Lumen, Crowley, & Smith, sp. nov. from Guaymas, Sonora, MX, while at the same time uncovering variability within many taxa, resulting in seven synonomies: Ulus hirsutus Champion, 1885 (= U. elongatulus syn. nov.; = U. maritimus syn. nov.; = U. comatus Champion, 1893 syn. nov.; = U. margaritensis syn. nov.; = U. venezuelensis syn. nov.); and Ulus obliquus (LeConte, 1866) (= U. fimbriatus syn. nov.; = U. lotus Blaisdell, 1892 syn. nov.). The fossil species Ulus minutus Whickham 1914 is placed as incertae sedis within Tenebrioninae Latreille, 1802, based on a lack of morphological data to confidently place the specimen within the tribe Opatrini Brulle, 1832, let alone the genus Ulus. A total of seven valid species are recognized in this study (U. crassus, U. guapo, U. hirsutus, U. lineatulus, U. obliquus, U. paniculus, U. steineri). Additionally, examination of female terminalia revealed all but two Ulus species (U. lineatulus and U. obliquus) possess sclerotized plates with spines in their bursa copulatrix.