The South American weevil genus Rhyephenes (Coleoptera: Curculionidae; Cryptorhynchinae)

The genus Rhyephenes Schoenherr, endemic to the Central Chilean and Subantarctic biogeographic provinces of southern South America, is easily recognized by its black body with shape resembling a spider. This genus includes seven species: Rhyephenes clathratusR. Philippi, R. gayi (Guerin), R. goureaui (Gay & Solier), R. humeralis (Guerin), R. lateralis (Guerin), R. maillei (Gay & Solier), and R. squamiger F. Philippi (reinstated herein from synonymy with R. gayi). A key, redescriptions, habitus photographs, and illustrations of the species are provided, and their geographical distribution is mapped. A cladistic analysis using 21 characters from external morphology and male and female genitalia produced four cladograms (CI = 0.55, RI = 0.51, length 43 steps), which after successive weighting were reduced to one cladogram (CI = 0.82, RI = 0.85, length 111 steps). In the cladogram, the following phylogenetic sequence results: (R. squamiger, (R. lateralis, ((R. clathratus, R. goureaui), (R. gayi, (R. humeralis, R. maillei))))). Biogeographic patterns exhibited by these species indicate a sequence from central Chile to southern Chile and Argentina.