TAXONOMY AND CHROMOSOMAL ANALYSIS OF EGYPTIAN SYNCHORTUS-IMBRICATUS (KLUG) (COLEOPTERA, NOTERIDAE)

Synchortus imbricatus (Klug) is recorded for the first time in Egypt. Egyptian specimens are much smaller than the type series from Mozambiq ue, but Sudanese material described by Omer-Cooper shows features link ing the two extremes. A lectotype is designated for S. imbricatus (Klu g). Regimbart's types of S. simplex var. echinatus have been studied, as well as males from the same locality. They are shown to be S, imbri catus and a lectotype is designated. Sharp's types of S, sparsus and S . aciculatus have been studied and found to be conspecific with S. sim plex Sharp, as suggested by Omer-Cooper (1972). The chromosomes of Egy ptian S. imbricatus are shown to comprise 12 pairs of autosomes plus s ex chromosomes which are X1X2Y in the male and X1X1X2X2 in the female, as in Noterus (Bilton, 1992). Unlike Noterus, in S. imbricatus the Y- chromosome is the largest in the nucleus and is largely heterochromati c.