Gnathacmaeops Linsley & Chemsak, 1972

Gnathacmaeops Linsley & Chemsak, 1972: 135

Nomenclature

Linsley and Chemsak (1972) felt that the species pratensis ​(Laicharting) differed enough from the rest of the species of Acmaeops to justify the establishment of a new genus.

Leptura pratensis, a boreal and montane Holarctic species, has been generally included in the genus Acmaeops LeConte since it was transferred there by Mulsant (1863) as a senior synonym of Leptura strigilata Fabricius (assigned to Acmaeops by LeConte, 1850). However, it differs markedly from Leptura proteus Kirby (the type of  Acmaeops) and relatives in the short body form, elongate head, wide genal area below the eyes, and absence of pronotal tubercles. 

This placement has not been universally adopted, as some authors (see Bezark and Monne, 2013) have given preference to the combination Acmaeops proteus. 

Notes (in progress)

1. A note on bugguide.net says that Gnathacmaeops is sometimes treated as a subgenus of Acmaeops. 

References 

1. Bezark, L. G. and M. A. Monné.  2013. Checklist of the Oxypeltidae, Vesperidae, Disteniidae and Cerambycidae, (Coleoptera) of the Western Hemisphere. Available from: plant.cdfa.ca.gov/byciddb/documents.html (Accessed on 4 July 2013).
2. Linsley, E. G., and J. A. Chemsak. 1972. Cerambycidae of North America. Part VI. No. 1. Taxonomy and Classification of the Subfamily Lepturinae. University of California Publications in Entomology 69,  xiii+138 pp, 2 pl.