Subgenus Eremonthophagus Zunino, 1979

Remarks. According to Kabakov (2006) the subgenus Eremonthophagus Zunino, 1979 is to be considered a junior synonym of the subgenus Colobonthophagus Balthasar, 1963, and all the species of the former must be placed in the latter, even if they do not have the bulbous elevation at base of justasutural interstria, that is, one of the distinctive characters of Colobonthophagus: “...а таКЖе виды подрода Eremonthophagus Zunino, ЯвЛЯЮЩиеСЯ по нашему мнениЮ аридным дериватом типицных Colobonthophagus ” [...as well as species of the subgenus Eremonthophagus, which in our opinion are arid derivatives of typical Colobonthophagus]. That “arid”, meant as living in desert areas, is referred to the xerothermic habitat of some Eremonthophagus species. According to Kabakov (2006), some other external morphological features justify the synonymy, and allow Colobonthophagus sensu Kabakov to be a homogenous group. However, the morphology of male genitalia, particularly the lamella copulatrix, and the external character of the base of sutural interstria of elytra, that can be considered a synapomorphic, and do not allow us to agree with the synonymy of Kabakov. As already stated by Tagliaferri et al. (2012) and Ziani & Bezděk (2016), the subgenus Eremonthophagus is herein considered a valid subgenus, separated from Colobonthophagus.