Abstract
The Bryaxis of Japan are revised, and a key to the species is provided. The species definitions are largely based on male sexual characters, but the female genital plates appear also to provide robust characters. Presently, 34 Japanese species of Bryaxis are recognized, 21 of them being described as new : B. bushido sp. n., B. heian sp. n., B. hisamatsui sp. n., B. hoko sp. n., B. iriomotensis sp. n., B. jomon sp. n., B. kamakura sp. n., B. karate sp. n., B. katana sp. n., B. kofun sp. n., B. mayumi sp. n., B. naginata sp. n., B. peckorum sp. n., B. platalea sp. n., B. samurai sp. n., B. sawadai sp. n., B. sumo sp. n., B. tanto sp. n., B. taradakensis sp. n., B. tetralobus sp. n., and B. yari sp. n. The following names are synonymized : Bythoxenites diversicornis Lobl and Kurbatov with Bt. sulcithorax Tanokuchi, Bryaxis brevipalpis Jeannel with B. japonicus (Sharp), Bryaxis kintaro Nomura and B. kintaro odaiensis Nomura with B. koltzei (Reitter). Lectotypes are designated for Bryaxis harmandi Raffray, B. sauteri Raffray, B. humilis Raffray, B. japonicus (Sharp), and B. reversus (Sharp). Bryaxis subseriatus (Weise) and B. grandicollis Jeannel are considered species inquirendae. Sexual polymorphy is discussed, and polymorphy affecting endoskeletal structures is described in male B. reversus.
