Stephanus was proposed by Jurine (1807), in a somehow unfortunate way, because it was based in an atypical species for the group. Brulle (1846), noticing the peculiarities of the type species of Stephanus, proposed Megischus to all other species in that taxon, leaving S. serrator (Fabricius, 1798) as the only valid species for the original genus. However, only a few authors agreed with this, and most stephanid species were still being described as Stephanus for more than a century after Brulle's proposition. Megischus would be definitely accepted only after the revision of Townes (1949). In the mean time, Enderlein (1906) proposed two new genera (Hemistephanus and Parastephanellus), both of them supported on the basis of venational characters of the front wing. However, no further investigation was conducted to support Enderlein's ideias, and the discussion remained a matter of personal opinion. Townes (1949), for example, considered Hemistephanus as a synonym for Megischus. Aguiar (1998), however, presents new evidences supporting the genus Hemistephanus, and, at the same time, points out to the current instability of the genus Megischus, which is still a highly heterogeneous and poorly defined group.
This page last updated: March 11, 1998.