Belongs within: Elaterinae.
Melanoxanthus is a genus of small click beetles (rarely larger than 4 mm in length) that is widespread in the Old World. Representatives have a complete frontal carina that is raised above the plane of the labrum, short, strongly serrate antenna, antennomeres often as wide as long and a pentagonal or triangulate scutellum (Calder 1996).
<==Melanoxanthus Eschscholtz 1836C96 |--*M. melanocephalus (Fabricius 1781) [=Elater melanocephalus; incl. E. nigroterminatus Macleay 1826]C96 |--M. abdominalis Candèze 1893C96 |--M. angularis Candèze 1878C96 |--M. atripennis (Macleay 1872) [=Ludius atripennis]C96 |--M. biarctus Carter 1939C96 |--M. brunneus Candèze 1878M86 |--M. columbinus Carter 1939C96 |--M. cuneiformis Candèze 1882C96 |--M. dilaticollis Candèze 1882C96 |--M. dimidiatus Candèze 1878C96 |--M. ferrugineus Candèze 1891 [=M. brunneus Candèze 1878 non Candèze 1878]C96 |--M. flavosignatus Carter 1939C96 |--M. froggatti (Macleay 1888) (see below for synonymy)C96 |--M. futilis (Candèze 1887) [=Megapenthes futilis]C96 |--M. insolitus Carter 1939C96 |--M. jucundus Carter 1939C96 |--M. lativittis Carter 1939C96 |--M. melanurusF89 |--M. ruficollis Candèze 1878C96 |--M. rufoniger Carter 1939C96 `--M. semiruber Carter 1939C96
Melanoxanthus froggatti (Macleay 1888) [=Cardiophorus froggatti, Hypnoidus froggatti; incl. C. fasciolatus Macleay 1888, H. fasciolatus, Melanoxanthus fasciolatus]C96
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[C96] Calder, A. A. 1996. Click beetles: genera of the Australian Elateridae (Coleoptera). CSIRO Australia: Collingwood.
[F89] Fleutiaux, E. 1889. Contributions a la faune Indo-Chinoise. Cicindelidae et Elateridae. 1er mémoire. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6e série 9: 137–146.
[M86] Masters, G. 1886. Catalogue of the described Coleoptera of Australia. Part IV. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (2): 259–380.