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Abstract

There are about 1500 genus-group names available in the scarab subfamilies Dynastinae, Rutelinae and Cetoniinae by the end of 2023. Of these, 997 refer to currently accepted genera, 227 in Dynastinae, 261 in Rutelinae and 509 in Cetoniinae. A further >650 genus-group names are given subgeneric rank or placed in synonymy. The chronology of descriptions of currently valid genera shows similar patterns in each of the three subfamilies with many described in the 1840s, a large group in the late 1800s (especially the Cetoniinae) and early 1900s (Dynastinae and Rutelinae) and a steady increase in numbers following World War 2. We predict that discovery of new genera, as well as the potential for further splitting of mega-genera with elevation of subgenera to full generic level, will continue the upward trend, albeit somewhat balanced by combining the numerous monobasic genera.