Revision of the Neotropical water scavenger beetle genus Novochares Girón & Short (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae, Acidocerinae)

The water scavenger beetle genus Novochares Girón & Short, 2021 is revised using a combination of adult morphological and DNA sequence data. Thirty-eight new species are described: Novochares aperito sp. nov. (Bolivia), N. baca sp. nov. (Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname), N. bidens sp. nov. (Brazil), N. bisinuatus sp. nov. (Brazil), N. clavieri sp. nov. (Brazil, French Guiana, Peru), N. danta sp. nov. (Venezuela), N. dentatus sp. nov. (Ecuador, Venezuela), N. dicranospathus sp. nov. (Peru), N. duo sp. nov. (Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela), N. fernandezae sp. nov. (Brazil, Peru, Venezuela), N. florifer sp. nov. (Brazil), N. furcatus sp. nov. (Brazil), N. garciai sp. nov. (Venezuela), N. garfo sp. nov. (Brazil), N. geminus sp. nov. (Brazil), N. kawsay sp. nov. (Ecuador, Peru), N. latus sp. nov. (Brazil), N. minor sp. nov. (Peru, Suriname, Venezuela), N. mojenos sp. nov. (Bolivia), N. mura sp. nov. (Brazil), N. orchis sp. nov. (Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname), N. pastinum sp. nov. (Ecuador), N. pertusus sp. nov. (Brazil), N. piaroa sp. nov. (Venezuela), N. pilatus sp. nov. (Venezuela), N. pume sp. nov. (Venezuela), N. punctatostriatus sp. nov. (Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname), N. quadrispinus sp. nov. (Brazil, Guyana, Suriname), N. spangleri sp. nov. (Peru), N. tambopatense sp. nov. (Peru), N. tenedor sp. nov. (Guyana, Venezuela), N. triangularis sp. nov. (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay), N. tridentis sp. nov. (Brazil), N. trifurcatus sp. nov. (Peru), N. unguis sp. nov. (Bolivia, Peru), N. xingu sp. nov. (Brazil), and N. yanomami sp. nov. (Venezuela), N. yora sp. nov. (Peru). One new synonym is proposed: N. carmona (Short, 2005) syn. nov. was determined to be a junior subjective synonym of N. chaquensis (Fernández, 1982). Novochares inornatus (d’Orchymont, 1926) is considered incertae sedis. Updated distributions and new records are provided for most previously described species in the genus. Novochares sallaei (Sharp, 1882) is considered native to the USA (Florida) and not an introduced species as previously suggested. Novochares now contains 52 species and spans the entire Neotropical region from Mexico to Argentina, including the Caribbean islands.