Species of the genus Papuacites are micropterous and have strongly or very strongly reduced wings. They are rather narrow and small which is in contrast to the larger and robust species of the genus Anthracites Redtenbacher, 1891 from which they also differ by the narrow instead of wide lateral lobes of the pronotum and by the male titillators which are nearly uniform within Papuacites but differ markedly between species in Anthracites. Instead, in Papuacites the male cerci and the female subgenital plates vary significantly between species and are an important character for differentiation of species.

Studying a rich collection of short-winged Agraeciini from the Solomon Islands and New Guinea revealed 16 new species of the formerly insuffiently known genus Papuacites. which are described and illustrated below. Separate keys to males and to females for differentiation of the species of Papuacites are also given.