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Description of the male of Ctenophilothis altus (Lewis, 1885): Supplement to the revision of the genus Ctenophilothis Kryzhanovskij, 1987 (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Saprininae)

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A description of the male, including illustrations of the male genitalia, and a colour image of the habitus of the extremely rare species Ctenophilothis altus (Lewis, 1885) are provided for the first time. Further support for the monophyly of the genus Ctenophilothis Kryzhanovskij, 1987 is given.
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Description of the male of Ctenophilothis altus (Lewis, 1885):
supplement to the revision of the genus Ctenophilothis
Kryzhanovskij, 1987 (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Saprininae)
Tomáš Lackner1
1 Czech University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Department of Forest Protection and Entomology, Kamýcká 1176,
CZ-165 21 Praha 6 – Suchdol, Czech Republic
http://zoobank.org/DB9F0BB4-BB76-496F-B7A0-A7991AE1AA6B
Corresponding author: Tomáš Lackner (tomaslackner@me.com)
Abstract
A description of the male, including illustrations of the male genitalia, and a colour image
of the habitus of the extremely rare species Ctenophilothis altus (Lewis, 1885) are pro-
vided for the rst time. Further support for the monophyly of the genus Ctenophilothis
Kryzhanovskij, 1987 is given.
Key Words
Coleoptera
Histeridae
Saprininae
Ctenophilothis
In 2013 I published a revision of the genus Ctenophilothis
Kryzhanovskij, 1987 (Lackner 2013). At the time of that
revision this genus consisted of only two psammophilous
Saharan species, both very rare. Although C. chobauti
(Théry, 1900) has been found several times in the Moroc-
can and Algerian Sahara (Olexa 1990, Gomy et al. 2014),
the other species, C. altus (Lewis, 1885) was known only
from the female holotype and another female, collected
in upper Egypt (Lackner 2013). During my recent visit
to the Zoological Museum of the Humboldt University
Berlin, Germany (ZMHUB) I discovered in the collection
a male of this species, collected in Asyut, central Egypt.
In this short correspondence I publish the discovery
of the third specimen of the extremely rare C. altus, to-
gether with the color image and illustration of its hith-
erto unknown male genitalia. Both Egyptian localities
of this species are likewise mapped herein. As already
noted by Lackner (2013) the genus Ctenophilothis is
most probably monophyletic, sharing e.g. the absence
of the antennal cavity, shortened or strongly reduced
Received 11 August 2014
Accepted 9 September 2014
Published 24 October 2014
Academic editor:
Alexey Solodovnikov
lateral costa of the antennal groove or the peculiar shape
of protibia (Lackner 2013: 281). The comparison of the
male genitalia of both species reveals their striking sim-
ilarities as well (compare gs 2–10 with those of Lack-
ner 2013, gs 11–17) suggesting further support for the
genus’ monophyly. The main difference between the
male terminalia lies in the shape of spiculum gastrale
that in C. chobauti belongs to the most common type
found in the Saprininae, having both ‘head’ and ‘stem’
sensu Caterino and Tishechkin (2013). On the other
hand, the spiculum gastrale of C. altus is of a rather
peculiar type, lacking typical ‘head’ or ‘stem’ (compare
gs 7–8 with those of Lackner 2013, gs 14–15). Espe-
cially seen from the lateral view, the spiculum gastrale
of C. altus is extremely at, almost without projections
(Fig. 8). According to my studies on the morphology
of the Saprininae, the shape of the spiculum gastrale
is very diverse and it was very difcult to parse this
extraordinary diversity into discrete character states
(Lackner in press).
Dtsch. Entomol. Z. 61 (2) 2014, 121–122 | DOI 10.3897/dez.61.8422
Copyright Tomáš Lackner. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Tomáš Lackner: Description of the male of Ctenophilothis altus (Lewis, 1885).....
122
The second known locality of C. altus (Asyut,
27°11’00”N 31°10’00”E) lies more south than the single
one published previously (Fig. 11). The presumed rarity of
the species can be most likely ascribed by the insufcient
collection aimed at the psammophilous Histeridae in Egypt.
While efforts aimed at collecting psammophilous Saprin-
inae of the Algerian and Moroccan Sahara yielded remark-
able results (see e.g. Olexa 1990 or Gomy et al. 2014), there
has been practically no such activity performed in Egypt.
Thanks are due to the Coleoptera curator of ZMHUB, B.
Jaeger for his help and assistance during my visit to the col-
lection as well as to Mahmoud Saleh Saleem (Riyadh, Sau-
di Arabia) for his help with the Egyptian localities. I would
also like to thank the ZMHUB for the help with the open
access of my work. This research received support from the
SYNTHESYS Project http://www.synthesys.info/, which is
nanced by the European Community Research Infrastruc-
ture Action under the FP7 Integrating Activities Program
as well as by the Internal Grant Agency (IGA n.20124364)
Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University
of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic.
References
Caterino MS, Tishechkin AK (2013) A systematic revision of Oper-
clipygus Marseul (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini). ZooKeys
271: 1–401. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.271.4062
Gomy Y, Labrique H, Francois A (2014) Contribution à la connaissance
des Histeridae du Maroc (Coleoptera) (Troisième note) 1er Partie.
Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de Mulhouse 70(2): 23–35.
Lackner T (2013) Revision of the genus Ctenophilothis Kryzhanovskij,
1987 (Coleoptera: Histeridae: Saprininae). Zootaxa 3691(2): 273–
282. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3691.2.6
Lackner T (in press) Phylogeny of the Saprininae subfamily reveals
interesting ecological shifts in the history of the subfamily (Coleop-
tera: Histeridae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Olexa A (1990) On the genus Philothis and related genera (Coleoptera:
Histeridae). Acta Entomologica Bohemoslovaca 87: 141–155.
Figure 1. Ctenophilothis altus (Lewis, 1885) habitus, dorsal view.
Figures 2–10. Ctenophilothis altus (Lewis, 1885) 2 – eighth ster-
nite and tergite, ventral view; 3 ditto, dorsal view; 4 ditto,
lateral view; 5ninth and tenth tergites, dorsal view; 6 – ditto,
lateral view; 7 – spiculum gastrale, ventral view; 8 – ditto, lateral
view; 9 – aedeagus, dorsal view; 10ditto, lateral view.
Figure 11. Distribution of Ctenophilothis altus (Lewis, 1885)
in Egypt.
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LeConte, 1845), Baconia riehli (Marseul, 1862), comb. n., Baconia scintillans sp. n., Baconia isthmia sp. n., Baconia rossi sp. n., Baconia navarretei sp. n., Baconia maculata sp. n., Baconia deliberata sp. n., Baconia excelsa sp. n., Baconia violacea (Marseul, 1853), Baconia varicolor (Marseul, 1887b), Baconia dives (Marseul, 1862), Baconia eximia (Lewis, 1888), Baconia splendida sp. n., Baconia jacinta sp. n., Baconia prasina sp. n., Baconia opulenta sp. n., Baconia illustris (Lewis, 1900), Baconia choaspites (Lewis, 1901), Baconia lewisi Mazur, 1984], Baconia salobrus group [Baconia salobrus (Marseul, 1887b), Baconia turgifrons sp. n., Baconia crassa sp. n., Baconia anthracina sp. n., Baconia emarginata sp. n., Baconia obsoleta sp. n.], Baconia ruficauda group [Baconia ruficauda sp. n., Baconia repens sp. n.], Baconia angusta group [Baconia angusta Schmidt, 1893a, Baconia incognita sp. n., Baconia guartela sp. n., Baconia bullifrons sp. n., Baconia cavei sp. n., Baconia subtilis sp. n., Baconia dentipes sp. n., Baconia rubripennis sp. n., Baconia lunatifrons sp. n.], Baconia aeneomicans group [Baconia aeneomicans (Horn, 1873), Baconia pulchella sp. n., Baconia quercea sp. n., Baconia stephani sp. n., Baconia irinae sp. n., Baconia fornix sp. n., Baconia slipinskii Mazur, 1981, Baconia submetallica sp. n., Baconia diminua sp. n., Baconia rufescens sp. n., Baconia punctiventer sp. n., Baconia aulaea sp. n., Baconia mustax sp. n., Baconia plebeia sp. n., Baconia castanea sp. n., Baconia lescheni sp. n., Baconia oblonga sp. n., Baconia animata sp. n., Baconia teredina sp. n., Baconia chujoi (Cooman, 1941), Baconia barbarus (Cooman, 1934), Baconia reposita sp. n., Baconia kubani sp. n., Baconia wallacea sp. n., Baconia bigemina sp. n., Baconia adebratti sp. n., Baconia silvestris sp. n.], Baconia cylindrica group [Baconia cylindrica sp. n., Baconia chatzimanolisi sp. n.], Baconia gibbifer group [Baconia gibbifer sp. n., B. piluliformis sp. n., Baconia maquipucunae sp. n., Baconia tenuipes sp. n., Baconia tuberculifer sp. n., Baconia globosa sp. n.], Baconia insolita group [Baconia insolita (Schmidt, 1893a), comb. n., Baconia burmeisteri (Marseul, 1870), Baconia tricolor sp. n., Baconia pilicauda sp. n.], Baconia riouka group [Baconia riouka (Marseul, 1861), Baconia azuripennis sp. n.], Baconia famelica group [Baconia famelica sp. n., Baconia grossii sp. n., Baconia redemptor sp. n., Baconia fortis sp. n., Baconia longipes sp. n., Baconia katieae sp. n., Baconia cavifrons (Lewis, 1893), comb. n., Baconia haeterioides sp. n.], Baconia micans group [Baconia micans (Schmidt, 1889a), Baconia carinifrons sp. n., Baconia fulgida (Schmidt, 1889c)], Baconia incertae sedis [Baconia chilense (Redtenbacher, 1867), Baconia glauca (Marseul, 1884), Baconia coerulea (Bickhardt, 1917), Baconia angulifrons sp. n., Baconia sanguinea sp. n., Baconia viridimicans (Schmidt, 1893b), Baconia nayarita sp. n., Baconia viridis sp. n., Baconia purpurata sp. n., Baconia aenea sp. n., Baconia clemens sp. n., Baconia leivasi sp. n., Baconia atricolor sp. n.]. 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The genus now includes the following species groups and species: Operclipygus sulcistrius group [Operclipygus lucanoides sp. n., Operclipygus schmidti sp. n., Operclipygus simplistrius sp. n., Operclipygus sulcistrius Marseul, 1870], Operclipygus mirabilis group [Operclipygus mirabilis (Wenzel & Dybas, 1941) comb. n., Operclipygus pustulifer sp. n., Operclipygus plaumanni sp. n., Operclipygus sinuatus sp. n., Operclipygus mutuca sp. n., Operclipygus carinistrius (Lewis, 1908) comb. n., Operclipygus parensis sp. n., Operclipygus schlingeri sp. n.], Operclipygus kerga group [Operclipygus kerga (Marseul, 1870), Operclipygus planifrons sp. n., Operclipygus punctistrius sp. n.], Operclipygus conquisitus group [Operclipygus bicolor sp. n., Operclipygus conquisitus (Lewis, 1902), Operclipygus friburgius (Marseul, 1864)], Operclipygus impuncticollis group [Operclipygus bickhardti sp. n., Operclipygus britannicus sp. n., Operclipygus impuncticollis (Hinton, 1935)], Operclipygus panamensis group [Operclipygus crenatus (Lewis, 1888), Operclipygus panamensis (Wenzel & Dybas, 1941)], Operclipygus sejunctus group [Operclipygus depressus (Hinton, 1935), Operclipygus itoupe sp. n., Operclipygus juninensis sp. n., Operclipygus pecki sp. n., Operclipygus punctiventer sp. n., Operclipygus sejunctus (Schmidt, 1896) comb. n., Operclipygus setiventris sp. n.], Operclipygus mortavis group [Operclipygus ecitonis sp. n., Operclipygus mortavis sp. n., Operclipygus paraguensis sp. n.], Operclipygus dytiscoides group [Operclipygus carinisternus sp. n., Operclipygus crenulatus sp. n., Operclipygus dytiscoides sp. n., Operclipygus quadratus sp. n.], Operclipygus dubitabilis group [Operclipygus dubitabilis (Marseul, 1889), Operclipygus yasuni sp. n.], Operclipygus angulifer group [Operclipygus angulifer sp. n., Operclipygus impressifrons sp. n.], Operclipygus dubius group [Operclipygus andinus sp. n., Operclipygus dubius (Lewis, 1888), Operclipygus extraneus sp. n., Operclipygus intermissus sp. n., Operclipygus lunulus sp. n., Operclipygus occultus sp. n., Operclipygus perplexus sp. n., Operclipygus remotus sp. n., Operclipygus validus sp. n., Operclipygus variabilis sp. n.], Operclipygus hospes group [Operclipygus assimilis sp. n., Operclipygus belemensis sp. n., Operclipygus bulbistoma sp. n., Operclipygus callifrons sp. n., Operclipygus colombicus sp. n., Operclipygus communis sp. n., Operclipygus confertus sp. n., Operclipygus confluens sp. n., Operclipygus curtistrius sp. n., Operclipygus diffluens sp. n., Operclipygus fusistrius sp. n., Operclipygus gratus sp. n., Operclipygus hospes (Lewis, 1902), Operclipygus ibiscus sp. n., Operclipygus ignifer sp. n., Operclipygus impositus sp. n., Operclipygus incisus sp. n., Operclipygus innocuus sp. n., Operclipygus inquilinus sp. n., Operclipygus minutus sp. n., Operclipygus novateutoniae sp. n., Operclipygus praecinctus sp. n., Operclipygus prominens sp. n., Operclipygus rileyi sp. n., Operclipygus subterraneus sp. n., Operclipygus tenuis sp. n., Operclipygus tiputinus sp. n.], Operclipygus farctus group [Operclipygus atlanticus sp. n., Operclipygus bidessois (Marseul, 1889), Operclipygus distinctus (Hinton, 1935), Operclipygus distractus (Schmidt, 1896) comb. n., Operclipygus farctissimus sp. n., Operclipygus farctus (Marseul, 1864), Operclipygus gilli sp. n., Operclipygus impressistrius sp. n., Operclipygus inflatus sp. n., Operclipygus latemarginatus (Bickhardt, 1920) comb. n., Operclipygus petrovi sp. n., Operclipygus plicatus (Hinton, 1935) comb. n., Operclipygus prolixus sp. n., Operclipygus punctifrons sp. n., Operclipygus proximus sp. n., Operclipygus subrufus sp. n.], Operclipygus hirsutipes group [Operclipygus guianensis sp. n., Operclipygus hirsutipes sp. n.], Operclipygus hamistrius group [Operclipygus arquus sp. n., Operclipygus campbelli sp. n., Operclipygus chiapensis sp. n., Operclipygus dybasi sp. n., Operclipygus geometricus (Casey, 1893) comb. n., Operclipygus hamistrius (Schmidt, 1893) comb. n., Operclipygus impressicollis sp. n., Operclipygus intersectus sp. n., Operclipygus montanus sp. n., Operclipygus nubosus sp. n., Operclipygus pichinchensis sp. n., Operclipygus propinquus sp. n., Operclipygus quinquestriatus sp. n., Operclipygus rubidus (Hinton, 1935) comb. n., Operclipygus rufescens sp. n., Operclipygus troglodytes sp. n.], Operclipygus plicicollis group [Operclipygus cephalicus sp. n., Operclipygus longidens sp. n., Operclipygus plicicollis (Schmidt, 1893)], Operclipygus fossipygus group [Operclipygus disconnectus sp. n., Operclipygus fossipygus (Wenzel, 1944), Operclipygus foveipygus (Bickhardt, 1918), Operclipygus fungicolus (Wenzel & Dybas, 1941), Operclipygus gibbulus (Schmidt, 1889) comb. n., Operclipygus olivensis sp. n., Operclipygus simplicipygus sp. n., Operclipygus subdepressus (Schmidt, 1889), Operclipygus therondi (Wenzel, 1976)], Operclipygus impunctipennis group [Operclipygus chamelensis sp. n., Operclipygus foveiventris sp. n., Operclipygus granulipectus sp. n., Operclipygus impunctipennis (Hinton, 1935) comb. n., Operclipygus latifoveatus sp. n., Operclipygus lissipygus sp. n., Operclipygus maesi sp. n., Operclipygus mangiferus sp. n., Operclipygus marginipennis sp. n., Operclipygus nicodemus sp. n., Operclipygus nitidus sp. n., Operclipygus pacificus sp. n., Operclipygus pauperculus sp. n., Operclipygus punctissipygus sp. n., Operclipygus subviridis sp. n., Operclipygus tripartitus sp. n., Operclipygus vorax sp. n.], Operclipygus marginellus group [Operclipygus ashei sp. n., Operclipygus baylessae sp. n., Operclipygus dentatus sp. n., Operclipygus formicatus sp. n., Operclipygus hintoni sp. n., Operclipygus marginellus (J.E. LeConte, 1860) comb. n., Operclipygus orchidophilus sp. n., Operclipygus selvorum sp. n., Operclipygus striatellus (Fall, 1917) comb. n.], incertae sedis: O. teapensis (Marseul, 1853) comb. n., Operclipygus punctulatus sp. n., Operclipygus lama Mazur, 1988, Operclipygus florifaunensis sp. n., Operclipygus bosquesecus sp. n., Operclipygus arnaudi Dégallier, 1982, Operclipygus subsphaericus sp. n., Operclipygus latipygus sp. n., Operclipygus elongatus sp. n., Operclipygus rupicolus sp. n., Operclipygus punctipleurus sp. n., Operclipygus falini sp. n., Operclipygus peregrinus sp. n., Operclipygus brooksi sp. n., Operclipygus profundipygus sp. n., Operclipygus punctatissimus sp. n., Operclipygus cavisternus sp. n., Operclipygus siluriformis sp. n., Operclipygus parallelus sp. n., Operclipygus abbreviatus sp. n., Operclipygus pygidialis (Lewis, 1908), Operclipygus faltistrius sp. n., Operclipygus limonensis sp. n., Operclipygus wenzeli sp. n., Operclipygus iheringi (Bickhardt, 1917), Operclipygus angustisternus (Wenzel, 1944), Operclipygus shorti sp. n. We establish the following synonymies: Phelisteroides miladae Wenzel & Dybas, 1941 and Pseudister propygidialis Hinton, 1935e = Operclipygus crenatus (Lewis, 1888); Phelister subplicatus Schmidt, 1893b = Operclipygus bidessois (Marseul, 1889). We designate lectotypes for Operclipygus sulcistrius Marseul, 1870, Phelister carinistrius Lewis, 1908, Phelister kerga Marseul, 1870, Phelister friburgius Marseul, 1864, Phelister impuncticollis Hinton, 1935, Phelister crenatus Lewis, 1888, Phelister sejunctus Schmidt, 1896, Pseudister depressus Hinton, 1935, Epierus dubius Lewis, 1888, Phelister hospes Lewis, 1902, Phelister farctus Marseul, 1864, Phelister bidessois Marseul, 1889, Phelister subplicatus Schmidt, 1893, Phelister plicatus Hinton, 1935, Phelister distinctus Hinton, 1935, Phelister distractus Schmidt, 1896, Pseudister latemarginatus Bickhardt, 1920, Phelister hamistrius Schmidt, 1893, Phelister plicicollis Schmidt, 1893, Phelister gibbulus Schmidt, 1889, Phelister subdepressus Schmidt, 1889, Phelister teapensis Marseul, 1853, Phelister pygidialis Lewis, 1908, Phelister iheringi Bickhardt, 1917, and Phelister marginellus J.E. LeConte 1860. We designate a neotype for Operclipygus conquisitus Lewis, replacing its lost type specimen.
On the genus Philothis and related genera (Coleoptera: Histeridae)
  • Olexa
Olexa A (1990) On the genus Philothis and related genera (Coleoptera: Histeridae). Acta Entomologica Bohemoslovaca 87: 141-155.
Revision of the genus Ctenophilothis Kryzhanovskij
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Lackner T (2013) Revision of the genus Ctenophilothis Kryzhanovskij, 1987 (Coleoptera: Histeridae: Saprininae). Zootaxa 3691(2): 273-282. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3691.2.6