A revision of the Phelister haemorrhous species group (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini)

Abstract

ThePhelisterhaemorrhousspecies group is established here, revising the seventeen included species, four of which are described as new. This group is named for and contains the type species ofPhelister, so represents a core around which a modern concept of the dumping-ground genusPhelistermay be developed. The group includes several common and well-known species in the Americas, including some of the onlyPhelisterto exhibit distinctive coloration. Several of these are typically found in cattle dung, and have likely expanded beyond their native ranges as cattle spread throughout the Americas. The group contains the following species:PhelisterhaemorrhousMarseul, 1854,PhelisteraffinisJ.E. LeConte, 1859,PhelisterparallelisternusSchmidt, 1893,PhelistermobilensisCasey, 1916,PhelisterbrevistriatusCasey, 1916,Phelistersonoraesp. nov.,Phelisterwarnerisp. nov.,PhelisterpuncticollisHinton, 1935,Phelistersubrotundus(Say, 1825),Phelisterrouzeti(Fairmaire, 1850),PhelisterrufinotusMarseul, 1861,PhelisterthiemeiSchmidt, 1889,Phelisterparecissp. nov.,Phelisterbryantisp. nov.,Phelistervernus(Say, 1825),PhelisterchilicolaMarseul, 1870, andPhelisterbruchiBickhardt, 1920. We also designate the following new synonymies:PhelisterhaemorrhousMarseul (=PhelisterrubicundusMarseul, 1889,syn. nov.);Phelistersubrotundus(=PhelistercontractusCasey, 1916,syn nov.);Phelisterrouzeti(Fairmaire) (=PhelisterfairmaireiMarseul, 1861;syn. nov., =PhelisterwickhamiCasey, 1916,syn. nov.);PhelisterrufinotusMarseul, 1861 (=EpierusmarseuliiKirsch, 1873,syn. nov.); andPhelisterthiemeiSchmidt, 1889 (=PhelisterstercoricolaBickhardt, 1909,syn. nov.).

Recognition and revision of the Phelister blairi group (Histeridae, Histerinae, Exosternini)

“…Two of these, the curvipes and umens subgroups do appear monophyletic, though far from each other and the rest of the blairi group. The umens subgroup is resolved as the sister of the P. haemorrhous group, which we recently revised ( Caterino & Tishechkin, 2019 ). The rio subgroup falls out in three separate places on the tree, suggesting that the characters those species share are mostly plesiomorphies or convergences.…”

“…), but even this represents a three-fold increase over the past decade. As relationships and taxonomic limits have slowly improved, we have carved off and revised a number of subgroups/genera ( Caterino et al 2012 , 2013 ; Caterino and Tishechkin 2013a , b , 2014 , 2016 , 2019 ). However, the fauna remains a complicated one, containing many small, similar-looking species with relatively few distinguishing features.…”

Map 12 from: Caterino MS, Tishechkin AK (2020) Recognition and revision of the Phelister blairi group (Histeridae, Histerinae, Exosternini). ZooKeys 1001: 1-154. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1001.58447

“…Two of these, the curvipes and umens subgroups do appear monophyletic, though far from each other and the rest of the blairi group. The umens subgroup is resolved as the sister of the P. haemorrhous group, which we recently revised (Caterino & Tishechkin, 2019). The rio subgroup falls out in three separate places on the tree, suggesting that the characters those species share are mostly plesiomorphies or convergences.…”

Phelister Marseul, 1854 in Cuba: first West Indies records of Phelister completus Schmidt, 1893, and notes on other Cuban species (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Histerinae)

“…The group is clearly non-monophyletic and lacks diagnostic apomorphies (Caterino and Tishechkin 2015). To date, Phelister comprises 95 species in the New World (Caterino and Tishechkin 2019), with the majority of the diversity in South America.…”