Integrative taxonomy of coastal Cafius bistriatus (Erichson) species complex (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae)

Abstract

A systematic review of the marine littoral Cafius bistriatus (Erichson) along the eastern Pacific and the western Atlantic coasts including the Caribbean Sea is presented based on morphological and molecular (COI and 28S) characters. Specimens of the Cafius bistriatus species complex [C. bistriatus, C. rufifrons Bierig, and C. sulcicollis (LeConte)] are similar to each other, including the form and structure of the aedeagus, and they can be treated as cryptic species. Detailed micromorphological characters (SEM) and molecular analyses support the validity of these three species. Intraspecific genetic divergence of COI using uncorrected p-distance among individuals of Cafius bistriatus ranged from 0% to 1.56%, while interspecific divergence among three species ranged from 4.90% to 14.59%. All three species were each supported as a single lineage using COI and 28S on both parsimony and maximum likelihood trees. Morphological characters among C. bistriatus, C. rufifrons, and C. sulcicollis are compared. Cafius bistriatus fulgens Frank is synonymized under C. bistriatus and Cafius bistriatus is redescribed with illustrations of diagnostic characters.