Phelister haemorrhous Marseul, 1854

Caterino, Michael S. & Tishechkin, Alexey K., 2019, A revision of the Phelisterhaemorrhous species group (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini), ZooKeys 854, pp. 41-88 : 48-49

Phelister haemorrhous Marseul, 1854 Figs 1, 2; Map 1

Phelister haemorrhous Marseul, 1854: 476.

Phelister egenus Marseul, 1854: 480; Mazur 1984.

Phelister rubicundus Marseul, 1889: cxlvi; syn. nov.

Type material.

Lectotype, hereby designated: "Phelister haemorrhous M., Italie?, Digot" [the question mark is written on the label]/ "Museum Paris, Coll. de Marseul 2842-90"/ “Type” / "Lectotype Phelister haemorrhous Marseul, 1853, M.S.Caterino and A.K.Tishechkin des. 2010", MNHN.

Types of synonyms. Phelister rubicundus Marseul, 1889: Lectotype, hereby designated: "Am. Mer" / "Phelister rubicundus Mars Type" / "Lectotype Phelister rubicundus Marseul, 1889, M.S.Caterino and A.K.Tishechkin des. 2010", NHMUK. Phelister egenus Marseul, 1854b: Lectotype, hereby designated: “Carthagena”, MNHN; Paralectotype with same data in NHMUK.

Diagnostic description.

Length: 1.85-2.29 mm (avg. 2.03 mm); width: 1.58-1.89 mm (avg. 1.69 mm). Body elongate-oval, widest behind humeri, humeri slightly wider than base of pronotum; anterior of body black, posterolateral corners of elytra, pygidia, legs, and terminal abdominal ventrites distinctly reddish; entire dorsum finely punctulate, the pronotum more densely so than the elytra; frons finely punctulate, impressed along midline, supraorbital stria complete, frontal stria interrupted at middle, slightly sinuate at sides; labrum wide, distinctly emarginate apically; both mandibles with strong tooth on inner edges; pronotum lacking lateral and anterior submarginal striae; pronotal disk with larger punctures interspersed with finer punctures along lateral thirds; elytron with single, complete epipleural stria, outer subhumeral stria present in apical third, inner subhumeral stria absent, dorsal striae 1-4 complete, stria 5 complete or abbreviated at base, and sutural stria obsolete in basal third, diverging from the suture anteriad; propygidium with distinct secondary punctures separated by slightly greater than their widths, denser at sides; pygidium more finely punctate; prosternal keel with two complete striae, finely united by anterior arch, free, diverging posteriorly, finely punctulate between in both sexes; mesoventral marginal stria complete, weakly crenulate, continued at sides by postmesocoxal stria which recurves more or less evenly to anterolateral corner of metaventrite; mesometaventral stria complete, crenulate at middle, curving posteriad to near inner corner of metacoxa; first abdominal ventrite with single, complete lateral stria; protibia with apex obliquely truncate, outer margin weakly rounded, bearing ca. six evenly spaced marginal spines; meso- and metatibiae weakly expanded to apex, mesotibia with ca. five marginal spines, more prominent toward apex, metatibia with distinct spines confined to apical fourth. Aedeagus with basal piece ca. one-fourth total length; tegmen widest just beyond middle, narrowed to apex, apices thin, with deep apical emargination; median lobe short, simple.

Remarks.

As the type of the genus Phelister , P. haemorrhous is both typical in many respects, and somewhat unusual. Its distinctive posterior elytral and abdominal coloration is unmistakable, and this, in combination with dentate mandibles, a complete, recurved postmesocoxal stria, complete lateral pronotal stria, and presence of conspicuous lateral pronotal punctures, will easily distinguish it. There are cases where the reddish color is obscure, but the other characters in combination should still allow it to be recognized.

While the species’ type locality is in Europe (Italy), it is clearly a Neotropical species. There is some uncertainty whether it was ever, in fact, collected in Europe. Vienna (1980) and Penati (2009) specifically dismiss its alleged (e.g., Mazur 1984, 1997) occurrence in Sardinia, and Penati (2009) furthermore makes a strong case that specimens reported from Sardinia as P. haemorrhous , in fact, represent a species of Epierus ( Tribalinae). Earlier, Auzat (1925) suggested that no previous records of Phelister for Europe were bona fide (neither P. haemorrhous nor P. rouzeti ). The label on the type of P. haemorrhous does include a question mark after ‘Italie’, and it seems most likely that Marseul received this in a mixed shipment and never, himself, believed the specimen to have originated in Italy.

This species was recently designated to be the type of Phelister following the suppression of an inadvertent designation of a Baconia species as Phelister 's type ( Caterino and Tishechkin 2013c; ICZN 2015).

Biology.

This species is most commonly encountered in cattle dung. It has also been collected in pitfall traps using a few other types of bait, including human and pig dung. A few specimens have been taken in more general situations, in rotting vegetation (compost) and under the bark of rotten trees.

Distribution.

Phelister haemorrhous is among the more widespread Phelister species, extending from Argentina into the southern United States, and possibly having been introduced into Europe (see caveats above). This wide distribution almost certainly owes to its common association with cattle dung, and it has probably expanded its range with cattle production in the New World. Records: ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires, Chaco, Córdoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Salta, San Juan; BELIZE: Orange Walk; BOLIVIA: Bení, Santa Cruz; BRAZIL: Amazonas, Ceará, Goias, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Tocantins; COLOMBIA: Amazonas, Antioquia, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Tolima, Valle de Cauca; COSTA RICA: Guanacaste, Puntarenas; CUBA: Habana, Sierra Bonilla; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Monte Cristi, Samaná; ECUADOR: Guayas, Napo; EL SALVADOR: San Salvador; FRENCH GUIANA: Cayenne, Sinnamary, St. Laurent du Maroni; GRENADA; GUATEMALA: Bobas; HAITI: Pic la Selle, Trouin; JAMAICA: Kingston; MEXICO: Chiapas, Veracruz; NICARAGUA: Granada, Region Norte Autónomo; PANAMA: Colón, Panamá; PARAGUAY: Alta Paraguay; PERU: Ucayali; SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES: Saint Vincent; SURINAME: Pará, Saramacca; TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: St. George, Trinidad; URUGUAY: Canelones, Colonia, Montevideo, Salto, San José; VENEZUELA: Aragua, Capital, Sucre; USA: Alabama: Mobile; Arizona: Maricopa; Florida: Alachua, Franklin; Georgia: Tifton, Wheeler; Louisiana: East Baton Rouge, Iberville; Mississippi: Harrison, Jackson, Oktibbeha; South Carolina: Beaufort, Spartanburg; Texas: Brazos, Burleson, Cameron, Gillespie, Hidalgo, Nueces, Wood.