Reichardtia Wenzel, 1944

Lackner, Tomas & Leschen, Richard A. B., 2017, A monograph of the Australopacific Saprininae (Coleoptera, Histeridae), ZooKeys 689, pp. 1-263 : 53-54

Reichardtia Wenzel, 1944 Figs 240, 241-252, 253-255, 256-262, 758

Reichardtia Wenzel, 1944: 91. Type species Saprinus pedator Sharp, 1876, original designation.

Diagnosis.

Cuticle light to dark brown, without metallic luster, entire dorsal surface glabrous; mandibles massive, strongly carinate dorsally; clypeus large, triangular and strongly convex; supraorbital and frontal striae absent; pronotal depressions absent; pronotal hypomeron with long yellow setae; prosternal foveae absent; prosternal apophysis strongly constricted between procoxae, prosternal process thence strongly expanded; both sets of prosternal striae absent, prosternal process setose; mesoventrite constricted between mesocoxae; all femora, meso- and metatibiae strongly swollen; protibia with a dense row of long thin denticles on outer margin; meso- and metatibiae with rows of setigerous punctures.

Biology.

This is a monotypic psammophilous taxon found on the beach under carrion or kelp at depths of 20 cm or more, occasionally also collected walking on sand surface.

Distribution.

Reichardtia is endemic to New Zealand and is found on both North and South Islands, but absent from off-shore islands (Fig. 758).

Remarks.

Based on the characters outlined above, especially the leg morphology, it is impossible to confuse Reichardtia pedator with any other taxon in the region. This New Zealand monotypic endemic is characterized by numerous autapomorphies, including almost impunctate dorsal surface in combination with the absence of supraorbital and frontal striae and a setose pronotal hypomeron. It is a rather derived member of the subfamily ( Lackner 2014d), belonging to a global psammophilous clade. In the analysis of the senior author (loc. cit.) Reichardtia was recovered inside a purported monophyletic group Australopachylopus lepidulus ( Reichardtia pedator + Reichardtiolus pavlovskii ). However, as already noted by Leschen and Ôhara (2017) this relationship will probably not hold true as the characters uniting the triad may be a result of convergence, rather than synapomorphy.