Diphytaxis excavata Horn, 1890

Otto, Robert L., 2022, New state records for 33 species of Nearctic false click beetles (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae), Insecta Mundi 2022 (934), pp. 1-13 : 9

Diphytaxis excavata Horn, 1890

Recently, an image of the species was submitted for identification on bugguide.net in 2020 by William Hull. It was identified as D. excavata , a highly diagnostic species newly recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio and a first record for the lower Great Lakes region. Additionally, I received a personal correspondence from Art Evans a few years ago regarding the new record of this species in Virginia. These two records greatly expand the range of the species, as it was previously thought to be restricted in south-central United States. This rarely encountered eucnemid species was previously known from Belize, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico and newly recorded in Costa Rica (pers. obs.). In the United States, D. excavata has now been taken in Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia ( Muona 2000; Otto 2011a; Hull 2020; Evans, pers. comm.).