Stenus melanopus ( Marsham, 1802 )

Ryvkin, Alexandr B., 2012, New species and records of Stenus (Nestus) of the canaliculatus group, with the erection of a new species group (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Steninae), European Journal of Taxonomy 13, pp. 1-62 : 43

What is Stenus melanopus ( Marsham, 1802) ?

Preliminary remarks

Stenus melanopus has been included in the present paper for the following reasons. Firstly, some authors consider the species to be closely related to the canaliculatus group (e.g. Betz l.c.); I believe such an interpretation to be not perfectly correct. Secondly, owing to its external resemblance to several other species, including those of the canaliculatus group, S. melanopus has been recorded repeatedly for territories where it is in fact not represented. In addition, inasmuch as my study of the material from Stephens’ collection (BM) revealed heterogeneity in the series that probably contains the type of S. melanopus , a lectotype designation appears to be called for in order to provide stability in name usage. Lastly, a preliminary analysis of the literature on the species under consideration forces me to call into question some synonyms which have been established earlier and, at least, to raise a question regarding the thorough revision of these synonyms.

A new monotypic species group, the melanopus group, is defined and diagnosed below; its differences from the canaliculatus group, as well as from other groups of the subgenus Nestus , are provided; a lectotype of S. melanopus is designated; a brief analysis of the main published records makes it possible to define the species distribution more exactly and to evaluate the reliability of the synonymy provided.