Thymalini Leveille , 1888, 1830

Kolibac, Jiri, 2013, Trogossitidae: A review of the beetle family, with a catalogue and keys, ZooKeys 366, pp. 1-194 : 91-92

Tribe Thymalini Leveille, 1888

Thymalini Léveillé, A. 1888: 444.

Type genus.

Thymalus Latreille, 1802

Kireichuk, A. G. & Ponomarenko, A. G. 1990: 79 ( Meligethiellinae , new Mesozoic subfamily). Kolibáč, J. 2006: 126 (diagnosis, stat. n.). Kolibáč, J. 2007a: 366. Krivosheina , N. P. & Mamaev, B. M. 1981: 50. Lawrence, J. F. & Newton, A. F. Jr. 1995: 868 ( Protopeltinae ; Rentoniinae ). Ślipiński, S. A. 1992: 442 ( Protopeltinae , Rentoniinae )

Meligethiellinae Kireichuk & Ponomarenko, 1990

Kolibáč, J. 2006: 126 (synonymized). revalid. subfam. Note: Removed from synonymy; see the “Remarks” section for explanation of this synonymy

Protopeltini Crowson, 1966; Protopeltinae Crowson, 1970

Kolibáč, J. 2006: 126 (synonymized)

Rentoniini Crowson, 1966; Rentoniinae Crowson, 1966 ( Rentoniinae = Protopeltini + Rentoniini ; all Crowson 1966: 120); Rentoniinae Crowson, 1970 (= new status for Rentoniini , i.e. without Protopeltis )

Kolibáč, J. 2006: 126 (synonymized)

Remarks.

A recent and extensive morphological study by Lawrence et al. (2011) considered Trogossitidae and even Cleroidea polyphyletic. In their phylogenetic tree, Thymalus is included in a cluster of the nitidulid genera along with Cyclaxyra and Lamingtonium , whereas the position of Rentonellum lies in a different part of the traditional Cucujoidea , near Smicrips , Propalticus and Laemophloeus . Leschen et al. (2012) used a restricted data set adopted from the Lawrence et al. (2011) study and found Cleroidea monophyletic but Trogossitidae polyphyletic: Rentonellum was a part of the melyrid group and Thymalus formed a sister group to all the remaining cleroids. The latter authors also suggested that the subfamily Rentoniinae be re-established. It is beyond the scope of the work in hand to assess this matter; it was prepared “in-group”, without using the extensive cucujiform outgroups. The morphological evidence used in the both above papers indicates the need to check Thymalini classification again, in the context of the wider cucujiform dataset, using molecular data. A new species of " Rentonium -group" has recently been discovered in South Africa ( Leschen et al. 2012). Further new species is just described by Gimmel and Leschen (in press) together with its associated larva. It appears that the features of this larval record confirm Crowson’s earlier identification of the rentoniine larva from New Zealand ( Crowson 1966).

Since the extinct Mesozoic genera Meligethiella and Ostomalynus are excluded from Thymalini , Peltinae and Trogossitidae herein, the synonymization of the subfamily Meligethiellinae is not valid henceforth and the taxon should not be further listed in synonymy of the tribe Thymalini .

Key to genera

( Globorentonium Lawrence & Ślipiński, 2013 not included)

1	Body convex but not conglobate; elytra with conspicuous punctation	2
-	Body conglobate; elytra without sculpture (smooth) or with very fine irregular punctures or shagreened	3
2	Body extremely bulged; head including eyes covered by pronotum when viewed from above (only clypeus and labrum visible); larger species (about 4-7 mm)	Thymalus
-	Body convex but not extremely bulged; head protruding (not covered by pronotum when viewed from above); smaller species (about 2.5 mm)	Protopeltis
3	Elytra with light and dark spots; pubescence formed by short decumbent and long erect hairs	Australiodes
-	Elytra unicolorous, without spots; pubescence absent or made up of short hairs only	4
4	Elytra smooth, without pubescence, strongly involute; middle tibiae with row of spines at apex; wingless	Rentonellum
-	Elytra pubescent, not involute; middle tibiae probably without row of spines at apex; mostly winged	5
5	Middle coxal cavities widely separated; ventrites II-V with deeply transversely impressed anterior margins; last antennal segment transverse and truncate at apex; pubescence of elytra with shot-silk effect	Parentonium
-	Middle coxal cavities narrowly separated; ventrites II-V with or without weakly impressed anterior margins; last antennal segment not truncate at apex; pubescence of elytra sparse, directed backwards, without shot-silk effect	6
6	Head strongly transverse; front margin of clypeus with marked emargination; first ventrite with median keel at least in front; ventrites II-IV each with transverse line of strong backward-projecting setae near its hind border	Rentonidium
-	Head not transverse or only slightly so; front margin of clypeus almost straight; first ventrite without median keel; ventrites II-IV without such apical lines of setae	Rentonium