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Cephaloplectinae

W. Eugene Hall
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Paralimulodes wasmanni habitushead and prothorax, antenna of cephaloplectines
Containing group: Ptiliidae

Introduction

The subfamily Cephaloplectinae is currently composed of five genera (Cephaloplectus, Eulimulodes, Limulodes, Paralimulodes, Rodwayia) and approximately 37 species. The group is known to occur in North, Central and South America and Australia (Seevers and Dybas, 1943). All known host records associate these small beetles with ants ( Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Characteristics

'Horse-shoe crab' beetles, a common name used for cephaloplectines (formerly Limulodidae), aptly describes their general form. Characteristics of the group include absence of eyes and hind wings; prothorax large, usually convex, ventrally possessing a 'prosternal lobe' that extends into region of meso/meta-sternum; elytra truncate, usually exposing terminal abdominal segments; antennae clavate, composed of 8 to 10 segments; mesosternum with elevated process between mesocoxae; metasternum extending between mesocoxae.

Geographical Distribution

Distribution records (Seevers and Dybas, 1943; Wilson et al., 1954) include: Cephaloplectus = Neotropical; Limulodes = Neotropical, Nearctic; Paralimulodes = Nearctic, Argentina; Eulimulodes = Mexico; Rodwayia = Australia.

Taxonomic History

Matthews (1867) described Limulodes, and placed the genus within Ptiliidae. Sharp (1883) described Cephaloplectus and placed the genus within Staphylinidae. Seevers and Dybas (1943) placed Limulodinae (Ptiliidae) and Cephaloplectinae (Staphylinidae) in a new family, Limulodidae, based on morphological analysis. Dybas (1976) continued to support Limulodidae as a separate though closely related family to Ptiliidae, based on adult and larval characters. Crowson (1981) and Lawrence and Newton (1982) suggested placing Limulodidae within Ptiliidae. Recent classifications (Lawrence and Newton,1995; Newton and Thayer,1992) retain Cephaloplectinae (=Limulodinae) as a subfamily within Ptiliidae.

Phylogenetics

Until a phylogenetic analysis has been completed, the relationship of Cephaloplectinae to other members of Ptiliidae remains unknown. A preliminary analysis of cephaloplectines is currently being conducted.

References

Crowson, R.A. 1981. The biology of Coleoptera. Academic Press, New York, xii + 802 pp.

Dybas, H.S. 1976. The larval characters of featherwing and limulodid beetles and their family relationships in the Staphylinoidea. Fieldiana 70(3): 29-78.

Lawrence, J.F. and A.F. Newton, Jr. 1995. Families and subfamilies of Coleoptera (with selected genera, notes, references and data on family- group names). In J. Pakaluk and S.A. Slipinski (ed.), Biology, Phylogeny, and Classification of Coleoptera: Papers Celebrating the 80th Birthday of Roy A. Crowson. pp. 779-1006.

Lawrence, J.F. and A. F. Newton, Jr. 1982. Evolution and classification of beetles. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 13: 261-290.

Matthews, A. 1867. Description of a new genus of Trichopterygidae, lately discovered in the United States. Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. NY., 8: 406-413.

Newton, A.F., Jr. and M. K. Thayer. 1992. Current classification and family-group names in Staphyliniformia (Coleoptera). Fieldiana. Zoology. New Series, 67: 1-92.

Seevers, C.H. and H.S. Dybas. 1943. A synopsis of the Limulodidae (Coleoptera): A new family proposed for myrmecophiles of the subfamilies Limulodinae (Ptiliidae) and Cephaloplectinae (Staphylinidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 36: 546-586.

Sharp, D. 1883. Subfamily Cephaloplectinae. In Biologia Centrali-Americana. Insecta. Coleoptera, vol. 1 (2). Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 295-297.

Wilson, E.O., T. Eisner and B.D. Valentine. 1954. The beetle genus Paralimulodes Bruch in North America, with notes on morphology and behaviour (Coleoptera: Limulodidae). Psyche: 154-161.

Title Illustrations
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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Paralimulodes wasmanni habitus
Scientific Name Paralimulodes wasmanni
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1997
head and prothorax, antenna of cephaloplectines
Scientific Name Limulodes, Paralimulodes wasmanni
Body Part head and prothorax (Limulodes), antenna (Paralimulodes wasmanni) showing only eight antennal articles
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1997
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University of Arizona

Page: Tree of Life Cephaloplectinae. Authored by W. Eugene Hall. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Hall, W. Eugene. 1997. Cephaloplectinae. Version 01 January 1997 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Cephaloplectinae/9624/1997.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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