A New Genus and Species of North American Exosternini Associated with Cavity-Nesting Owls and a Reassignment of Phelister simoni Lewis (Coleoptera: Histeridae: Histerinae) Author(s): Michael S. Caterino, Alexey K. Tishechkin and Glenn A. Proudfoot Source: The Coleopterists Bulletin, 67(4):557-565. Published By: The Coleopterists Society DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-67.4.557 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1649/0010-065X-67.4.557 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/ terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder. BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research. The Coleopterists Bulletin, 67(4): 557–565. 2013. ANEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF NORTH AMERICAN EXOSTERNINI ASSOCIATED WITH CAVITY-NESTING OWLS AND A REASSIGNMENT OF PHELISTER SIMONI LEWIS (COLEOPTERA:HISTERIDAE:HISTERINAE) MICHAEL S. CATERINO Department of Invertebrate Zoology Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, U.S.A. [email protected] ALEXEY K. TISHECHKIN Louisiana State Arthropod Museum Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University 404 Life Sciences Building Baton Rouge, LA 70803-1710, U.S.A. [email protected] AND GLENN A. PROUDFOOT Department of Biology, Vassar College 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, U.S.A. [email protected] ABSTRACT We describe Strigister Caterino, Tishechkin, and Proudfoot new genus (Coleoptera: Histeridae: Histerinae: Exosternini) for Strigister tecolotito Caterino, Tishechkin, and Proudfoot new species and for Strigister simoni (Lewis, 1889) new combination. These species are excluded from Phelister Marseul based on several unique characters, especially transverse slits on the prosternal keel and a single v-shaped annulus on the antennal club, and the genus is suggested to be more closely related to Baconia Lewis. Strigister tecolotito has been found exclusively in association with nests of the ferru- ginous pygmy-owl (Glaucidium brasilianum (Gmelin)) and the Eastern screech-owl (Megascops asio (L.)) in extreme southern Texas, USA. Strigister simoni is known only from the type specimen, lacking ecological data, from Venezuela. Key Words: taxonomy, inquiline, Neotropical region, Nearctic region, ferruginous pygmy-owl, Eastern screech-owl, cavity-nesting birds Phelister simoni was described by George transverse incision dividing the flat posterior Lewis in 1889 and was immediately recognized and ascending anterior halves. This incision as unusual. He noted that “those who study the appears to form a simple trichome, somewhat com- family will be able to form an idea of its pecu- parable to that found in the genus Peploglyptus liarities and to judge whether or not I have LeConte (see Caterino 2005), initially suggesting assigned it rightly to Phelister” (Lewis 1889). myrmecophilous habits to the present authors. The time of his foreseen reckoning has come. The Lewis (1889) did not note the unique antennal avenue by which it has come is through the fortu- club of the species, with a single, glabrous, v-shaped itous discovery of a close relative by the third author annulus, which also sets it strongly apart from in the course of studies of the arthropod fauna of other species of Phelister Marseul (and prohibits owl nest boxes in south Texas. The first two authors its keying out in Kovarik and Caterino 2001), recognized the affinity of this new species with which typically have two annuli marked by a P. s i m o n i immediately, but only in the course of simple setal row (Caterino and Tishechkin, unpub- ongoing studies of the entire Exosternini did their lished data), but this further underscores its awk- true uniqueness become clear. ward placement in Phelister. The main feature that Lewis identified as pecu- The new species described herein exhibits both liar in P. simoni was its prosternal keel, which he of these unique features. It was collected in suffi- took the trouble to figure. The keel bears a median cient numbers to provide males and females for 557 558 THE COLEOPTERISTS BULLETIN 67(4), 2013 dissection and fresh specimens for DNA extrac- Strigister Caterino, Tishechkin, tion. As phylogenetic relationships across the and Proudfoot, new genus New World Exosternini have become clearer (Caterino and Tishechkin, unpublished data), Type species: Strigister tecolotito Caterino, Tishechkin, the isolated position of this pair of species has and Proudfoot, new species become obvious. Analyses utilizing over 200 mor- Description. Size: Length 2.3–2.9 mm; width phological characters, and sequences of 18S, 28S, 2.0–2.7 mm. Body: Body piceous, elongate oval, and the mitochondrial COI gene, strongly support sides rounded, moderately strongly convex dorso- a position of these species close to the genus ventrally. Head: Frons flat to weakly convex, with Baconia Lewis (the species of which are treated frontal stria complete along inner edge of eye, in Caterino and Tishechkin 2013b). In fact, sev- recurved dorsad, acute at middle; supraorbital stria eral analyses have placed them within Baconia. absent; epistoma weakly depressed, shallowly However, because this is somewhat parameter- emarginate apically; labrum about 4X as wide as dependent, and because these species do not share long, emarginate apically; mandibles strongly bent any of the morphological characters that we con- mediad, with very strongly pointed apices, right sider to support Baconia monophyly, we consider mandible with simple, acute tooth at base of inci- their most likely placement to be as sister-group to sor edge, left mandible with weakly bifid tooth Baconia, at least among taxa sampled to date at base; submentum produced into base of oral (which does include nearly all worldwide genera cavity; mentum about 3X wider than long, emar- of Exosternini). As such, a new genus to accom- ginate apically, with numerous long setae; maxil- modate this highly distinctive lineage is necessary lary cardo bare, stipes with several long setae and appropriate. near lateral margin, ultimate labial and maxillary palpomeres narrowed, subulate apically; antennal MATERIAL AND METHODS scape slightly longer than funicle, sides uneven, slightly widened apically, bluntly dentate apico- The morphological terminology used is that medially; funicle widening to cupuliform 8th antenno- defined by Wenzel and Dybas (1941), supple- mere; antennal club small, about length of apical mented by Helava et al. (1985) and Ôhara (1994). 3 funicular antennomeres, increasingly setose Most characters are illustrated and annotated in toward apex, with single evident, weakly v-shaped Caterino and Tishechkin (2013a, b). Following annulus. Pronotum: Pronotal sides narrowed histerid conventions, total body length is measured slightly from base to apex, disk without obvious from the anterior margin of the pronotum to the gland openings, marginal stria complete along posterior margin of the elytra (to exclude preserva- side, interrupted at anterior corner and behind head, tion variability in head and pygidial extension), submarginal stria complete along lateral and ante- while width is taken at the widest point, generally rior margins; pronotal disk lacking prescutellar near the elytral humeri. Conventional imaging was impression, variously sculptured. Elytra:Elytral done using a Visionary Digital’s ‘Passport’ portable disk with conspicuous ground punctation, sec- imaging system, which incorporates a Canon 7D ondary punctation denser apically; striae somewhat with MP-E 65mm 1–5X macro zoom lens. Images varied, but with most dorsal striae more or less were stacked using Helicon Focus software. Scan- complete. Prosternum: Prosternal keel truncate to ning electron microscopy imaging was done on a weakly emarginate basally, with weak or no carinal Zeiss EVO 40 scope, and the specimen was sputter striae basally, middle of keel interrupted by deep coated with gold. Additional photographs of these transverse incision, anterior to which the keel pro- species are available through the Encyclopedia of file is depressed, with anterior carinal striae diverg- Life (www.eol.org). ing from incision; prosternal lobe about two-thirds The following collections are referenced in as long as keel, truncate to weakly emarginate api- the paper: cally, with very fine marginal stria. Mesoventrite: Mesoventral disk about 3X wider than long, ante- AMNH The American Museum of Natural His- rior margin truncate to weakly produced, marginal tory, New York, USA stria complete, with varied anterolateral strioles. BMNH The Natural History Museum, London, UK Metaventrite: Mesometaventral stria complete FMNH The Field Museum, Chicago, USA across front, continued by lateral metaventral stria LSAM Louisiana State Arthropod Museum, toward metacoxa; postmesocoxal stria present,