Eccoptolonthus Bernhauer 1912
Creators: name: Fei, Xu-Dong
name: Zhou, Hong-Zhang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Eccoptolonthus

description: The Genus Eccoptolonthus Bernhauer, 1912
Type species: Philonthus (Eccoptolonthus) conradti Bernhauer, 1912.
Bernhauer, 1912: 206 (subgenus of Philonthus, species included: conradti); Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914: 326 (synonym of Philonthus); Cameron, 1932: 62 (subgenus of Philonthus); Blackwelder, 1943: 399 (subgenus of Philonthus, type species: conradti); Blackwelder, 1952: 138 (subgenus of Philonthus, type species: conradti); Herman, 2001a: 2733 (subgenus of Philonthus); Newton, 2015: 13 (as valid genus, not subgenus or synonym of Philonthus Curtis, catalog); Schillhammer, 2015: 23, 24 (new synonyms and new combinations of Eccoptolonthus); Schülke & Smetana, 2015: 1021 (Eccoptolonthus, catalog); Chani-Posse, et al. 2018: 34 (two species of Hesperus transferred to Eccoptolonthus); Li, 2019: 424 (Eccoptolonthus, catalog of Chinese); Mikátová, 2020: 386 (catalogue of type specimens of Eccoptolonthus in Czech Republic); Hayashi, 2020: 135 (a new subgenus of Eccoptolonthus).
Syn.: Pseudohesperus Hayashi, 2008: 146 (new genus, type species: Philonthus rutiliventris Sharp, 1874); Hromádka, 2010: 495 (revised the Afrotropical fauna of Pseudohesperus); Li & Zhou, 2011: 679 (revised China fauna of Pseudohesperus); Schillhammer, 2011: 147 (a new species of Pseudohesperus); Newton, 2015: 12 (synonym of Eccoptolonthus); Hromádka, 2016: 376 (a new species of Pseudohesperus); Mikátová, 2020: 386 (catalogue of type specimens of Eccoptolonthus in Czech Republic)
Subgenus: Eumorimotous Hayashi, 2020: 136 (type species: Eccoptolonthus (Eumorimotous) laevigatus (Fauvel, 1895)).
Diagnosis: The genus Eccoptolonthus was characterized in great detail by Hayashi (2008), Hromádka (2010) and Li & Zhou (2011): the genus is closely allied to Bisnius Stephens, 1829 and Gabrius Stephens, 1829, because of the similar structure of protarsi, but is easily distinguishable from them by the following characters: (1) maxillary and labial palpi with fourth segment rod-like; (2) gular sutures gradually convergent posteriad to the neck constriction, not parallel in posterior (basal) half; (3) chaetotaxy of the pronotum composed of only a pair of anterolateral macrosetae, basolateral setae absent; (4) mesoventrite with apical portion distinctly and abruptly convex ventrad, without transverse carina; (5) sternite IX of males in most species with a pair of long appendages and without any long erect bristles; only a few with short appendages.
Taxonomic history: the name Eccoptolonthus Bernhauer, 1912 was treated as a subgenus of the genus Philonthus Stephens, 1829 (Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914; Cameron, 1932; Blackwelder, 1943; Blackwelder, 1952; Tottenham, 1962; Herman, 2001a) and included only a few species: Philonthus (Eccoptolonthus) conradti Bernhauer, 1912 as the type species, Philonthus (Eccoptolonthus) eccoptomus Tottenham, 1962, and another un-named one mentioned by Tottenham (1962).
In contrast, the genus Pseudohesperus Hayashi, 2008 was established as a separate genus and it was treated as valid for a long time after its description. In the original paper, Hayashi (2008) transferred the type species, Philonthus rutiliventris Sharp, 1874 and Philonthus eustilbus Kraatz, 1859 from the genus Philonthus to Pseudohesperus. Hromádka (2010) revised the Afrotropical fauna, namely, P. apsilus Hromádka, 2010, P. tauraco Hromádka, 2010, P. tyto Hromádka, 2010, P. varanus Hromádka, 2010, P. conradti (Bernhauer, 1912), P. eccoptomus (Tottenham, 1962), P. proselytus (Bernhauer, 1912), P. bafutensis (Levasseur, 1967), and P. natalensis (Scheerpeltz, 1956). At the same time Hesperus longicornis Cameron, 1950 was synonymized with Pseudohesperus conradti (Bernhauer, 1912) (Hromádka, 2010). Schillhammer (2011) described another species, Pseudohesperus ernsti Schillhammer, 2011. In the same year, Li & Zhou (2011) revised the Chinese fauna with a phylogenetic analysis of Philonthina and reported six Chinese species, of which four were described as new: Pseudohesperus luteus Li & Zhou, 2011; P. pedatiformis Li & Zhou, 2011; P. sparsipunctatus Li & Zhou, 2011 and P. tripartitus Li & Zhou, 2011.
The taxonomy of Pseudohesperus was maintained as above until Newton (2015), following the concept of Hromádka (2010), recognized that Pseudohesperus Hayashi, 2008 should be as a synonym of Eccoptolonthus Bernhauer, 1912. As a result, all the species included previously in Pseudohesperus were transferred to Eccoptolonthus Bernhauer, 1912 (Newton 2015). In the same year, Schillhammer (2015) confirmed this generic synonymy and transferred Philonthus gastralis Sharp, 1874, Philonthus hongkongensis Bernhauer, 1931 and Philonthus lassallei Coiffait, 1981 to Eccoptolonthus. In the same paper, Philonthus insignitus Fauvel, 1875 and Philonthus longipalpis Kashcheev, 1999 were synonymized with Eccoptolonthus rutiliventris (Sharp, 1874) (Schillhammer, 2015). Hromádka (2016) described another species but under Pseudohesperus: Pseudohesperus terezae Hromádka, 2016. The correct combination under Eccoptolonthus was given by Mikátová et al. (2020). Chani-Posse et al. (2018) reported the results of phylogenetic analyses, which supported the transfer of two Hesperus species to this genus: Eccoptolonthus laevigatus (Fauvel, 1895) and Eccoptolonthus roepkei (Bernhauer, 1911). Hayashi (2020) reported the newest findings and erected the subgenus Eumorimotous Hayashi, 2020 in the genus Eccoptolonthus, with one species and one subspecies described: Eccoptolonthus (Eumorimotous) morimotoi Hayashi, 2020 and Eccoptolonthus (Eumorimotous) laevigatus tiomanensis Hayashi, 2020. Eccoptolonthus (Eumorimotous) wasmanni (Fauvel, 1895) was also transferred from Hesperus to this genus.
In conclusion, there were 24 species and one subspecies included in the genus Eccoptolonthus Bernhauer, 1912 before this study (Bernhauer, 1912; Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914; Cameron, 1932; Blackwelder, 1943; Blackwelder, 1952; Tottenham, 1962; Herman, 2001a; Hayashi, 2008; Hromádka, 2010; Li & Zhou, 2011; Schillhammer, 2011; Newton, 2015; Schillhammer, 2015; Hromádka, 2016; Chani-Posse, 2018; Newton, 2019; Hayashi, 2020). Our study contributed new findings after revising the above-mentioned studies.
Key to the Chinese species of the genus Eccoptolonthus
1. Male sternite VIII with a pair of long appendages (Figs. 7D, 9H, 11D)........................................... 2
- Male sternite VIII without a pair of long appendages (Figs. 1D, 3E, 5D).......................................... 8
2. Head with distinct microsculpture........................................................................ 3
- Head without microsculpture............................................................................ 5
3. Paramere weakly constricted at midlength in ventral view: paramere at narrowest part more than half the corresponding width of median lobe (Fig. 11B)............................................................................... 4
- Paramere strongly constricted at midlength in ventral view: paramere at narrowest part less than half the corresponding width of median lobe (Fig. 7B)..................................................... E. fuyuensis Fei & Zhou, sp. nov.
4. Male tergite X with arcuate medioapical emargination.................................. E. rutiliventris (Sharp, 1874)
- Male tergite X with acute triangular medioapical emargination................ E. xiaolongmenensis Fei & Zhou, sp. nov.
5. Antennae black, with apical three or four antennomeres yellowish white; abdomen black with reddish yellow posterior margins in 3rd, 4th, 7th and 8th ventrites; 5th and 6th brownish red; inner face of paramere sparingly scattered with about 16 peg-setae along margins in apical third................................ E. (Eumorimotous) laevigatus laevigatus (Fauvel, 1895)
- Antennae black, with antennomeres I–III to various extent reddish-brown, antennomere XI or antennomeres X–XI dark brown; abdomen black; paramere with more than 16 peg-setae....................................................... 6
6. Eyes very large, 1.75–2.33 times as long as tempora; pronotum with sparse punctures; paramere much wider and underside of paramere with larger number of peg setae..................................... E. sparsipunctatus (Li & Zhou, 2011)
- Eyes flat, 1.3 times as long as tempora; pronotum with dense punctures.......................................... 7
7. Pronotum longer than broad; apex of abdomen dark.................................................................................................................................. E. hongkongensis (Bernhauer, 1931)
- Pronotum about as long as broad; apex of abdomen reddish-yellow.......................... E. eustilbus (Kraatz, 1859)
8. Paramere trilobed..................................................................................... 9
- Paramere with single lobe............................................................................. 11
9. Eyes longer than tempora.................................................... E. pedatiformis (Li & Zhou, 2011)
- Eyes shorter than tempora............................................................................. 10
10. Middle lobe of paramere distinctly exceeding median lobe, apex of median lobe with discernible terminal angles in ventral view....................................................................... E. ernsti (Schillhammer, 2011)
- Middle lobe of paramere not exceeding median lobe, median lobe distinctly narrowed into subacute apex in ventral view.............................................................................. E. tripartitus (Li & Zhou, 2011)
11. Sensory peg setae form two circular groups in ventral view (Fig. 3C).................. E. dafoensis Fei & Zhou, sp. nov.
- Sensory peg setae uniformly distributed in the apex......................................................... 12
12. Pronotum as long as elytra; elytra obscure-brownish...................................... E. gastralis (Sharp, 1874)
- Pronotum shorter than elytra, elytra black-brown with suture and posterior margin markedly reddish-brown............ 13
13. Eyes about 1.25–1.67 times as long as tempora; paramere conical, weakly, gradually broadening towards base; male tergite X broadly emarginate at apex; male sternite IX with basal portion weakly deflexed laterad........ E. luteus (Li & Zhou, 2011)
- Eyes about 0.8 times as long as tempora; paramere cylindrical, strongly broadened from the middle to base; male tergite X with smaller, triangular medioapical emargination; male sternite IX with basal portion sharply deflexed laterad (Figs. 1 F-G).............................................................................. E. conaensis Fei & Zhou sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Fei, Xu-Dong & Zhou, Hong-Zhang, 2021, Revision of Eccoptolonthus Bernhauer (Coleoptera: Staphylininae: Philonthina) with descriptions of four new species from China, pp. 473-498 in Zootaxa 4949 (3) on pages 474-476, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4949.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/4640469