On the rare Neotropical genus Ophionthus Bernhauer (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae): redescription of the type species and description of a new species

Abstract

Two female specimens of the Neotropical genus Ophionthus Bernhauer were found during museum collection surveys, representing different species of the genus. These species are Ophionthus serpentinus Bernhauer, 1908 and O. asenjoi sp. nov. The genus Ophionthus was monotypic until the present study and only known from a single male specimen from Central Peru. The genus is redescribed with the inclusion of female characters from both the type species and the new species here proposed. Additionally, the systematic position of Ophionthus within the Neotropical lineage of Philonthina and its geographical distribution in Peru are reassessed. Descriptions, diagnoses, illustrations, pictures, a cladogram, and a distribution map are provided.

Early evolution of the megadiverse subtribe Philonthina (Staphylinidae: Staphylininae: Staphylinini) and its Neotropical lineage

“…Additional representatives were from different NT ecoregions (Tropical Andes, Pacific area, and Amazonia) complementing those from the previous work, also including Mesoamerican members. The NL, as it is currently known, comprises 25 genera endemic to the NT (Newton, 2022) plus the megadiverse Belonuchus , also distributed in the Nearctic region, and Termitoquedius , considered as Philonthina (Chani‐Posse, Brunke, et al, 2018), yet not formally assigned (Rodríguez‐Melgarejo & Chani‐Posse, in prep.). Among them, 12 genera were represented in our analyses, including representatives from different species groups of the species‐rich though non‐monophyletic genera Belonuchus and Paederomimus .…”

“…Leptopeltus and Leptopeltoides are sister groups (Chani‐Posse, 2013) as well as Inesius and Rhaegalius (Ramírez‐Salamanca et al, 2020), all of them from the Andes. Overall, all remaining Andean genera have shown close relationships with representatives from the Andean clade (e.g., Chani‐Posse et al, 2022), except for Ophionthus Bernhauer which is nested in the ‘ Paederomimus complex’ (Rodríguez‐Melgarejo & Chani‐Posse, in prep.). A big question remains, though, for the ant/termite‐associated genera of the NL.…”

“…From a total of seven genera (including Termitoquedius ) recorded in mutualistic associations with social insects, three of them were represented herein and resolved as a monophylum within the Andean clade. The position of the remaining four genera, as well as that of the so‐called Belonuchus atticida group (Chani‐Posse & Ramírez‐Salamanca, 2020), is pending further exploration in the evolutionary history of the NL as part of an ongoing Ph.D. thesis (Rodríguez‐Melgarejo & Chani‐Posse, in prep.).…”