The tribe Platyceroidini is created to accommodate two genera of North American stag beetles, Platyceroides Benesh and Platyceropsis Benesh (Lucanidae: Lucaninae). These genera are removed from the tribe Platycerini Mulsant

Hawks, David C.

Paulsen, Matthew J.

English

Hochschulschriftenserver - Universität Frankfurt am Main

CENTER FOR SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY, INC., Gainesville, FLPlatyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)M.J. PaulsenSystematic Research CollectionsUniversity of Nebraska State MuseumW436 Nebraska HallLincoln, NE 68588-0546mpaulsen@unlserve.unl.eduandDavid C. HawksDepartment of EntomologyUniversity of CaliforniaRiverside, CA 92521david.hawks@ucr.eduDate of Issue: December 5, 2008INSECTAMUNDI A Journal of World Insect Systematics0058M.J. Paulsen and David C. HawksPlatyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)Insecta Mundi 0058: 1-2Published in 2008 byCenter for Systematic Entomology, Inc.P. O. Box 141874Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 U. S. A.http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/Insecta Mundi is a journal primarily devoted to insect systematics, but articles can be published onany non-marine arthropod taxon. Manuscripts considered for publication include, but are not limited to,systematic or taxonomic studies, revisions, nomenclatural changes, faunal studies, book reviews, phylo-genetic analyses, biological or behavioral studies, etc. Insecta Mundi is widely distributed, and refer-enced or abstracted by several sources including the Zoological Record, CAB Abstracts, etc.As of 2007, Insecta Mundi is published irregularly throughout the year, not as quarterly issues. Asmanuscripts are completed they are published and given an individual number. Manuscripts must bepeer reviewed prior to submission, after which they are again reviewed by the editorial board to insurequality. One author of each submitted manuscript must be a current member of the Center for System-atic Entomology.Managing editor: Paul E. Skelley, e-mail: insectamundi@gmail.comProduction editor: Michael C. Thomas, e-mail: insectamundi@gmail.comEditorial board: J. H. Frank, M. J. PaulsenPrinted copies deposited in libraries of:CSIRO, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaMuseu de Zoologia, São Paulo, BrazilAgriculture and Agrifood Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaThe Natural History Museum, London, EnglandMuzeum I Instytut Zoologii Pan, Warsaw, PolandNational Taiwan University, Taipei, TaiwanCalifornia Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USAFlorida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, FL, USAField Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USANational Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USAElectronic copies in PDF format:Printed CD mailed to all members at end of year.Florida Center for Library Automation: purl.fcla.edu/fcla/insectamundiUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln, Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/Author instructions available on the Insecta Mundi page at:http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/insectamundi/Printed Copy ISSN 0749-6737On-Line ISSN 1942-1354CD-ROM ISSN 1942-136210058: 1-2 2008Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)M.J. PaulsenSystematic Research CollectionsUniversity of Nebraska State MuseumW436 Nebraska HallLincoln, NE 68588-0546mpaulsen@unlserve.unl.eduDavid C. HawksDepartment of EntomologyUniversity of CaliforniaRiverside, CA 92521david.hawks@ucr.eduAbstract. The tribe Platyceroidini is created to accommodate two genera of North American stag beetles,Platyceroides Benesh and Platyceropsis Benesh (Lucanidae: Lucaninae). These genera are removed from the tribePlatycerini Mulsant.Tribal placement of Platyceroides Benesh and Platyceropsis BeneshThe genus Platyceroidesis currently recognized to contain seven species from western North America(Benesh 1946, Paulsen 2005). The species distributions range from British Columbia to California through-out the Cascade, Sierra Nevada, and Coast mountain ranges. Species of Platyceroides have fully-wingedmales, but flightless females (Benesh 1946). This situation is found in two other groups of scarabaeoidsfrom the region, the families Pleocomidae LeConte and Diphyllostomatidae Holloway.The genus Platyceropsis contains one species in which both sexes are flightless and is distributedfrom British Columbia to northern California along the Pacific coast (Benesh 1946), where it is foundunder beach driftwood. The validity of Platyceropsis with respect to the monophyly of Platyceroideshasnot yet been examined.Species in these genera are similar in appearance to species of the Holarctic genus PlatycerusGeoffroy,with which they have been placed in the tribe Platycerini Mulsant, variably considered to form thesubfamily Platycerinae Mulsant (Maes 1992, Paulsen 2005) or to belong in the Lucaninae (Holloway1969, Howden and Lawrence 1974, Paulsen 2008). The Lucaninae can be defined by the presence of anocular canthus, as well as a permanently everted internal sac of the male genitalia (Holloway 1969).Thus,Platyceroides and Platyceropsis are here considered to belong to the Lucaninae. The association ofthese two genera with Platycerus into a single, higher-level taxon, whether Platycerinae or Platycerini,necessitates hedging on some characters, in particular the visible 6th abdominal ventrite used by Benesh(1946) to define the Platycerini. Although present in Platycerus species, the character is not clearlypresent in Platyceroides or Platyceropsis species, and its usefulness in defining relationships betweenthese taxa was questioned by Holloway (1969). Howden and Lawrence (1974) listed the following charac-ters present in the Platycerini: eye canthus short (less than 1/4 length of eye), partially geniculate anten-nae, body length usually less than 15 mm, and lateral margin of pronotum arcuate. Other characters ofPlatycerus species are not found in the other genera, especially the strongly excised anterior margin ofthe head, indistinct labrum, and distinct sexual dimorphism in both the mandibular form and number ofantennomeres that form the club. Furthermore, the eye canthus, while still short, is more pronounced inPlatyceroides and Platyceropsis species. Holloway (1969: 973) first discussed the dissimilarity betweenthe genera of Platycerini and noted that nothing in either the male or female genitalia or in externalmorphological characters suggests that they are particularly closely related. The two groups have verydifferent biogeographic patterns, and preliminary molecular analyses indicate a great degree of moleculardivergence between the two groups (Paulsen and Hawks, unpublished data). Based on the molecular and2 I NSECTA M UNDI 0058, December 2008 PAULSEN AND HAWKSmorphological differences between these genera and Platycerus, we hypothesize that they are not closelyrelated, and propose a new tribal placement for Platyceroidesand Platyceropsis below.Platyceroidini, new tribeType genus: PlatyceroidesBenesh 1946: 175, here designated.Description. Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Lucanidae: Lucaninae. Length: 7.6-13.2 mm. Width: 3.2-5.8mm. Color: Black to reddish-brown, occasionally with metallic reflections. Head: Anterior margin straightor weakly emarginate, not deeply, semi-circularly excised. Eye canthus weak but distinct (anterior mar-gin of eye located on dorsal surface of head, per Holloway 1969). Antenna partially geniculate; antennalclub composed of 3 antennomeres in both sexes. Mandibles small in both sexes, approximately 1/3 to 1/2length of head; form not strongly sexually dimorphic, simply falcate, at most with weakly indicated toothinternally near base. Pronotum: Form broadly rounded, narrowly to broadly explanate. Elytra: Surfacepunctate, weakly striate. Wings: Males mostly with functional flight wings (one species with flightlessmales), females flightless in all species. Abdomen: Sixth ventrite rarely visible beyond apex of 5th ventriteunless genitalia protruding. Male genitalia with internal sac permanently everted, with saclike accessorylobes not strongly sclerotized; flagellum present or absent.Composition.Platyceroides(7 species), Platyceropsis (1 species).AcknowledgmentsWe gratefully acknowledge B. C. Ratcliffe (University of Nebraska State Museum), A. B. T. Smith(Canadian Museum of Nature) and an anonymous reviewer for providing reviews of the manuscript.Literature CitedBenesh, B. 1946. A systematic revision of the Holarctic genus Platycerus Geoffroy (Coleoptera: Lucanidae).Transactions of the American Entomological Society 63: 139-203.Holloway, B. A. 1969. Further studies on generic relationships in Lucanidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) withspecial reference to the ocular canthus. New Zealand Journal of Science 12: 958-977.Howden, H. F., and J. F. Lawrence. 1974. The New World Aesalinae, with notes on the North Ameri-can lucanid subfamilies (Coleoptera, Lucanidae). Canadian Journal of Zoology 52: 1505-1510.Maes, J.-M. 1992. Lista de los Lucanidae (Coleoptera) del mundo. Revista Nicaraguense de Entomología22: 1-121.Paulsen, M. J. 2005. Annotated checklist of the New World Lucanidae, Version 1. Available from: http://www.museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/Scarabaeoidea/Lucanidae/Lucanidae-Catalog/LucanidaeC.htm (visited: October, 2008).Paulsen, M. J. 2008. Annotated checklist of the New World Lucanidae, Version 2. Available from: http://www.museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/Scarabaeoidea/Lucanidae/Lucanidae-Catalog/LucanidaeC.htm (visited: November, 2008).Received November 20, 2008; accepted November 26, 2008.

Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)

Paulsen, M. J.

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Insecta Mundi Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida 
12-2008 
Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles 
(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae) 
M. J. Paulsen 
University of Nebraska - Lincoln, mjpaulsen@unl.edu 
David C. Hawks 
University of California, Riverside, CA 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Paulsen, M. J. and Hawks, David C., "Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles 
(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)" (2008). Insecta Mundi. 588. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/588 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida 
at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Insecta Mundi by an 
authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
CENTER FOR SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY, INC., Gainesville, FL
Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles
(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)
M.J. Paulsen
Systematic Research Collections
University of Nebraska State Museum
W436 Nebraska Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0546
mpaulsen@unlserve.unl.edu
and
David C. Hawks
Department of Entomology
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
david.hawks@ucr.edu
Date of Issue: December 5, 2008
INSECTA
MUNDI A Journal of World Insect Systematics
0058
M.J. Paulsen and David C. Hawks
Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles
(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)
Insecta Mundi 0058: 1-2
Published in 2008 by
Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc.
P. O. Box 141874
Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 U. S. A.
http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/
Insecta Mundi is a journal primarily devoted to insect systematics, but articles can be published on
any non-marine arthropod taxon. Manuscripts considered for publication include, but are not limited to,
systematic or taxonomic studies, revisions, nomenclatural changes, faunal studies, book reviews, phylo-
genetic analyses, biological or behavioral studies, etc. Insecta Mundi is widely distributed, and refer-
enced or abstracted by several sources including the Zoological Record, CAB Abstracts, etc.
As of 2007, Insecta Mundi is published irregularly throughout the year, not as quarterly issues. As
manuscripts are completed they are published and given an individual number. Manuscripts must be
peer reviewed prior to submission, after which they are again reviewed by the editorial board to insure
quality. One author of each submitted manuscript must be a current member of the Center for System-
atic Entomology.
Managing editor: Paul E. Skelley, e-mail: insectamundi@gmail.com
Production editor: Michael C. Thomas, e-mail: insectamundi@gmail.com
Editorial board: J. H. Frank, M. J. Paulsen
Printed copies deposited in libraries of:
CSIRO, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Museu de Zoologia, São Paulo, Brazil
Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The Natural History Museum, London, England
Muzeum I Instytut Zoologii Pan, Warsaw, Poland
National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, FL, USA
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
Electronic copies in PDF format:
Printed CD mailed to all members at end of year.
Florida Center for Library Automation: purl.fcla.edu/fcla/insectamundi
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/
Author instructions available on the Insecta Mundi page at:
http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/insectamundi/
Printed Copy ISSN 0749-6737
On-Line ISSN 1942-1354
CD-ROM ISSN 1942-1362
10058: 1-2 2008
Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles
(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)
M.J. Paulsen
Systematic Research Collections
University of Nebraska State Museum
W436 Nebraska Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0546
mpaulsen@unlserve.unl.edu
David C. Hawks
Department of Entomology
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
david.hawks@ucr.edu
Abstract. The tribe Platyceroidini is created to accommodate two genera of North American stag beetles,
Platyceroides Benesh and Platyceropsis Benesh (Lucanidae: Lucaninae). These genera are removed from the tribe
Platycerini Mulsant.
Tribal placement of Platyceroides Benesh and Platyceropsis Benesh
The genus Platyceroides is currently recognized to contain seven species from western North America
(Benesh 1946, Paulsen 2005). The species distributions range from British Columbia to California through-
out the Cascade, Sierra Nevada, and Coast mountain ranges. Species of Platyceroides have fully-winged
males, but flightless females (Benesh 1946). This situation is found in two other groups of scarabaeoids
from the region, the families Pleocomidae LeConte and Diphyllostomatidae Holloway.
The genus Platyceropsis contains one species in which both sexes are flightless and is distributed
from British Columbia to northern California along the Pacific coast (Benesh 1946), where it is found
under beach driftwood. The validity of Platyceropsis with respect to the monophyly of Platyceroides has
not yet been examined.
Species in these genera are similar in appearance to species of the Holarctic genus Platycerus Geoffroy,
with which they have been placed in the tribe Platycerini Mulsant, variably considered to form the
subfamily Platycerinae Mulsant (Maes 1992, Paulsen 2005) or to belong in the Lucaninae (Holloway
1969, Howden and Lawrence 1974, Paulsen 2008). The Lucaninae can be defined by the presence of an
ocular canthus, as well as a permanently everted internal sac of the male genitalia (Holloway 1969).
Thus, Platyceroides and Platyceropsis are here considered to belong to the Lucaninae. The association of
these two genera with Platycerus into a single, higher-level taxon, whether Platycerinae or Platycerini,
necessitates hedging on some characters, in particular the visible 6th abdominal ventrite used by Benesh
(1946) to define the Platycerini. Although present in Platycerus species, the character is not clearly
present in Platyceroides or Platyceropsis species, and its usefulness in defining relationships between
these taxa was questioned by Holloway (1969). Howden and Lawrence (1974) listed the following charac-
ters present in the Platycerini: eye canthus short (less than 1/4 length of eye), partially geniculate anten-
nae, body length usually less than 15 mm, and lateral margin of pronotum arcuate. Other characters of
Platycerus species are not found in the other genera, especially the strongly excised anterior margin of
the head, indistinct labrum, and distinct sexual dimorphism in both the mandibular form and number of
antennomeres that form the club. Furthermore, the eye canthus, while still short, is more pronounced in
Platyceroides and Platyceropsis species. Holloway (1969: 973) first discussed the dissimilarity between
the genera of Platycerini and noted that nothing in either the male or female genitalia or in external
morphological characters suggests that they are particularly closely related. The two groups have very
different biogeographic patterns, and preliminary molecular analyses indicate a great degree of molecular
divergence between the two groups (Paulsen and Hawks, unpublished data). Based on the molecular and
2 INSECTA MUNDI 0058, December 2008 PAULSEN AND HAWKS
morphological differences between these genera and Platycerus, we hypothesize that they are not closely
related, and propose a new tribal placement for Platyceroides and Platyceropsis below.
Platyceroidini, new tribe
Type genus: Platyceroides Benesh 1946: 175, here designated.
Description. Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Lucanidae: Lucaninae. Length: 7.6-13.2 mm. Width: 3.2-5.8
mm. Color: Black to reddish-brown, occasionally with metallic reflections. Head: Anterior margin straight
or weakly emarginate, not deeply, semi-circularly excised. Eye canthus weak but distinct (anterior mar-
gin of eye located on dorsal surface of head, per Holloway 1969). Antenna partially geniculate; antennal
club composed of 3 antennomeres in both sexes. Mandibles small in both sexes, approximately 1/3 to 1/2
length of head; form not strongly sexually dimorphic, simply falcate, at most with weakly indicated tooth
internally near base. Pronotum: Form broadly rounded, narrowly to broadly explanate. Elytra: Surface
punctate, weakly striate. Wings: Males mostly with functional flight wings (one species with flightless
males), females flightless in all species. Abdomen: Sixth ventrite rarely visible beyond apex of 5th ventrite
unless genitalia protruding. Male genitalia with internal sac permanently everted, with saclike accessory
lobes not strongly sclerotized; flagellum present or absent.
Composition. Platyceroides (7 species), Platyceropsis (1 species).
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge B. C. Ratcliffe (University of Nebraska State Museum), A. B. T. Smith
(Canadian Museum of Nature) and an anonymous reviewer for providing reviews of the manuscript.
Literature Cited
Benesh, B. 1946. A systematic revision of the Holarctic genus Platycerus Geoffroy (Coleoptera: Lucanidae).
Transactions of the American Entomological Society 63: 139-203.
Holloway, B. A. 1969. Further studies on generic relationships in Lucanidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) with
special reference to the ocular canthus. New Zealand Journal of Science 12: 958-977.
Howden, H. F., and J. F. Lawrence. 1974. The New World Aesalinae, with notes on the North Ameri-
can lucanid subfamilies (Coleoptera, Lucanidae). Canadian Journal of Zoology 52: 1505-1510.
Maes, J.-M. 1992. Lista de los Lucanidae (Coleoptera) del mundo. Revista Nicaraguense de Entomología
22: 1-121.
Paulsen, M. J. 2005. Annotated checklist of the New World Lucanidae, Version 1. Available from: http:/
/www.museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/Scarabaeoidea/Lucanidae/Lucanidae-Catalog/
LucanidaeC.htm (visited: October, 2008).
Paulsen, M. J. 2008. Annotated checklist of the New World Lucanidae, Version 2. Available from: http:/
/www.museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/Scarabaeoidea/Lucanidae/Lucanidae-Catalog/
LucanidaeC.htm (visited: November, 2008).
Received November 20, 2008; accepted November 26, 2008.


Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)

Paulsen, M.J., Hawks, David C. (2008): Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae). Insecta Mundi 2008 (58): 1-2, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.517017

Paulsen, M.J.

NEUROSURGERY ENTHUSIASTIC WOMEN SOCIETY

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Insecta Mundi Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida 12-2008 Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae) M. J. Paulsen University of Nebraska - Lincoln, mjpaulsen@unl.edu David C. Hawks University of California, Riverside, CA Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi  Part of the Entomology Commons Paulsen, M. J. and Hawks, David C., "Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)" (2008). Insecta Mundi. 588. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/588 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Insecta Mundi by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. CENTER FOR SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY, INC., Gainesville, FLPlatyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)M.J. PaulsenSystematic Research CollectionsUniversity of Nebraska State MuseumW436 Nebraska HallLincoln, NE 68588-0546mpaulsen@unlserve.unl.eduandDavid C. HawksDepartment of EntomologyUniversity of CaliforniaRiverside, CA 92521david.hawks@ucr.eduDate of Issue: December 5, 2008INSECTAMUNDI A Journal of World Insect Systematics0058M.J. Paulsen and David C. HawksPlatyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)Insecta Mundi 0058: 1-2Published in 2008 byCenter for Systematic Entomology, Inc.P. O. Box 141874Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 U. S. A.http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/Insecta Mundi is a journal primarily devoted to insect systematics, but articles can be published onany non-marine arthropod taxon. Manuscripts considered for publication include, but are not limited to,systematic or taxonomic studies, revisions, nomenclatural changes, faunal studies, book reviews, phylo-genetic analyses, biological or behavioral studies, etc. Insecta Mundi is widely distributed, and refer-enced or abstracted by several sources including the Zoological Record, CAB Abstracts, etc.As of 2007, Insecta Mundi is published irregularly throughout the year, not as quarterly issues. Asmanuscripts are completed they are published and given an individual number. Manuscripts must bepeer reviewed prior to submission, after which they are again reviewed by the editorial board to insurequality. One author of each submitted manuscript must be a current member of the Center for System-atic Entomology.Managing editor: Paul E. Skelley, e-mail: insectamundi@gmail.comProduction editor: Michael C. Thomas, e-mail: insectamundi@gmail.comEditorial board: J. H. Frank, M. J. PaulsenPrinted copies deposited in libraries of:CSIRO, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaMuseu de Zoologia, São Paulo, BrazilAgriculture and Agrifood Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaThe Natural History Museum, London, EnglandMuzeum I Instytut Zoologii Pan, Warsaw, PolandNational Taiwan University, Taipei, TaiwanCalifornia Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USAFlorida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, FL, USAField Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USANational Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USAElectronic copies in PDF format:Printed CD mailed to all members at end of year.Florida Center for Library Automation: purl.fcla.edu/fcla/insectamundiUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln, Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/Author instructions available on the Insecta Mundi page at:http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/insectamundi/Printed Copy ISSN 0749-6737On-Line ISSN 1942-1354CD-ROM ISSN 1942-136210058: 1-2 2008Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)M.J. PaulsenSystematic Research CollectionsUniversity of Nebraska State MuseumW436 Nebraska HallLincoln, NE 68588-0546mpaulsen@unlserve.unl.eduDavid C. HawksDepartment of EntomologyUniversity of CaliforniaRiverside, CA 92521david.hawks@ucr.eduAbstract. The tribe Platyceroidini is created to accommodate two genera of North American stag beetles,Platyceroides Benesh and Platyceropsis Benesh (Lucanidae: Lucaninae). These genera are removed from the tribePlatycerini Mulsant.Tribal placement of Platyceroides Benesh and Platyceropsis BeneshThe genus Platyceroides is currently recognized to contain seven species from western North America(Benesh 1946, Paulsen 2005). The species distributions range from British Columbia to California through-out the Cascade, Sierra Nevada, and Coast mountain ranges. Species of Platyceroides have fully-wingedmales, but flightless females (Benesh 1946). This situation is found in two other groups of scarabaeoidsfrom the region, the families Pleocomidae LeConte and Diphyllostomatidae Holloway.The genus Platyceropsis contains one species in which both sexes are flightless and is distributedfrom British Columbia to northern California along the Pacific coast (Benesh 1946), where it is foundunder beach driftwood. The validity of Platyceropsis with respect to the monophyly of Platyceroides hasnot yet been examined.Species in these genera are similar in appearance to species of the Holarctic genus Platycerus Geoffroy,with which they have been placed in the tribe Platycerini Mulsant, variably considered to form thesubfamily Platycerinae Mulsant (Maes 1992, Paulsen 2005) or to belong in the Lucaninae (Holloway1969, Howden and Lawrence 1974, Paulsen 2008). The Lucaninae can be defined by the presence of anocular canthus, as well as a permanently everted internal sac of the male genitalia (Holloway 1969).Thus, Platyceroides and Platyceropsis are here considered to belong to the Lucaninae. The association ofthese two genera with Platycerus into a single, higher-level taxon, whether Platycerinae or Platycerini,necessitates hedging on some characters, in particular the visible 6th abdominal ventrite used by Benesh(1946) to define the Platycerini. Although present in Platycerus species, the character is not clearlypresent in Platyceroides or Platyceropsis species, and its usefulness in defining relationships betweenthese taxa was questioned by Holloway (1969). Howden and Lawrence (1974) listed the following charac-ters present in the Platycerini: eye canthus short (less than 1/4 length of eye), partially geniculate anten-nae, body length usually less than 15 mm, and lateral margin of pronotum arcuate. Other characters ofPlatycerus species are not found in the other genera, especially the strongly excised anterior margin ofthe head, indistinct labrum, and distinct sexual dimorphism in both the mandibular form and number ofantennomeres that form the club. Furthermore, the eye canthus, while still short, is more pronounced inPlatyceroides and Platyceropsis species. Holloway (1969: 973) first discussed the dissimilarity betweenthe genera of Platycerini and noted that nothing in either the male or female genitalia or in externalmorphological characters suggests that they are particularly closely related. The two groups have verydifferent biogeographic patterns, and preliminary molecular analyses indicate a great degree of moleculardivergence between the two groups (Paulsen and Hawks, unpublished data). Based on the molecular and2 INSECTA MUNDI 0058, December 2008 PAULSEN AND HAWKSmorphological differences between these genera and Platycerus, we hypothesize that they are not closelyrelated, and propose a new tribal placement for Platyceroides and Platyceropsis below.Platyceroidini, new tribeType genus: Platyceroides Benesh 1946: 175, here designated.Description. Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Lucanidae: Lucaninae. Length: 7.6-13.2 mm. Width: 3.2-5.8mm. Color: Black to reddish-brown, occasionally with metallic reflections. Head: Anterior margin straightor weakly emarginate, not deeply, semi-circularly excised. Eye canthus weak but distinct (anterior mar-gin of eye located on dorsal surface of head, per Holloway 1969). Antenna partially geniculate; antennalclub composed of 3 antennomeres in both sexes. Mandibles small in both sexes, approximately 1/3 to 1/2length of head; form not strongly sexually dimorphic, simply falcate, at most with weakly indicated toothinternally near base. Pronotum: Form broadly rounded, narrowly to broadly explanate. Elytra: Surfacepunctate, weakly striate. Wings: Males mostly with functional flight wings (one species with flightlessmales), females flightless in all species. Abdomen: Sixth ventrite rarely visible beyond apex of 5th ventriteunless genitalia protruding. Male genitalia with internal sac permanently everted, with saclike accessorylobes not strongly sclerotized; flagellum present or absent.Composition. Platyceroides (7 species), Platyceropsis (1 species).AcknowledgmentsWe gratefully acknowledge B. C. Ratcliffe (University of Nebraska State Museum), A. B. T. Smith(Canadian Museum of Nature) and an anonymous reviewer for providing reviews of the manuscript.Literature CitedBenesh, B. 1946. A systematic revision of the Holarctic genus Platycerus Geoffroy (Coleoptera: Lucanidae).Transactions of the American Entomological Society 63: 139-203.Holloway, B. A. 1969. Further studies on generic relationships in Lucanidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) withspecial reference to the ocular canthus. New Zealand Journal of Science 12: 958-977.Howden, H. F., and J. F. Lawrence. 1974. The New World Aesalinae, with notes on the North Ameri-can lucanid subfamilies (Coleoptera, Lucanidae). Canadian Journal of Zoology 52: 1505-1510.Maes, J.-M. 1992. Lista de los Lucanidae (Coleoptera) del mundo. Revista Nicaraguense de Entomología22: 1-121.Paulsen, M. J. 2005. Annotated checklist of the New World Lucanidae, Version 1. Available from: http://www.museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/Scarabaeoidea/Lucanidae/Lucanidae-Catalog/LucanidaeC.htm (visited: October, 2008).Paulsen, M. J. 2008. Annotated checklist of the New World Lucanidae, Version 2. Available from: http://www.museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/Scarabaeoidea/Lucanidae/Lucanidae-Catalog/LucanidaeC.htm (visited: November, 2008).Received November 20, 2008; accepted November 26, 2008.

https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1585&context=insectamundi

Platyceroidini, a new tribe of North American stag beetles(Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Hochschulschriftenserver - Universität Frankfurt am Main

UNL | Libraries

NEUROSURGERY ENTHUSIASTIC WOMEN SOCIETY

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska