Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 98. (Budapest 2006)

Makranczy, Gy.: Systematics and phylogenetic relationships of the genera in the Carpelimus group (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae)

CHARACTERS AND CLASSIFICATION New characters studied The morphology of the Staphylinidae was extensively studied by BLACKWELDER (1936) and NAOMI (1987a, b, 1988a, b, c, d, 1989a, b, c, d, 1990), however, these works barely go beyond mentioning of some features specific to Oxytelinae, and do not discuss the variability within the subfamily. The generic revision by HERMAN (1970) introduced a few new characters, primarily the ones used in his analysis. GlLDENKOV (2001) examined the variability of some traditional characters (aedeagus, spermatheca, tarsal and tibial features, mandibles and the metendosternite) but concluded that most of these are of little use in classification. The origin of this project was the discovery of the usefulness of the last visible, full abdominal segments and terminalia in the identification of taxa in the Carpelimus group. Previously the only taxa where the abdominal segments received proper attention and illustration in the literature belonged in the tribe Oxytelini: the genera Apocellus, Anotylus, Oxytelus and Platystethus all possess peculiar structures on the genital segments of the abdomen. Sometimes these are secondary sexual characteristics, so that only males have them - which are extensively used in the identification to species (CAMERON 1930 and countless others since). These structures in taxa outside the above mentioned genera rarely were mentioned, certainly not enough to facilitate identification. One good example is in Ochthephilus, where authors generally had agreed that the male genitalia were useless for identification to the species level (SMETANA 1967, LOHSE 1964). It turns out that not only were these authors wrong about this, but the characters in the genital abdominal segments alone permit identification of all the 15 central European species (MAKRANCZY 2001). The situation is similar with most other genera of the Carpelimus group and even in the Thinobius group. Species whose females could not be identified earlier can now be diagnosed safely even without association of male specimens (MAKRANCZY 2002, 2004 and SCHÜLKE & MAKRANCZY 2003). Based on experience with other groups, the characters in the terminalia and the genitalia itself carry much phylogenetic information. Although I am aware of TORRE-BUENO's different interpretation of the terms terminalia (which in his sense also includes the genitalia) and genitalia, throughout this work they will be used for separate suites of characters.