Revision of Eleodes subgenus Eleodes (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Authors: TRIPLEHORN, CHARLES - The Ohio State University; Thomas, Donald; SMITH, AARON - Northern Arizona University

Submitted to: Transactions of the American Entomological Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/17/2015
Publication Date: 8/15/2015
Citation: Triplehorn, C.A., Thomas, D.B., Smith, A.D. 2015. Revision of Eleodes subgenus Eleodes (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 141:156-196.

Interpretive Summary: Arundo cane is an invasive plant that has displaced native riparian vegetation in the southwestern United States. Eleodes beetles are dominant members of ground insect communities in the southwest. They are important indicators of environmental perturbation because they are flightless and thus have limited vagility to colonize disrupted habitats. It is a diverse but taxonomically difficult genus. The present study is a contribution to the recognition of the species based on the morphology with notes on the ecology and geographic distribution of the 30 species in the nominate subgenus.

Technical Abstract: Keys, descriptions and figures are provided for the identification of 30 species assignable to the nominate subgenus of the tenebrionid genus Eleodes. Three species groups can be recognized: the grandicollis group, containing only E. grandicollis Mannerheim; the obscurus group, containing E. obscurus (Say), E. acutus (Say) and E. suturalis (Say); and the dentipes group, containing E. dentipes Eschscholtz, E. acuticaudus LeConte, E. adumbratus Blaisdell, E. armatus (LeConte), E. curvidens Triplehorn & Cifuentes, E. discinctus Blaisdell, E. eschscholtzi Solier, E. femoratus LeConte, E. gracilis LeConte, E. hispilabris (Say), E. loretensis Blaisdell, E. mexicanus Blaisdell, E. mirabilis Triplehorn, E. moestus Blaisdell, E. muricatulus Triplehorn, E. rossi Blaisdell, E. rugosus Perbosc, E. samalayucae Triplehorn, E. sanmartinensus Blaisdell, E. scyropterus Triplehorn, E. spinipes Champion, E. sponsus LeConte, E. subcylindricus Casey, E. tenuipes Casey, E. vanduzeei Blaisdell, and a new species described herein, Eleodes fiski Triplehorn. Eleodes amadeensis Blaisdell and Eleodes striatipennis Blaisdell are synonymized under Eleodes armatus (LeConte). Eleodes subpinguis Blaisdell is synonymized under Eleodes hispilabris (Say). Eleodes wickhami Horn is synonymized under E. eschscholtzi Solier. The status of Eleodes femoratus LeConte 1851 under E. militaris Horn 1870, is reversed based on priority.