Abstract
We revise the genus Mecistostethus Marseul, sinking the monotypic genus Tarsilister Bruch as a junior synonym. Mecistostethus contains six valid species: Mecistostethus pilifer Marseul, Mecistostethus loretoensis (Bruch), comb. n., Mecistostethus seagorum sp. n., Mecistostethus carltoni sp. n., Mecistostethus marseuli sp. n., and Mecistostethus flechtmanni sp. n. The few existing records show the genus to be widespread in tropical and subtropical South America, from northern Argentina to western Amazonian Ecuador and French Guiana. Only a single host record associates one species with the ant Pachycondyla striata Smith (Formicidae: Ponerinae), but it is possible that related ants host all the species.
Highlights
IntroductionLike another recently revised genus, Kaszabister Mazur (Dégallier et al 2012), Mecistostethus has spent much of its taxonomic history placed in the subfamily Haeteriinae, a group principally composed of highly specialized myrmecophilous and termitophilous inquilines
The genus Mecistostethus Marseul is one of the most extremely modified genera of Exosternini in the Neotropics
Mecistostethus was described for a single species, M. pilifer Marseul from the ‘Amazon’ region, and it has remained monotypic since description
Summary
Like another recently revised genus, Kaszabister Mazur (Dégallier et al 2012), Mecistostethus has spent much of its taxonomic history placed in the subfamily Haeteriinae, a group principally composed of highly specialized myrmecophilous and termitophilous inquilines While the unusual morphology strongly suggests an inquilinous lifestyle, only a single host record supports this This record comes from Bruch’s (1932) description of Tarsilister ( Mecistostethus) loretoensis, in which he reports the collection of the unique type in the larval chamber of a nest of Pachycondyla striata Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae).
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