Phylogeny of a new supertribeCephenniitae with generic review ofEutheiini and description of a new tribeMarcepaniini (Coleoptera:Staphylinidae:Scydmaeninae)

Abstract

AbstractGenera ofEutheiini are reviewed andEutheimorphusis removed from this tribe of ant‐like stone beetles (Scydmaeninae) and transferred toCephenniini. A monogenericMarcepaniinitrib.n.is described to accommodateMarcepaniagen.n.fromMalaysia, with five species:M. semengohensissp.n.(the type species ofMarcepania),M. tuberculatasp.n.,M. seramaensissp.n.,M. minutissimasp.n.andM. elongatasp.n.A phylogenetic analysis of all genera ofCephenniini,Eutheiini andMarcepaniini based on adult morphological characters resulted in recovering a well‐supported monophyletic cladeEutheiini + (Marcepaniini + Cephenniini) and these tribes are included inCephenniitaestat.n.(Eutheiini andCephenniini are therefore removed fromScydmaenitae). Only a weak support for monophyly ofEutheiini was found, but morphological characters allow for maintaining this presumably relic group as a separate tribe. Previously proposed monophyletic groups withinCephenniini were recovered as such, but after inclusion ofEutheimorphus, a sister taxon to the ‘Cephennomicrusgroup’, the latter lineage gained weak statistical support. The evolutionary history ofCephenniitae is discussed, with focus on known northern hemisphere fossils classified inScydmaenitae andHapsomelitae, but possibly closely allied toCephenniitae. Establishing the supertribeCephenniitae is the first step toward a profound reclassification ofScydmaeninae on a robust phylogenetic basis.This published work has been registered in ZooBank,http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B0E1B12D-9587-4C4F-A908-A12A0C424A8C.