Abstract
The Ceracis furcifer species-group (Coleoptera: Ciidae) originally comprised nine species names: Ceracis cornifer (Mellié, 1849); C. cylindricus (Brèthes, 1922); C. furcifer Mellié, 1849; C. hastifer (Mellié, 1849); C. monocerus Lawrence, 1967; C. ruficornis Pic, 1916; C. simplicicornis (Pic, 1916); C. semipallidus Pic, 1922 and C. unicornis Gorham, 1898. Ceracis semipallidus was synonymised with C. furcifer and then no further changes were made to the composition of the group. Here, we provide a taxonomic revision of the Ceracis furcifer species-group and new data on the geographic distribution and host fungi of the included species. Lectotypes are designated for C. cornifer, C. furcifer, C. hastifer, C. ruficornis, C. semipallidus and C. unicornis. As results we: (i) synonymise C. cylindricus, C. monocerus, C. simplicicornis, C. unicornis with C. cornifer; (ii) confirm the synonymy of C. semipallidus with C. furcifer; (iii) redescribe C. cornifer, C. hastifer, C. furcifer and C. ruficornis; and (iv) provide an identification key for species in the furcifer group. The frontoclypeal horn and body coloration showed great intraspecific variation. We show that species in the furcifer group have distributions wider than previously known and use mainly Pycnoporus sanguineus as host fungus. Species of the furcifer group are the only animals specialized in feeding on basidiomes of P. sanguineus.
Highlights
Ceracis was described by Mellié in 1849 [1] as a subgenus of Ennearthron Mellié, 1847
Lectotypes are designated for C. cornifer, C. furcifer, C. hastifer, C. ruficornis, C. semipallidus and C. unicornis
The lectotype of C. ruficornis was designated based on annotations made by Dr John F
Summary
Ceracis was described by Mellié in 1849 [1] as a subgenus of Ennearthron Mellié, 1847. Currently encompasses 56 described species, being the second most speciose genus of Ciidae [4,5,6,7]. Four species-groups were defined for the genus (C. cucullatus, C. furcatus, C. furcifer and C. singularis groups) but they encompass only 25 species [3,4,7,8]. The C. cucullatus species-group was partially revised [5,6] and new Australian species were added to the group [4], but systematics of the remaining Ceracis species still relies mostly on original descriptions and the revision of North American species [3]. The Ceracis furcifer species-group (Coleoptera: Ciidae), as proposed by Lawrence [3], includes nine species names: Ceracis cornifer (Mellié, 1849); C. cylindricus (Brèthes, 1922); C. furcifer Mellié, 1849;
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