Hippeutister californicus

Hippeutister californicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Beetle
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Family:	Histeridae
Genus:	Hippeutister
Species:	H. californicus
Binomial name
	Hippeutister californicus; Caterino & Tishechken, 2008

Diagnosis

Apart from its disjunct distribution, this species can be identified by the fine setae on mostbody surfaces, especially on the elytral dorsum (Figs. 1A, 4A, 8A). The only other species with dorsal (asopposed to epipleural) elytral setae is H. castaneus, in which they are coarse, fewer, and borne in prominentraised pustules (Fig. 4C). In most other characters it is very similar to the other new species, H. solisi, not onlyin discrete characters, but also in size (being smaller than the other species of the genus). Hippeutister solisihas much denser setae along the pronotal and epipleural margins. Some very slight differences in mesosternalstriae of the two may be significant, but with only a single specimen of each known, may not be reliable.

Description

Distribution

California

Biology

Ant hosts: Solenopsis amblychila

REFERENCES

Caterino, Michael S., and Alexey K. Tishechkin. A review of Hippeutister Reichensperger with new species from California and Costa Rica (Coleoptera: Histeridae: Hetaeriinae). Zootaxa, no. 1895. (2008).

Caterino, M. & Tishechkin, A.K. (2015) Phylogeny and generic limits in the New World Exosternini (Coleoptera: Histeridae: Histerinae). Systematic Entomology, 40, 109–142. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/syen.12095