Neohypnus Coiffait and Sáiz

Aballay, Fernando H., Chani-Posse, Mariana R., Ayón, María Rosana, Maldonado, María Belén & Centeno, Néstor D., 2014, An illustrated key to and diagnoses of the species of Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) associated with decaying carcasses in Argentina, Zootaxa 3860 (2), pp. 101-124 : 112

Genus Neohypnus Coiffait and Sáiz

( Fig. 7 )

Diagnosis (based on Newton et al. 2000). The genus Neohypnus can be recognized by the deflexed portion of temples distinctly flattened and separated from the dorsal side of head by an impunctate, occasionally elevated strip, the distance separating ocular punctures from each other at least three times as long as the distance separating each ocular puncture from inner margin of eye, the pronotum with distinct dorsal and lateral rows of punctures and the metatibia having only one ctenidium apically. Length 5.0–7.0 mm.

Distribution. Nearctic and Neotropical region including southern South America, introduced in Australia and New Zealand (Newton, unpublished database).

Bionomics. Species belonging to Neohypnus have been found in forest litter or debris near water, decaying organic material including dung, carrion and rotting cacti, or in treeholes or under bark ( Newton et al. 2000; Márquez-Luna 2001).

Remarks. Neohypnus currently includes more than 50 species, nine of them distributed in Southern South America ( Newton & Thayer 2005; Newton, unpublished database). There is no key that allows the identification of the Neotropical species of the genus at present. Herein we follow the generic definition by Newton et al. (2000) which is based on the North American representatives of the genus.

Figures

FIGURE 1 – 12. Habitus: 1, Atheta sp.; 2, Aleochara bonariensis Lynch; 3, A. puberula Klug; 4, A. signaticollis Fairmaire; 5, Anotylus Thomson; 6, Eulissus chalybaeus Mannerheim; 7, Neohypnus sp.; 8, Platydracus chrysotrichopterus Scheerpeltz; 9, Platydracus scabrosus (Curtis); 10; Creophilus maxillosus (Linnaeus); 11. Creophilus variegatus Mannerheim; 12, Belonuchus rufipennis (Fabricius).