Oxytelus sculptus Gravenhorst, 1806

Majka, Christopher & Klimaszewski, Jan, 2008, Adventive Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada: further contributions, ZooKeys 2 (2), pp. 151-174 : 161

Oxytelus sculptus Gravenhorst, 1806

NOVA SCOTIA: Kings Co.: Kentville , 27.VII.2007, D.H. Webster, at light, (1, DHWC) ; Kentville , 12.VIII.2007, D.H. Webster, at light, (1, DHWC) .

This species is newly recorded for Nova Scotia and the Maritime Provinces ( Fig. 1 ). In North America it previously has been reported from British Columbia, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington on the west coast, and Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, New York, Ontario, and Québec in the eastern portions of the continent ( Moore and Legner 1975; Campbell and Davies 1991; Downie and Arnett 1996). Probably originally African in origin, this species is now cosmopolitan being widely distributed in Europe, Africa, North America, temperate south America, Australia, and New Zealand (Herman 2000). Melsheimer (1846: 42) described it under the name of Oxytelus moerens from the United States; however, the earliest record of this species in North America is from latrine excavations in Boston, Massachusetts from ca. 1670 ( Bain 1998).

It is usually found in open areas such as gardens, pastures, and fields under stones, and in manure and compost ( Burakowski et al. 1979). It is abundant in the manure of domestic animals such as cattle, horses, and poultry. It is probable that this cosmopolitan species has been dispersed by human agency in association with the transport of domestic animals ( Moore and Legner 1974).

Figures

Fig. 1. Distribution of Ilyobates bennetti, Meotica exilis, Meotica “pallens,” Lathrobium fulvipenne, and Oxytelus sculptus in eastern Canada.