Poophylax, Champion, 1916

Anderson, Roy & Fuller, Jennifer, 2005, Poophylax villosa, a New Species of Salpinginae (Coleoptera: Salpingidae) from the Falkland Islands, The Coleopterists Bulletin (London, England) 59 (4), pp. 423-432 : 423-432

Relationships between Poophylax and other Salpinginae

Lawrence et al. (2002) distinguished Poophylax from all other genera of Salpinginae

in the emarginate labrum (subtruncate to slightly convex otherwise), the lack of

a definite fronto-clypeal suture, possession of a pinched then expanded prosternal

process (otherwise evenly narrowed apically), the highly reduced scutellum, lack of

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wings (otherwise with normally developed), the presence of ventral lobes on the basal mesotarsi (otherwise absent,) and the absence of parameral lobes on the tegmen (otherwise present). Modifications to these guidelines are now suggested. Poophylax villosa possesses a clearly incised fronto-clypeal suture, so this character can no longer be retained to distinguish Poophylax from other genera. There may also be a problem with the presence or absence of parameral lobes. While the European Vincenzellus ruficollis (Panzer) we have examined has clearly defined parameral lobes the N. American Vincenzellus elongatus Mannerheim as figured by Spilman (1952) appears to lack lobes. This character would group V. elongatus with species of Poophylax and bring into question its generic assignment.

These brief observations serve to underline the poor state of current knowledge of the Salpinginae . There is a need for both an authoritative review of present relationships within the subfamily, and more widely in Family Salpingidae , and for more research into neglected faunas, particularly that of mainland South America.

Ecology and Distribution

Information on the lifestyle and feeding habits of Salpinginae is equally sparse ( Crowson 1967), except possibly for the west Palaearctic fauna. European Salpinginae (species of Rabocerus , Salpingus , Sphaeriestes (¼ Salpingus non Iliger), Vincenzellus ) are all forest dwellers which occur almost exclusively in subcortical niches ( Kaszab 1969; R. Anderson, unpubl. obs.). They are said to be exclusively predatory in the imago ( Kaszab 1969) although at least some larvae are herbivorous (Molino-Olmedo 1999). Poophylax on the Falkland Islands is distinctive in inhabiting sub-Antarctic heath and in being a putative herbivore ( Jones 2004). Lifestyle in the predatory staphylinid Stenus Latreille has been examined by Betz (2002) and the ability to climb smooth, vertical surfaces is strongly correlated with the possession of pilose and broad basal tarsal segments. The ventrally pilose, lobed basal segments in Poophylax may therefore have a similar function. Whether the ability to climb vegetation is important in herbivory or signifies a predatory lifestyle such as that of Stenus is unclear. Other Salpinginae , though preferring sub-cortical niches and being predatory, do not possess these tarsal modifications. However, no detailed observations of lifestyle have been recorded in situ. Oliver Flint (in litt. Flint 1971) has informed us that Isla de Los Estados, Tierra del Fuego is wooded for the most part with open terrain confined to higher altitudes and to marine shorelines. At Bahia Colnett, a P. falklandica site, rock slides and the underside of stones on the upper shore were searched. At sites in which P. villosa is recorded (from specimen data labels) both on Isla de Los Estados and on Tierra del Fuego, woodland canopy and litter, tree bark and shoreline debris were the main niches examined (by hand). This suggests that an arboreal lifestyle is likely in South America and that behavior on the Falklands i.e., life in tussac canopies, is very much a secondary adaptation. It should be noted that the species of Poophylax have generally not been collected together so their ecology may be marginally different as some of the above observations tend to suggest. Two examples of P. falklandica were recorded at Port Harriet, the locus typicus of P. villosa but not in the same pitfalls or on the same dates as P. villosa .

The discovery of P. falklandica on Isla de Los Estados constitutes a first record for the South American mainland. Both species of Poophylax are now known on or near the mainland as well as on the Falkland Islands. This change in status lends strong support to the suggestion of Buckland and Hammond (1997) that Poophylax evolved in South America and was dispersed relatively recently to the Falkland Islands, probably by rafting.

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