Platydracus Thomson, 1858

SMETANA, ALEŠ & DAVIES, ANTHONY, 2000, Reclassification of the North Temperate Taxa Associated with Staphylinus Sensu Lato, Including Comments on Relevant Subtribes of Staphylinini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), American Museum Novitates 3287, pp. 1-1 : 1-

Platydracus Thomson, 1858

TYPE SPECIES: Staphylinus stercorarius Olivier, 1795 .

COMMENTS: Members of this genus share the following character states: ( 1) puncture bearing postocular seta on head situated distinctly closer to posterior margin of head than to posterior margin of eye ( fig. 102 ); and ( 2) paramere of aedeagus devoid of any sensory peg setae and attached to median lobe in such a way that it is somewhat dorsoventrally flexible.

Further character states include: mandibular teeth (on both mandibles) appearing in two planes, dorsal and ventral, in most species ( fig. 7 ); mandibular prostheca with dense patches of ciliae, ciliae long at base, gradually shortening apicad, with prostheca therefore appearing as more or less bilobed ( fig. 11 ); maxillary and labial palpi with apical segments moderately elongate, fusiform, without setae ( figs. 134, 135 ); submentum with apical margin beaded throughout; posteroventral margin of eye distinctly oblique, postmandibular ridge rapidly diverging from it and bordered by even series of setae basally, reaching about halfway or more to subocular puncture, which is separated from margin of eye by at least four, and usually more than eight diameters of puncture; nuchal ridge complete, directed toward transverse postgenal ridge laterally, and only moderately removed from nuchal constriction; pronotal hypomeron markedly broader at middle, with superior line distinctly round­ ed anteriorly, joining inferior line well behind posterolateral angle of prosternum, deflected portion of pronotal disc visible from at, or behind, posterior edge of coxal insertion ( fig. 136 ); pronotal epimeron well developed, triangular ( fig. 52 ); prosternum sloping moderately, never abruptly in front of macrosetae, sternacostal ridge almost straight, slightly arched posteriad; mesosternum without ridges on intercoxal projection, with series of macrosetae on small elevations in broadly U­shaped pattern; mesocoxal acetabulum weakly to moderately impressed behind, nev­ er with medial carinae extending from projection; anterior metasternal projection with margins complete (except in Chaetodracus ), converging less than rectangularly; metasternum more or less horizontal, with little difference in convexity between anterior projection and disc; dorsal apicolateral lobe of metacoxae with two to seven coarse spines.

Subgenus Platydracus Thomson, 1858 .

Neotasgius J. Müller, 1925 (syn. nov.) (type species: Ocypus brevicornis Weise, 1877 ; nec Motschulsky, 1862 = P. brachycerus , nom. nov.).

COMMENTS: Members of this subgenus share the characters of posteromedially margined middle coxal cavities ( fig. 137 ) and of the narrow intercoxal mesosternal process, no more than moderately widely separating the middle coxae.

Neotasgius was established by J. Müller (1925: 41) as a subgenus of Staphylinus . However, the type species of Neotasgius in fact shows all typical character states of Platydracus , although its narrow body shape, with the narrow head not much dilated posteriad, renders it an unusual habitus.

Subgenus Chaetodracus J. Müller, 1926 (type species: Staphylinus patricius Bernhauer, 1915 ).

COMMENTS: The type species of this subgenus is distinctive not only by the posteromedially margined middle coxal cavities (a character shared with the members of Staphylinus , see fig. 64 ), but also by the wide intercoxal process of the mesosternum that very widely separates the middle coxae, similar to that in Emus . Additional species belonging to this subgenus may ultimately be found among the east Palearctic species of Platydracus .

REMARKS ON SOME SPECIES OF PLATYDRACUS

1. Platydracus brachypterus (Kraatz, 1859: 76) , described in Staphylinus , is preoccupied by Staphylinus brachypterus Geoffroy, 1785: 167 , now a synonym of Aleochara curtula (Goeze, 1777: 730) ; by Staphylinus brachypterus Marsham, 1802: 510 , now a synonym of Aploderus caelatus (Gravenhorst, 1802) ; and by Staphylinus brachypterus Brulle´, 1839: 59, now in Protogoerius . A replacement name, Platydracus brevipennis , nom. nov., is hereby proposed for Platydracus brachypterus (Kraatz) .

2. Platydracus oculatus (Bernhauer, 1929: 110) , described in Staphylinus , is preoccupied by Staphylinus oculatus Fabricius, 1775: 265 , now a valid name in Creophilus ; and by Staphylinus oculatus O. F. Müller, 1776: 99 . A replacement name, Platydracus oculosus , nom. nov., is hereby proposed for Platydracus oculatus (Bernhauer) .

3. Platydracus violaceus (Gravenhorst, 1802: 162) , described in Staphylinus , is preoccupied by Staphylinus violaceus Olivier, 1795: 8 (now in Plochionocerus ). The name Platydracus cupripennis (Melsheimer, 1844: 35) becomes the valid name for this species (stat. nov.).

4. Platydracus vulpinus (Nordmann, 1837: 53) has an older synonym, Platydracus immaculatus (Mannerheim, 1830: 22) . Both species were described in Staphylinus . Erichson (1839: 379) treated Staphylinus immaculatus tentatively as identical with S. vulpinus , but all subsequent authors simply list­ ed Mannerheim’s name as a synonym, despite its seniority. The status of these two species can only be established after the study of Mannerheim’s original material. We therefore continue to use the longstanding Nordmann name and consider Staphylinus immaculatus a doubtful name.

5. Platydracus yunnanensis (Bernhauer, 1943: 76) , described in Staphylinus , is preoccupied by Platydracus yunnanensis (Bernhauer, 1933: 48) , also described in Staphylinus . A replacement name, Platydracus yunnanicus , nom. nov., is proposed for Platydracus yunnanensis (Bernhauer, 1943) .

Figures

Figs. 99–104. 99. Dinothenarus badipes, mentum with two setae. 100. Xenopygus analis, right dorsal face of neck, with dorsal basal ridge (arrow). 101. Emus hirtus, intercoxal process of mesosternum widely separating middle coxae. 102. Platydracus fossator, left posterolateral area of head, showing postocular seta (arrow), dorsal view. 103. Staphylinus erythropterus, right posterolateral area of head, showing postocular seta (arrow), dorsal view. 104. Abemus chloropterus, left posterolateral area of head, showing postocular seta (arrow), dorsal view.

Figs. 4–10. 4. Tasgius melanarius, left mandible, ventral view. 5. Tasgius ater, left mandible, ventral view. 6, 7. Platydracus stercorarius: left and right mandibles (both in ventral view). 8. Staphylinus erythropterus, both mandibles, ventral view. 9. Naddia sp., right mandible, dorsal view. 10. Ocypus ophthalmicus, both mandibles, ventral view.

Figs. 11–16. 11. Platydracus stercorarius, right mandibular prostheca, ventral view. 12. Abemus chloropterus, left mandibular prostheca, ventral view. 13. Ocypus picipennis, left mandibular prostheca, ventral view. 14. Tasgius ater, left mandibular prostheca, ventral view. 15. Staphylinus dimidiaticornis, left mandibular prostheca, ventral view. 16. Tasgius melanarius, left mandibular prostheca, ventral view.

Figs. 129–135. 129. Protogoerius brullei, last segment of maxillary palpus. 130. Ocypus picipennis picipennis, hind tibia with spines (arrow) on dorsolateral face. 131. Ocypus mus, last segment of labial palpus. 132. Ocypus weisei, last segment of labial palpus. 133. Ocypus olens, last segment of labial palpus. 134. Platydracus stercorarius, last segment of maxillary palpus. 135. Platydracus stercorarius, last segment of labial palpus.

Figs. 136–141. 136. Platydracus stercorarius, pronotal hypomeron, ventral view. 137. Platydracus stercorarius, right coxal cavity, ventral view. 138. Staphylinus dimidiaticornis, left mandible, ventral view. 139. Staphylinus erythropterus, last segment of labial palpus. 140. Dinothenarus pubescens, posteromedial portion of head and neck with pubescence, dorsal view. 141. Dinothenarus pubescens, pronotum with pubescence.

Figs. 45–52. 45. Philonthus caeruleipennis, superior and inferior marginal lines of pronotal hypomeron not joined, ventral view. 46. Agelosus carinatus, superior and inferior marginal lines of pronotal hypomeron distinctly not joined, ventral view. 47. Ocypus weisei, superior and inferior marginal lines of pronotal hypomeron not quite joined, ventral view. 48. Ocypus tenebricosus, superior and inferior marginal lines of pronotal hypomeron not quite joined, ventral view. 49. Creophilus maxillosus, superior marginal line of pronotal hypomeron becoming obsolete near anterior angles, ventral view. 50. Staphylinus dimidiaticornis, joining of superior and inferior marginal lines of pronotal hypomeron, ventral view. 51. Miobdelus sp., joining of superior and inferior marginal lines of pronotal hypomeron, ventral view. 52. Platydracus stercorarius, superior and inferior marginal lines of pronotal hypomeron not quite joined, appearing as a grooved carina anteriorly, ventral view.

Figs. 59–64. 59. Dinothenarus pubescens, series of long setae (some represented only by their sockets) on mesosternum. 60. Miobdelus sp., series of long setae on mesosternum. 61. Craspedomerus sp., series of long setae on mesosternum without transverse ridge. 62. Tasgius melanarius, mesocoxal acetabulum. 63. Ocypus weisei, mesocoxal acetabulum. 64. Staphylinus dimidiaticornis, mesocoxal cavities, not margined posteromedially.