Tiferonia Darlington, 1962

Kipling, Will, 2020, Phylogeny and classification of the genus-group taxa of Loxandrina (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Abacetini), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 67 (2), pp. 151-182 : 151

Genus Tiferonia Darlington, 1962

Type species.

Tiferonia parva Darlington, 1962: 562, by original designation.

Selected literature.

Review of genus and key to species ( Will 2020a).

Described species and range.

Four species from New Guinea, the Philippines, Cambodia (B. Gueorguiev in litt.), and central Africa.

Adult characteristics.

Small sized beetles (3.5-5.0 mm). These beetles are moderately convex, shiny, brown and the elytra somewhat or significantly iridescent. In general form they are similar to some small species of Lecanomerus Chaudoir, 1850 or larger Tachys Dejean, 1821. Recognizable from other, similar looking abacetine genera by the combination of deep post-ocular sulcus, smooth elytral margins; and lack of elytral discal setae.

Life history notes.

Wet, shady areas near water ( Darlington 1962).

Discussion.

Darlington described Tiferonia as being "a minute Loxandrus " with a few significant differences, he also discusses the possibility that they are related to Melanchrous Andrewes or Holconotus Schmidt-Goebel, 1846 (= Fouquetius Maindron, 1906), with the latter relationship having more character support. Tiferonia has sinuate metacoxal sulci that end in the middle of the coxa, sharply impressed and divergent frontal impressions, symmetrically expanded male protarsi, a moderately transverse mentum, and lacks the puncture on interval 3 of the elytral disc. All of these characteristic are also found in Holconotus , but also in many other Abacetina taxa. Tiferonia and Holconotus species share the presence of a sharply impressed sulcus on the non-ommatidia portion of the ocular orbit just behind the eye, a character not found in any other Abacetini species and likely a synapomorphy for these two genera. Tiferonia lacks the serrulations near the humeri on the elytral marginal bead that are found in Holconotus species ( Will 2020a). Tiferonia does not have the asymmetrically inserted second antennomeres as is found in Abacetus and many other putatively related genera. Given its character state combination, Tiferonia is most likely in a grade of Abacetina taxa, near genera like Metabacetus and Cosmodiscus .