Leiodidae

Habitus of Eucatops sp., from Peck & Cook (2005). Scale bar = 1 mm.

Belongs within: Staphylinoidea.
Contains: Leiodini, Agathidiini, Agyrtidae, Cholevini, Ptomaphagini, Leptodirini, Dissochaetus.

The Leiodidae are mostly scavenging or fungivorous beetles, often found in decaying organic matter; a number of species are known from caves. They are diverse in body form but can mostly be recognised by the form of the eighth antennal segment, which is smaller than the seventh and ninth segments on either side of it. Perhaps the most modified in form is Platypsyllus castoris, an ectoparasite of beetles with a flattened body and reduced eyes and elytra. Members of the subfamily Cholevinae are characterised by a sharp occipital crest that rests against the front of the pronotum when the head is in repose (Peck 2001).

Characters (from Lawrence & Britton 1991): Moderately small beetles with more or less spiny legs and usually simple tarsi, abdomen usually entirely concealed by elytra. Antennae eleven-segmented, usually with five-segmented antennal club, second segment of club (antennal segment 8) smaller than either first or third, club sometimes very weak with antennal segment 8 only slightly reduced, or very strong with 8 greatly reduced or absent, unique internal sensory vesicles usually opening on distal surfaces of segments 7, 9 and 10. Larvae active, campodeiform, urogomphi almost always articulated at base; mandibular mola and two apical maxillary lobes (galea and lacinia) present.

Leiodidae [Anisotomidae, Camiaridae, Sogdiidae]
    |--Leiodinae [Anisotominae] P90
    |    |  i. s.: Dietta sperata LB91, B70
    |    |--Leiodini P90
    |    |--Sogdini [Hydnobiini] P01
    |    |    |--Triarthron Märkel 1840 [=Triarthrum Agassiz 1847] P01
    |    |    `--Hydnobius Schmidt 1847 P90
    |    |--Scotocryptini P90
    |    |    |--Scotocryptus GE05
    |    |    `--Aglyptinus Cockerell 1906 [incl. Alyptus LeConte 1866 (preoc.), Agyptonotus Champion 1913] P01
    |    |         `--A. laevis (LeConte 1853) P01
    |    |--Pseudoliodini P01
    |    |    |--Colenis Erichson 1845 (see below for synonymy) P01
    |    |    |    `--C. impunctata P90
    |    |    `--Cainosternum Notman 1931 P90
    |    |         `--C. imbricatum Notman 1921 P01
    |    `--Agathidiini P90
    `--+--Agyrtidae MW15
       `--+--Camiarinae B14
          |    |--Camiarus thoracicus (Sharp 1876) B14
          |    |--Eublackburniella LB91
          |    |--Myrmocholevus LB91
          |    `--Agyrtodes [Agyrtodini] MW15
          `--Cholevinae [Catopidae, Catopinae, Cholevidae] S05
               |  i. s.: Micronemadus pusillimus (Kraatz 1877) [=Nemadus pusillimus] SP76
               |         Cholevinus SP76
               |         Dzungarites SP76
               |         Cryocatops SP76
               |         Ptomaphaginus SP76
               |           |--P. oribates SP76
               |           `--P. palpalis Szymczakowski 1974 SP76
               |         Catopodes SP76
               |           |--C. calceatus Szymczakowski & Plath 1976 SP76
               |           `--C. fuscifrons SP76
               |         Mesocatops SP76
               |           |--M. imitator SP76
               |           |--M. latitarsis SP76
               |           `--M. retroflexus Szymczakowski & Plath 1976 SP76
               |         Pseudonemadus australis LB91
               |         Austronemadus LB91
               |         Catoposchema LB91
               |         Nargiotes LB91
               |--Cholevini MW15
               |--Ptomaphagini S05
               |--Leptodirini PN02
               |--Anemadini P01
               |    |--Dissochaetus S05
               |    `--Nemadus Thomson 1867 (see below for synonymy) P01
               `--Eucatops [Eucatopini] S05
                    |--E. (Eucatops) S05
                    |    |--E. (E.) incognitus Salgado 2003 S05
                    |    `--E. (E.) obtusus Gnaspini 1994 S05
                    |--E. (Napocatops) giganteus S05
                    `--E. (Sphaerocatops) granuliformis Salgado 2003 S05

Leiodidae incertae sedis:
  Paracatops brunneipes E02
  Catopidius GE05
  Neopelatops Jeannel 1936 GN09
  Gelae B14
  Ragytodes LB91
  Nargomorphus LB91
  Catopocerinae P90
    |--Catopocerus Motschulsky 1870 (see below for synonymy) P01
    |    `--C. appalachianus P90
    `--Glacicavicola Westcott 1968 [Glacicavicolini] P90
         `--G. bathyscioides Westcott 1968 P01
  Leptininae [Leptinidae, Platypsyllinae] P90
    |--Silphopsyllus desmanae RD77, A71
    |--Platypsyllus Ritsema 1869 (see below for synonymy) P01
    |    `--P. castoris Ritsema 1869 B14
    |--Leptinus Müller 1817 P90
    |    |--L. americanus P90
    |    `--L. testaceus P90
    `--Leptinillus Horn 1882 P90
         |--L. aplodontiae Ferris 1918 P01
         `--L. validus (Horn 1872) P01
  Nargus wilkini GN09, FFB88
  Parabathyscia GN09
  Cumianites GN09
  Nyujwa zherichini Perkovsky 1990 RJ93

Catopocerus Motschulsky 1870 [incl. Homaeosoma Austin 1880, Pinodytes Horn 1880, Typholeiodes Hatch 1935; Catopocerini] P01

Colenis Erichson 1845 [incl. Carcharodes Hlisnikovsky 1965 (preoc.), Carcharodus Hlisnikovsky 1965 (preoc.), Colenodes Peck 1998, Mathewsionia Hlisnikovsky 1965] P01

Nemadus Thomson 1867 [incl. Eonargus Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1959, Laferius Perkovsky 1994; Nemadini] P01

Platypsyllus Ritsema 1869 [=Platypsullus Westwood 1869, Playpsylla LeConte 1872; Acheiroptera, Platypsyllidae] P01

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A71] Askew, R. R. 1971. Parasitic Insects. Heinemann Educational Books: London.

[B14] Bouchard, P. (ed.) 2014. The Book of Beetles: A lifesize guide to six hundred of nature's gems. Ivy Press: Lewes (United Kingdom).

[B70] Britton, E. B. 1970. Coleoptera (beetles). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers pp. 495–621. Melbourne University Press.

[E02] Emberson, R. M. 2002. The beetle (Coleoptera) fauna of the Chatham Islands: additions and corrections. New Zealand Entomologist 25: 69–77.

[FFB88] Franke, U., B. Friebe & L. Beck. 1988. Methodisches zur Ermittlung der Siedlungsdichte von Bodentieren aus Quadratproben und Barberfallen. Pedobiologia 32: 253–264.

[GN09] Grebennikov, V. V., & A. F. Newton. 2009. Good-bye Scydmaenidae, or why the ant-like stone beetles should become megadiverse Staphylinidae sensu latissimo (Coleoptera). European Journal of Entomology 106: 275–301.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[LB91] Lawrence, J. F., & E. B. Britton. 1991. Coleoptera (beetles). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 543–683. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[MW15] McKenna, D. D., A. L. Wild, K. Kanda, C. L. Bellamy, R. G. Beutel, M. S. Caterino, C. W. Farnum, D. C. Hawks, M. A. Ivie, M. L. Jameson, R. A. B. Leschen, A. E. Marvaldi, J. V. McHugh, A. F. Newton, J. A. Robertson, M. K. Thayer, M. F. Whiting, J. F. Lawrence, A. Ślipiński, D. R. Maddison & B. D. Farrell. 2015. The beetle tree of life reveals that Coleoptera survived end-Permian mass extinction to diversify during the Cretaceous terrestrial revolution. Systematic Entomology 40 (4): 835–880.

[P90] Peck, S. B. 1990. Insecta: Coleoptera Silphidae and the associated families Agyrtidae and Leiodidae. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 1113–1136. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[P01] Peck, S. B. 2001. Leiodidae Fleming, 1821. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr & M. C. Thomas (eds) American Beetles vol. 1. Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia pp. 250–258. CRC Press: Boca Raton.

[PN02] Poggi, R., G. Nonveiller, A. Colla, D. Pavićević & T. Rađa. 2001–2002. Thaumastocephalini, a new tribe of Pselaphinae for Thaumastocephalus folliculipalpus n. gen., n. sp., an interesting new troglobious species from central Dalmatia (Croatia) (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae). Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “Giacomo Doria” 94: 1–20.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.

[S05] Salgado, J. M. 2005. Cholevinae (Coleoptera, Leiodidae) from Ecuador: new data and two new species. Graellsia 61 (1): 51–60.

[SP76] Szymczakowski, W., & D. Plath. 1976. Catopidae aus dem Nepal-Himalaya (Ins., Col.) Senckenbergiana Biologica 57 (1-3): 35–48.

Last updated: 13 December 2020.