Paussinae

Mystropomus sp., from here.

Belongs within: Conjunctae.
Contains: Arthropterus.

The Paussinae are a group of moderate-sized ground beetles lacking the rotation of the ovipositor found in many other carabids. A number of species of the tribe Paussini are found in association with ants.

Characters (from Ball & Bousquet 2001): Size moderate (total length ca. 6–20 mm); head capsule ventrally without antennal grooves; antennal insertions laterad, each between base of mandible and anterior margin of eye; antenna filiform to clavate, number of antennomeres 11 to 2 (lower numbers result of fusion of flagellar articles); antennomeres 2–4 not nodose, 2–6 without unusually long setae; labrum with 12 setae; mandible with scrobe unisetose or asetose, occlusal margin with one terebral tooth, retinacular tooth about size of terebral tooth, not enlarged and molariform; terminal palpomeres various, from about cylindrical to distinctly securiform; pterothorax with mesonotal scutellum dorsally visible, not concealed beneath elytra; front coxal cavities closed, with lateral arm of prosternum overlapped by tip of adjacent proepimeron; middle coxal cavities disjunct-separated, and hind coxal cavities lobate (disjunct)-confluent; elytra indistinctly striate to smooth dorsally, extended to apex of abdominal tergum VIII, and apical margins subsinuate; with or without a prominent ridge or fold in apical one-fxfth (flange of Coanda); metathoracic wings large to variously reduced; front tibia isochaete, antenna cleaner, if present, independent of spurs, sulcate or emarginate; abdomen with six (II–VII) pregenital sterna normally exposed, sterna III and IV separated by suture; male genitalia with parameres asymmetric in form (left shorter and broader, right styliform, left paramere with one or few setae apically, right with more or less dense brush of setae preapically and apically; ovipositor with gonocoxae not rotated 90° in repose, with or without ramus, gonocoxa single, not divided, without accessory lobe; reproductive tract with spermatheca 2 only. Secretion of pygidial glands quinones, delivered hot; discharged by crepitation or by oozing. Larvae with anal plates formed by fusion of tergites of abdominal segment VIII with epipleurites of abdominal segment IX; cerci either antler-like, each with several branches, or plate-like.

<==Paussinae [Isochaeta]
    |  i. s.: Mesarthropterus wasmanni (Reichensperger 1915) [=Arthropterus wasmanni] LM87
    |         Paussomorphus Raffray 1885 LM87
    |           |--*P. chevrolatii (Westwood 1852) [=Paussus chevrolatii] LM87
    |           `--P. australis (Blackburn 1891) [=Paussus australis] LM87
    |--Metrius Escholscholtz 1829 [Metriini] BB01
    |    |--M. contractus BB01
    |    `--M. explodens BB01
    `--+--Paussini [Protopaussini] BB01
       |    |--Arthropterus LB91
       |    |--Protopaussus RD77
       |    |--Megalopaussus Lea 1906 LB91, LM87
       |    |    `--*M. amplipennis Lea 1906 LM87
       |    `--Paussus A61
       |         |--P. flavicornis B35
       |         |--P. lineatus A61
       |         |--P. testaceus RD77
       |         `--P. trigonicornis G20
       `--Ozaenini [Ozaeninae] BB01
            |--Eustra japonica BB01
            |--Pseudozaena lutea Hope 1842 BB01
            |--Ozaena Olivier 1812 BB01
            |    `--O. lemoulti Bänninger 1932 BB01
            |--Physea Brullé 1834 BB01
            |    |--P. hirta LeConte 1853 BB01
            |    `--P. setosa Chaudoir 1868 BB01
            |--Pachyteles Perty 1830 BB01
            |    |  i. s.: P. mexicanus BB01
            |    |--P. (Pachyteles) gyllenhalii Dejean 1825 BB01
            |    `--P. (Goniotropis Gray 1832) BB01
            |         |--P. (G.) kuntzeni Bänninger 1927 BB01
            |         `--P. (G.) parca LeConte 1844 BB01
            `--Mystropomus Chaudoir 1848 LM87
                 |--*M. subcostatus Chaudoir 1848 LM87
                 |    |--M. s. subcostatus LM87
                 |    `--M. s. chaudoiri Castelnau 1867 LM87
                 `--M. regularis Bänninger 1940 LM87
                      |--M. r. regularis LM87
                      `--M. r. laevis Darlington 1961 LM87

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Andreae, H. 1961. Coleoptera: Cossyphodidae. In: Hanström, B., P. Brinck & G. Rudebeck (eds) South African Animal Life: Results of the Lund University Expedition in 1950–1951 vol. 8 pp. 198–216. Almqvist & Wiksell: Uppsala.

[BB01] Ball, G. E., & Y. Bousquet. 2001. Carabidae Latreille, 1810. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr & M. C. Thomas (eds) American Beetles vol. 1. Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia pp. 32–132. CRC Press: Boca Raton.

[B35] Boisduval, J. B. 1835. Voyage de Découvertes de l’Astrolabe. Exécuté par ordre du Roi, pendant les années 1826–1827–1828–1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d'Urville. Faune entomologique de l'océan Pacifique, avec l'illustration des insectes nouveaux recueillis pendant le voyage vol. 2. Coléoptères et autres ordres. J. Tastu: Paris.

[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.

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

[LM87] Lawrence, J. F., B. P. Moore, J. E. Pyke & T. A. Weir. 1987. Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 4. Coleoptera: Archostemata, Myxophaga and Adephaga. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.

[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.

Last updated: 19 December 2020.