The genus Anotylus Thomson, 1859

Thomson, 1859: 44 (species included: sculpturatus); Herman, 1970: 414 (characters; list of species); Shibata, 1973: 31 (subgenus of Oxytelus; checklist of species of Taiwan); Hammond, 1975: 147, 156 (characters; key to species of Ceylon); Hammond, 1976a: 145 (review of genus); Yuh et al. 1985: 228 (checklist of species of Korea); Herman, 2001: 1334 (catalog); Zheng, 2003: 259 (history, list of species); Zheng & Pu, 2004: 370–373 (list of species of China; 30 spp.); Smetana, 2004: 512 (catalog); Schülke & Smetana, 2015: 768 (catalog).

Type species: Oxytelus sculpturatus Gravenhorst, fixed by monotypy and original designation.

Syn.: Styloxys Gozis, 1886: 15 (species included: rugosus); Herman, 1970: 414 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Staphylinus rugosus Fabricius, fixed by monotypy.

Delopsis Fauvel, 1895: 198 (species included: cornuta, seticornis); Blackwelder, 1952: 342 (replaced by Rimba). Type species: Delopsis cornuta Fauvel, fixed by subsequent designation by R. Lucas, 1920: 228.

Oxytelopsis Fauvel, 1895: 199 (species included: apicipennis, cimicoides, pseudopsina); Makranczy, 2006: 75 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Oxytelopsis cimicoides Fauvel, fixed by Blackwelder, 1952: 282.

Oxytelodes Bernhauer, 1908: 290 (species included: holdhausi); Herman, 1970: 414 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Oxytelodes holdhausi Bernhauer, fixed by monotypy.

Emopotylus Bernhauer, 1910: 359 (subgenus of Oxytelus; species included: cuernavacanus); Herman, 1970: 414 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Oxytelus (Emopotylus) cuernavacanus Bernhauer, fixed by monotypy.

Boettcherinus Bernhauer, 1936a: 82 (species included: planaticollis, cornutus, militaris, bispinosus, bidentatus); Herman, 1970: 414 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Oxytelus (Boettcherinus) planaticollis Bernhauer, fixed by subsequent designation by Blackwelder, 1952: 79.

Oncoparia Bernhauer, 1936b: 214 (species included: parasita); Hammond, 1976a: 145 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Oncoparia parasita Bernhauer, fixed by monotypy.

Paracaccoporus Steel, 1948: 188 (subgenus of Oxytelus; species included: ocularis); Herman, 1970: 414 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Oxytelus ocularis Fauvel, fixed by original designation and monotypy.

Oxytelosus Cameron, 1950: 92 (species included: abnornalis “and no doubt” mirus); Herman, 1970: 414 (synonym of Anotylus; notes). Type species: Oxytelus abnormalis Cameron, fixed by virtual monotypy.

Rimba Blackwelder, 1952: 342 (replacement name for Delopsis Fauvel); Makranczy, 2006: 75 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Delopsis cornuta Fauvel, fixed by objective synonym with Delopsis .

Microxytelus Fagel, 1956: 272 (species included: nitidifrons); Herman, 1970: 414 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Oxytelus nitidifrons Wollaston, fixed by original designation and monotypy.

Oxytelops Fagel, 1956: 273 (species included: tetracarinatus); Herman, 1970: 414 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Staphylinus tetracarinatus Block, fixed by original designation and monotypy.

Pseudodelopsis Fagel, 1957a: 3 (species included: scotti, tolaensis, lungwensis); Herman, 1970: 414 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Pseudodelopsis scotti Fagel, fixed by original designation.

Anotylops Fagel, 1957: 8 (species included: seydeli); Hammond, 1976a: 145 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Anotylops seydeli Fagel, fixed by original designation and monotypy.

Metoxytelus Coiffait & Saiz, 1968: 422 (species included: sulcicollis); Hammond, 1976a: 145 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Oxytelus sulcicollis Gemminger and Harold, fixed by original designation and monotypy.

Neoplatystethus Abdullah & Qadri, 1970: 127 (species included: hameedi, meccii); Hammond, 1976a: 146 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Neoplatystethus hameedi Abdullah and Qadri, fixed by original designation.

Pseudoplatystethus Abdullah & Qadri, 1970: 129 (subgenus of Neoplatystethus; species included: meccii); Hammond, 1976a: 146 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Neoplatystethus (Pseudoplatystethus) meccii Abdullah and Qadri, fixed by original designation.

Neopyctocraerus Abdullah & Qadri, 1970: 126 (species included: shafqati); Hammond, 1976a: 146 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Neopyctocraerus shafqati Abdullah and Qadri, fixed by original designation and monotypy. Pseudopyctocraerus Abdullah & Qadri, 1970: 125 (subgenus of Platystethus; species included: mahmoodi); Hammond, 1976a: 146 (synonym of Anotylus). Type species: Platystethus (Pseudopyctocraerus) mahmoodi Abdullah & Qadri, fixed by original designation.

As a large genus of ca. 400 species worldwide (Herman, 2001; Schülke and Smetana, 2015), the genus Anotylus Thomson, 1859 can be separated by the following diagnostic features: scutellum with trilobed and crest-shaped impression; without basolateral ridges on tergite II; without tibial carinae; first and second tarsal articles nearly equal in length (Herman, 1970).

As a matter of fact, the infra-generic classification has been considered as one of the most difficult taxonomic issues for this genus, for their varying body sizes and different development of structures, often extreme cases of sexual dimorphism, the poorly known aedeagal structures in males (including complicated sclerites in the internal sac of the median lobe), but most of all, the very incompletely mapped diversity (both in terms of number of species and morphological disparity). As a result, it is perhaps not surprising that in the taxonomic history, rove beetle specialists did not try to erect many subgenera, rather used the more informal species groups (Bernhauer, 1939; Herman, 1970; Hammond, 1975, 1976b; Schülke, 2012a, b) as without doubt, the system will require many more changes. According to our study, we found also that this was the most suitable approach to the taxonomy of the genus Anotylus .