Turanostyphrus Tishechkin, 2005

Lackner, Tomáš, 2010, Review of the Palaearctic genera of Saprininae (Coleoptera: Histeridae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) 50, pp. 1-254 : 220

Turanostyphrus Tishechkin, 2005

Turanostyphrus Tishechkin, 2005: 348 . Type species: Turanostyphrus ignoratus Tishechkin, 2005 , original designation.

Diagnosis. Cuticle without prominent metallic luster; frontal and supraorbital striae absent; pronotal hypomeron setose; elytral epipleuron with short setae; both sets of prosternal striae present; pre-apical foveae absent. Protibia dilated, outer margin explanate, concealing numerous denticles (similar to Eremosaprinus vlasovi ); metatibia with explanate outer margin almost entirely concealing two rows of numerous denticles observable only from ventral view.

This genus has been erected only recently and TISHECHKIN’ s (2005) diagnosis serves the purpose well. However, for the sake of consistency and clarity concerning the morphology used in this work it is repeated here. The concerning parts are duly modified and characters omitted by Tishechkin in his paper are supplemented.

Differential diagnosis. This genus is one of the most peculiar among the Palaearctic Saprininae genera. The structure of protibia, and especially metatibia (with explanate outer margins almost completely concealing one or two rows of short denticles, respectively) and the setose elytral epipleuron does not allow it to be confused with any currently known taxon. By the absent frontal and supraorbital striae and pre-apical foveae, as well as the explanate outer margin of protibia it can be compared to the species Eremosaprinus vlasovi , but clearly differing from it by differently structured metatibia (long and slender, almost without denticles versus dilated and explanate concealing two rows of numerous denticles) as well as by the setose pronotal hypomeron and elytral epipleuron versus glabrous in Eremosaprinus vlasovi .

Biology. Virtually unknown; the only two described species (each known only from a holotype) were collected in a rodent burrow and trapped by a pitfall trap, respectively. TISHECHKIN (2005) hypothesized that this taxon probably leads psammophilous way of life, based on its external morphology.

Distribution. Central Asian province of Turan: Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Species examined. Turanostyphrus ignoratus Tishechkin, 2005 , T. kizilkumis Tishechkin, 2005 .

Discussion. Resolving the exact taxomonic position within the Palaearctic Saprininae of this genus is a puzzling task, which needs to be examined by further studies. In the preliminary studies on the phylogeny of Saprininae (LACKNER, in prep.) it came out in several equally parsimonious trees on the bottom, close to the group ‘ Eremosaprinus – Myrmetes – Gnathoncus ’; weighted analysis, however, placed it near the most derived psammophilous taxa, as originally also indicated by TISHECHKIN (2005). It is probably a well-defined monophyletic taxon, supported by several ‘strong’ autapomorphies, e.g. explanate outer margin of protibia and metatibia, concealing denticles. Absent frontal and supraorbital striae can be regarded as putative synapomorphies, shared also with several other taxa, e.g. the ‘ Eremosaprinus – Myrmetes – Gnathoncus ’ complex. Especially puzzling is the ciliate elytral epipleuron, which possibly represents an evolutionary reversal, or, alternatively a plesiomorphy.