Tinotus Sharp, 1883

Hanley, Rodney S., 2002, A New Species Of Mexican Tinotus From The Refuse Piles Of Atta Ants, Including An Annotated World Catalog Of Tinotus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Aleocharini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 56 (4), pp. 453-471 : 456-457

Genus Tinotus Sharp

Tinotus Sharp, 1883:170 [description]; Casey, 1906:320 [descriptive mention]; Eichelbaum, 1909:231 [catalog listing]; Blatchley, 1910:345, 349 [key to genera, redescription]; Casey, 1911:64 [taxonomic mention]; Fenyes, 1918 –1921:311 [redescription]; Bernhauer and Scheerpeltz, 1926:713 [catalog listing]; Scheerpeltz, 1929:20 [in key to Palaearctic genera of Aleocharinae ]; Bradley, 1930:84 [key to genera]; Scheerpeltz, 1934:1666 [catalog listing]; Cameron, 1939:556 [redescription, key to British Indian

species]; Blackwelder, 1944:163 [checklist of Neotropical species];

Blackwelder, 1952:390 [listing of names]; Lohse, 1974: 291 [taxonomic

mention, in key to European genera, redescription]; Seevers, 1978:142,

276 [redescription, catalog listing]; Klimaszewski, 1984:10 [descriptive

mention]; Pace, 1991:165 [redescription]; Downie and Arnett, 1996:535

[key to genera and species of northeastern North America]; Hanley and

Ashe, 1998:184 [taxonomic mention]; Klimaszewski and Maus, 1999:

208 [taxonomic mention]; Klimaszewski, 2000:19 [descriptive mention];

Klimaszewski et al. 2000:229 [descriptive mention]. Type Species. Tinotus cavicollis Sharp, 1883 by subsequent designation ( Fenyes, 1918 –1921). Exaleochara Keys, 1907:102 [description]; Fenyes, 1918 –1921:306 [rede­

scription]; Bernhauer and Scheerpeltz, 1926:713 [catalog listing, as a

synonym of Tinotus ]. Type Species. Exaleochara morion Gravenhorst, 1802 by monotypy. Distribution. Afrotropical Region — Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Zaire; Australian Region — New Caledonia; Nearctic Region — Mexico, U.S.A. (Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas), Neotropical Region — Argentina (Tucumán), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo), Colombia, Guatemala, Paraguay; Oriental Region — China [People’s Republic], India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh), Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand; Palaearctic Region — France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands. Comments. Tinotus clearly should be placed as a member of the tribe Aleocharini based on a phylogenetic analysis of generic­level taxa of the Hoplandriini (Hanley, in prep.). Based on this analysis, Tinotus shares the following characters with members of Aleochara , and probably represent synapomorphies for the Aleocharini :

1. Hairs of the prostheca of the mandibles arranged in numerous rows, appearing more­or­less bushy.

2. Ligula of the prementum short, length to width ratio less than 2.5.

3. Apex of the ligula somewhat bifid to crescent­shaped.

4. Setae at extreme apex of ligula long, about 0.3 to 0.5 times length of ligula.

5. Medial spines on the ligula absent, twin asetose pores present.

6. Area of greatest width of the hypoglossal lobes at the middle of each lobe.

7. Distinct carina present, extending from base but not reaching apex of process, on the mesosternum.

Though the limits of the Aleocharini are still uncertain, it now seems clear that Tinotus is closely related to Aleochara . It shares numerous uniquely derived characters with known members of the Aleocharini , especially Aleochara . Indeed, Tinotus differs from other members of the Aleocharini solely in tarsal formula. This feature is strictly autapomorphic, and is an insufficient criterion for including Tinotus within the Hoplandriini . This examination supports Lohse’s (1974) and Maus et al. (In press) hypotheses that Tinotus should be included in the Aleocharini .