Eleodes caudiferus LeConte, 1858

Johnston, M. Andrew, Fleming, David, Franz, Nico M. & Smith, Aaron D., 2015, Amphidorini Leconte (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of Arizona: Keys and Species Accounts, The Coleopterists Bulletin (mo 14) 69, pp. 27-54 : 45

Eleodes caudiferus LeConte, 1858

( Fig. 6C )

Eleodes caudiferus glabrus Blaisdell, 1909 Eleodes caudiferus scabrus Blaisdell, 1909 Eleodes caudiferus sublaevis Blaisdell, 1909

Diagnosis. Body elongate. Elytra caudate and scabrous to tuberculate in both sexes, with faint but distinctly impressed striae. Pronotum narrowed in posterior half, anterior angles not projected, rounded to slightly acute. Anterior femora never armed, metatibia unmodified.

Distribution. Coconino, Navajo, and Apache Counties, Arizona. El Paso, Texas, New Mexico, southern Utah.

Remarks. This distinctive species, easily recognizable by its rough, caudate elytra and pronotal shape, is found in northern Arizona in both sand dunes and (generally sandy soiled) grasslands. The three subspecies were originally described by Blaisdell as infrasubspecific variants which varied by slight sculpturing differences. This species has historically been treated in the subgenus Eleodes due to its caudate elytra, but was formally excluded in the revision by Triplehorn et al. (2015) and remains incertae sedis.

Figures

Fig. 6. Eleodes species, dorsal habitus. A) E. eschscholtzi, male, B) E. eschscholtzi, female; C) E. caudiferus, D) E. spinipes macrurus, male. Scale bars = 1 cm.