Phloiophilini Kiesenwetter, 1863

Kolibac, Jiri, 2013, Trogossitidae: A review of the beetle family, with a catalogue and keys, ZooKeys 366, pp. 1-194 : 88-89

Tribe Phloiophilini Kiesenwetter, 1863

Phloeophilidae Kiesenwetter, E. A. H. von 1863: 666 ().

Type genus:

Phloiophilus Stephens, 1830

Bouchard, P. et al. 2011: 56 (as Phloiophilidae ). Klausnitzer, B. 1996: 145. Kolibáč, J. 1987: 110. Kolibáč, J. 2004a: 242. Kolibáč, J. 2008: 123 (phylogeny; stat. n. sub Trogossitidae ). Lohse, G. A. 1979: 83 (as Phloeophilinae ; sub Melyridae ). Lawrence, J. F. 1982: 519 (morphology, systematics). Lawrence et al. 1993: CD-ROM (morphology of larvae). Lawrence et al. 1999a: CD-ROM (morphology of larvae). Lawrence et al. 1999b: CD-ROM (morphology of larvae). Majer 1994. Lawrence, J. F. & Newton, A. F., Jr. 1995: 867 (phylogeny). Mayor, A. 2007: 363 (distribution). Pic, M. 1926: 2

Remarks.

Phloiophilus has been classified within Dasytidae or Melyridae sensu lato ( Reitter 1911, Lohse 1979) or as a part of an independent family, i.e. Phloiophilidae (= Phloeophilidae ), formerly in conjunction with the genera Xerasia Lewis (now Byturidae ) and Acanthocnemus Perris ( Pic 1926). The latter genus is now classified in the monotypic family Acanthocnemidae Crowson, 1970 within the melyrid branch of Cleroidea or as a sister group of the rest of Cleroidea , whereas Phloiophilidae is generally considered a relative of Trogossitidae ( Crowson 1964a, Gunter et al. 2013, Kolibáč 2004, Klausnitzer 1996, Lawrence et al. 1993, 1999a, b, Majer 1994). Recently, Hunt et al. (2007) published a comprehensive study based exclusively on molecular data, according to which Phloiophilus edwardsi is related to Biphyllidae and Byturidae . Both the families are situated in a basal position of Cleroidea , near to Trogossitidae . On the other hand, preliminary outcomes of work by the Tree of Life team ( McKenna et al. 2012) as well as by Gunter et al. (2013), which are also based on molecular data, show a close relationship between Phloiophilus and Trogossitidae as well. Also believing in this relationship from a morphological point of view, I attempted to put its morphological characters into the trogossitid character matrix of 2006 ( Kolibáč 2008). A computer analysis within the NONA program indicated a relationship between Phloiophilus and basal Peltinae but, to be honest, a detailed analysis of character states shows that the supposed relationship is at least partly based on shared plesiomorphies as well as “reductions” common in all Cleroidea . Thus, the position and status of the single genus of Phloiophilidae / Phoiophilini remains uncertain. It is included herein at the rank of tribe but, in the light of future discoveries, it may also be shifted from Cleroidea to a group within traditional " Cucujoidea ". The genus Phloiophilus was unfortunately not included in the most modern morphological analysis by Lawrence et al. (2011).