Clidicostigus Jałoszyński, Brunke & Bai

Paweł Jałoszyński, 2018, World genera of Mastigitae: review of morphological structures and new ecological data (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae), Zootaxa 4453 (1), pp. 1-119 : 104

† Clidicostigus Jałoszyński, Brunke & Bai

Clidicostigus Jałoszyński, Brunke & Bai, 2017: 112 (in Jałoszyński et al. (2017)). Type species: Clidicostigus arachnipes Jałoszyński, Brunke & Bai, 2017 (orig. des.).

Cascomastigus Yin & Cai (in Yin et al. (2017a)): 2. Type species: Cascomastigus monstrabilis Yin & Cai, 2017 (orig. des.). Placed as junior synonym of Clidicostigus by Jałoszyński et al. (2018).

Diagnosis. Clidicostigus differs from all remaining Mastigini in deep, regular, continuous longitudinal elytral grooves; mesoventral and anterior metaventral processes both much longer than broad and together forming nearly parallel-sided narrow carina separating mesocoxae; and elongate maxillary palpomere IV with one side strongly convex and the other sinuate (approximately boomerang-shaped).

Composition and distribution. Clidicostigus ( Fig. 163 ) comprises three extinct species known from the Cenomanian Myanmar amber.

Remarks. Clidicostigus has an asymmetrical aedeagus, with its distal region (reconstructed by microcomputer tomography by Jałoszyński et al. (2017)) closely resembling that of the extant Mastigus spinicornis ( Fabricius, 1787) . The elytral base devoid of humeral calli suggests that adults were wingless; extremely long legs, antennae and maxillary palps and other structures closely resembling those in extant Mastigini suggest a similar mode of life, i.e. possibly diurnal activity and relaying on walking and running to locate a source of food and to disperse.

Figures

FIGURE 163. Mastigini, example of extinct species; dorsolateral habitus of Clidicostigus arachnipes.