Phylogenetic systematics of the genera Plochionocerus Dejean and Agrodes Nordmann (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Xantholinini) Author Asiain, Julieta Author Márquez, Juan Author Morrone, Juan J. text Zootaxa 2007 1584 1 53 journal article 10.5281/zenodo.178410 ba2b7965-13f3-401f-9c5a-1705938112ea 1175-5326 178410 Agrodes Nordmann, 1837 stat . rev. Agrodes Nordmann, 1837 : 161 ( type species: A . elegans Nordmann, 1837 , by monotypy); Erichson, 1847 : 88 ; Lacordaire, 1854 : 66 ; Gemminger & Harold, 1868 : 599 (synonym of Sterculia ); Sharp, 1876 : 192 ; Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914 : 314 (subgenus of Sterculia ); Blackwelder, 1952 : 42 (subgenus of Plochionocerus ); Newton, 1995 : 51 (request to the ICZN to place Agrodes on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology); ICZN, 1996: 215 (Official List of Generic Names in Zoology). Diagnosis. Body bright metallic; head conspicuously oblong (length/width: 1.54–2.00); lateral margins of the head contiguous dorsally and ventrally, lacking lateroventral furrows; ventral surface of the head with very dense, not expanded, umbilicate punctures (> 30 on each half of the head) distributed homogeneously; anterior margin of labrum with two pairs of small, lateral teeth and a pair of central, longer teeth ( Fig. 37 ); mandibles almost as long as half of the head length; apical labial palpomere elongate; upper line of the pronotal hypomeron completely developed ( A. conicicollis ) or absent ( A. elegans ), slightly directed downwards in anterior third, but clearly distinct from lower line; pronotal hypomeron with fine, scarce setae in all area or in posterior 2/3; posterior margin of the elytra lacking notch; and internal margin of the tibiae with brush of dense and light setae covering the basal half or basal 2/3 of the tibiae. Redescription. Total length 17.5–23.8 mm . Body metallic blue, green or violet. Head . Elongate (length/width: 1.54–2.00), narrow posteriorly, dorsally with dense, umbilicate punctures ( Fig. 3 ), ventral surface with very dense, not expanded, umbilicate punctures (> 30 in each half of head) distributed homogeneously ( Fig. 67 ); lateral margins of head without lateroventral furrows ( Fig. 10 ); antennae with basal antennomere longer than antennomeres 2+3 combined, second antennomere shorter than third, remaining antennomeres shorter than second, apical antennomere shorter than antennomeres 9+10 combined ( Figs. 22, 23 ); anterior margin of labrum with two pairs of small, lateral teeth and a pair of bigger, central teeth ( Fig. 37 ); mandibles acute, almost as long as half of head length, with two teeth on left mandible and one on right, with channel on external basal half ( Figs. 38, 39 ); first maxillary palpomere shorter than remaining articles, second longest, third almost as long as apical palpomere and slightly widened toward apex, apical palpomere elongate-conical ( Fig. 42 ); first labial palpomere shorter than palpomeres 2+3, second almost as long as apical or slightly longer and slightly widened toward apex, apical palpomere elongate ( Fig. 42 ). Neck narrow, with anterior corners obtuse ( Fig. 67 ). FIGURES 69–78. Ventral (left) and lateral (right) view of aedeagus: 69, Philonthus testaceipennis ; 70, Homalolinus flavipennis ; 71, Thyreocephalus puncticeps ; 72, Renda fimetaria ; 73, R. flagellicornis ; 74, R. leprieuri ; 75, Agrodes conicicollis ; 76, A. elegans ; 77, Plochionocerus ashei ; 78, P. discedens . Scale bar 1 mm. FIGURES 79–87 . Ventral (left) and lateral (right) view of aedeagus: 79, Plochionocerus fulgens ; 80, P. h e r m a n i ; 81, P. humeralis ; 82, P. ig neu s ; 83, P. impressipennis ; 84, P. janthinus ; 85, P. marquezi ; 86, P. modestus ; 87, P. newtonorum . Scale bar 1 mm. FIGURES 88–93. Ventral (left) and lateral (right) view of aedeagus: 88, Plochionocerus pronotalis ; 89, P. puncticeps ; 90, P. reticularis ; 91, P. simplicicollis ; 92, P. s p l e n d e n s ; 93, P. transversalis . Scale bar 1 mm. Thorax . Pronotum smooth; with fine, dispersed setiferous punctures, central longitudinal area without punctures ( Fig. 3 ); lateral margins of posterior half slightly sinuate; posterior part of pronotum with slightly visible, depressed area in each half; upper line of pronotal hypomeron completely developed, except in anterior third ( A. conicicollis , Fig. 65 ) or absent ( A. elegans , Fig. 66 ), slightly directed downwards in anterior third, but clearly distinct from lower line; pronotal hypomeron with fine, scarce setae on whole area or in posterior 2/3 ( Figs. 65, 66 ). Scutellum with scarce punctures. Elytra almost as long as pronotum; with dense, setiferous punctures; posterior margin without notch ( Figs. 3 , 58 ). Prosternum slightly oblong (length/width ratio 1.04–1.20; Fig. 67 ), with fine, dispersed setae ( Fig. 67 ). Mesoventrite short and wide, surface smooth and with scarce setiferous punctures on posterior margin. Metaventrite biggest, with its surface smooth and with few setiferous punctures. FIGURE 94 . Strict consensus cladogram. Black circles = synapomorphies; open circles = homoplasies; font numbers refer to clades discussed in the text. Legs . Long and slender; femora with dispersed setae on the internal and external faces; internal face of tibiae with brush of dense white setae in the basal half or 2/3 ( Fig. 61 ), with apical spines, of which the internal one is longest; first and second tarsomeres almost equal in length, longer than third and fourth, third longer than fourth, and fifth longest (almost as tarsomeres 2+3 combined). Abdomen . Surface with smooth and setiferous punctures as dense or slightly less dense than those on elytra; fifth and sixth visible abdominal segments conspicuously narrow than previous segments; male genital sternite elongate, asymmetrical and acute toward apex, with setae in anterior part, wider than genital tergite. Aedeagus . Variable in shape ( Figs. 75, 76 ). FIGURE 95 . Results of the Jackknife analysis. Numbers on the branches indicate percentage boostrap values. Comparative comments. Agrodes was established by Nordmann (1837) , who distinguished it from the species then placed in Plochionocerus . Some authors ( Erichson 1839 , Laporte 1840 , Gemminger & Harold 1868 , Blackwelder 1944 ), however, synonymized it with Sterculia , whereas others ( Erichson 1847 , Lacordaire 1854 ) considered it valid, treating Sterculia and Araeocnemus as synonyms of Agrodes or as its subgenera ( Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914 ). Sharp (1876 , 1885 ) was the first author to distinguish Agrodes from Sterculia (now Plochionocerus ) and Renda (named by him as Plochionocerus ) and provided characters (such as the elongate head and development of the prosternum) that have been important for our decision to consider Agrodes a distinct genus.