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Troglosternus Bickhardt 1917

Bickhardt 1917: 245

Type species: Troglosternus dasypus Bickhardt 1917. Originally designated.

List of Species

1. Troglosternus dasypus Bickhardt 1917: 246.

Type locality: Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. Lecotype (designated by Dégallirer 1996:370) deposited in the Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität, Berlin (ZMHB).

Distribution: BRAZIL: Rio Grande do Sul (state record only), Santa Catarina (Nova Teutonia). PARAGUAY: Concepción (Horqueta) (Tishechkin 2003).

Known from 18 specimens in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (FMNH), Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander König (FIMAK), LSAM, ZMHB, private collection of A. K. Tishechkin (AKT)

2. Troglosternus ecitonis Mann 1925: 172.

Type locality: Panama, Barro Colorado Island. Syntypes deposited in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington (SI).

Distribution: BRAZIL: Acre (Cruzeiro do Sul). COSTA RICA: Alajuela (Eladios), Cartago (Rio Pacuare Forest Reserve, Turrialba), Limon (Hitoy Cerere Biological Station), Puntarenas (Las Cruces Biological Station; Rancho Quemado, osa Peninsula; Rincon de Osa). MEXICO: Chiapas (76 km S Palenque; 16 km NW Ocozocoautla, Parque Laguna Belgica), Veracruz (7 km S Huatusco; 33 km NE Catemaco, Los Tuxtlas Biological Station). PANAMA: Colón (San Lorenzo Forest, STRI canopy crane site; Parque Nacional Soberania, Pipeline Road; 14 km N junction Escobar and Piña Roads; Old Gamboa Road), Panama (Barro Colorado Island). PERU: Madre de Dios (Cocha Salvador) (Dégallier 1996, Tishechkin 2003).

Known from 93 specimens at AKT, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa (CNM), FMNH, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Heredia, Costa Rica, LSAM, Snow Entomological Collections, University of Kansas, Lawrence (SEC), SI, private collections of N. Dégallirer and C. W. Rettenmeyer.

Note: Ecuadorian record (Tishechkin 2003) is wrong and refers to the Species # 5. Brazilian and Peruvian records (Dégallier 1996, Tishechkin 2003) are somewhat doubtful. At the time of these publications, authors were not aware of the presence in Amazonia undescribed Troglosternus species closely related to T. ecitonis. The identifications of both specimens were not doublechecked yet, so it seems possible they might belong to undescribed species, possibly, species # 4 or 5 (below). In fact, Dégallier (1996) mentioned some differences between the Acre and Costa Rican specimens apparently attributing those to geographical variability.

3. Troglosternus lisaevedouae Reichensperger 1938: 78.

Type locality: Costa Rica, Farm La Caja near San Jose. Syntypes deposited in the FIMAK.

Distribution: COSTA RICA: San Jose (farm La Caja near San Jose; San Jose). PERU (country record only).

Known from 32 specimens at AKT, FIMAK, Instituto e Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro (FIOC), SI.

Note: Peruvian record (Mazur 1997) is given in the World catalogue without any detail. Given the lack of species records in South America and presence of several similar undescribed species there, this report seems somewhat doubtful.

4. Troglosternus neoecitonis Dégallier 1998: 372.

Type locality: Costa Rica, San Jose. Holotype deposited in the FIMAK.

Distribution: COSTA RICA: San Jose (San Jose).

Known from 27 specimens at AKT, FIMAK, FIOC and ND.

5. Undescribed species # 1.

Distribution: FRENCH GUIANA: (Saül, near Les Eaux Claires).

Known from 2 specimens at SEC.

6. Undescribed species # 2.

Distribution: FRENCH GUIANA: (8.4 km SSE Roura).

Known from a single specimen at SEC.

7. Undescribed species # 3.

Distribution: BOLIVIA: Cochabamba (67.5 km E Villa Tunari, Valle Sajta Biological Station).

Known from a single specimen at CMN.

8. Undescribed species # 4.

Distribution: PERU: Loreto (160 km NE Iquitos, 2 km from Rio Napo on Rio Sucusari).

Known from a single specimen currently at AKT.

9. Undescribed species # 5.

Distribution: ECUADOR: Orellana (Tiputini Biodiversity Station; Yasuní Research Station).PERU: Loreto (1.5 km N Teniente Lopez).

Known from 8 specimens at LSAM, Natural History Museum, London, Pontifica Universidad Catholica del Ecuador, Quito, and SEC.

10. Undescribed species # 6.

Distribution: GUYANA: (Iwokrama Field Station; Takutu Mountains).

Known from 4 specimens at SEC and SI.

11. Undescribed species # 7.

Distribution: ECUADOR: Orellana (Yasuní Research Station; Yuturi Lodge). Known from 3 specimens at LSAM and SEC.

12. Undescribed species # 8.

Distribution: COSTA RICA: Puntarenas (Las Alturas and Las Cruces Biological Stations).

Known from 2 specimens at SEC and private collection of B. D. Gill.

Natural History

Species are found in tropical and subtropical forests, mostly lowland (150-300 m), but occasionally in montane forests at 700-1600 m (four species). One of the latter four species (T. ecitonis) is recorded over a substantial altitudinal gradient (50-1200 m). Hosts are patchily known and include for the genus army ants Eciton hamatum, Labidus coecus and L. praedator. So far, four Troglosternus species with known host records (all multiple independent records) appear to be specialized to a single host, i.e. T. ecitonis to E. hamatum, T. dasypus – to L. praedator, and T. liseavedouae and T. neoecitonis – to L. coecus. T. ecitonis was observed in and around bivouac sites during and just after emigration, and also was collected by total bivouac sampling. Once, a beetle was observed riding under the thorax of an ant major worker during the emigration, but how regular this behavior may be is unknown. Given regular occurrence of this and other Troglosternus in flight intercept trap catches, flying is a common behavior.

References

Bickhardt, H. 1917. Histeridae. Genera Insectorum 166b: 113-302.

Dégallier, N. 1998. Coleoptera Histeridae Hetaeriinae: description de nouveaux taxons, désignation de lectotypes et notes taxonomiques. Bonner Zoologischer Beitrag 47: 345-349.

Mann, W. 1925. Guests of Eciton hamatum (Fab.) collected by professor W. M. Wheeler. Psyche 32: 166-177.

Reichensperger, A. 1938. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Myrmekophylen- und Termitophilenfauna Brasiliens und Costa Ricas V. (Col. Hist., Staph.). Revista de Entomologia 9: 74-97.

Tishechkin, A. K. 2003. New distribution records of Neotropical Hetariinae (Coleoptera: Histeridae). Sociobiology 41: 673-683.

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