Phylogenetic analysis of the family Megalopodidae (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea): better taxon-sampling facilitates detection of new relationships and new taxa.

The systematics of Megalopodidae is not adequately known, in spite of it being a relatively small group of phytophagous beetles. The first phylogenetic analysis of Megalopodidae with a comprehensive generic representation (25 genera of 30 described, 10 subgenera and 77 species) is undertaken. A parsimony analysis under equal and implied weights was carried out based on 147 adult and larval morphological characters. Subfamilies Palophaginae and Zeugophorinae were recovered as monophyletic, by contrast with Megalopodinae, which proved to be paraphyletic. Atelederinae are proposed as a new subfamily. Also, three tribes and three subtribes within Megalopodinae are proposed: Leucasteini trib.n., Sphondyliini trib.n. and Megalopodini, the latter including Macrolophina subtrib.n., Temnaspidina subtrib.n. and Megalopodina. The genera Macrolopha, Kuilua, Poecilomorpha, Temnaspis, Antonaria, Agathomerus, Megalopus and Bothromegalopus were recovered as non-monophyletic. New delimitations of the polyphyletic genera Poecilomorpha and Macrolopha are proposed, Clythraxeloma is resurrected, and the subgenera of Agathomerus are suppressed. The following new combinations are proposed: Kuilua apicata (Fairmaire), K. nyassae (Jacoby), Poecilomorpha cribricollis (Pic), P. minuta (Pic), Clythraxeloma assamensis (Jacoby), C. bipartita (Lacordaeri), C. discolineata (Pic), C. downesii (Baly), C. gerstaeckeri (Westwood), C. laosensis (Pic), C. maculata (Pic), C. mouhoti (Baly), C. nigrocyanea (Motschulsky), C. pretiosa (Reineck), Temnaspis tricoloripes (Pic) and Barticaria faciatus (Dalman). Clythraxeloma cyanipennis Kraatz is a restored combination. Distribution patterns of Megalopodidae largely conform to the breakup of Gondwanaland, with its main clades having particular distributions: Andean-Australian (Palophaginae), Ethiopian (Leucasteini, Sphondyliini, and Macrolophina), Neotropical (Ateledrinae and Megalopodina) and Ethiopian-Oriental-Palaearctic (Temnaspidina the result of a secondary expansion. Zeugophorinae present a worldwide distribution, except for the Neotropical and Andean regions, which may be the result of geodispersal. The findings of the present study also shed light on groups with taxonomic issues, where phylogenetic analyses are strongly needed.

Life cycle and description of the immature stages of a terrestrial firefly endemic to Mexico: Photinusextensus Gorham (Coleoptera, Lampyridae).

The life cycle, morphology, and bionomy of Photinusextensus Gorham, 1881, an endemic species of Mexico, are described. Redescriptions of adults (male and female) are also presented. Larvae were reared to the adult stage from eggs laid by females collected at the El Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological Reserve, south of Mexico City. The activity period of adults of P.extensus begins at the end of July and finishes by the end of August. Females lay between 3 and 198 eggs. Larvae hatch from the eggs after a period of 11 to 71 days, undergo 6 larval instars and a pupal stage in an annual cycle. Morphological characters of the sixth larval instar of P.extensus are compared with those of several other genera assigned to the tribe Photinini. Knowledge of the natural history of firefly larvae is relevant since most species do not feed as adults and therefore depend on resources acquired during the larval stage.

A new species of Mastostethus (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea: Megalopodidae) from Chiapas, Mexico.

Mastostethus mulier sp. nov., from Chiapas, Mexico is described and illustrated.

A new reticulated beetle (Coleoptera: Cupedidae) from Mexico with a catalogue of Cupedidae species of the world.

Paracupes mexicanus sp. nov., from Chiapas, Mexico, is described and illustrated. The subgenus Paracupoides Kirejtshuk et al., 2016 is synonymized under Paracupes Kolbe, 1898. Also, Rhipsideigma is synonymized with Cupes, resulting in new combinations: Cupes adjuncta (Neboiss) and Cupes anosibense (Neboiss), and restored combinations: Cupes cretaceotincta Kolbe, Cupes lugubris Fairmaire and Cupes raffrayi Fairmaire. Also, Cupes leucophaea Newman is reinstated from synonymy of Tenomerga leucophaea. In addition, a catalogue of the Cupedidae species of the world is presented.

A checklist of the Coleoptera (Insecta) from Morelos, Mexico.

Data from the literature and from specimens preserved at the Colección Nacional de Insectos (CNIN) Instituto de Biología, UNAM were used to compile a checklist of the fauna of Coleoptera of the state of Morelos, México. A sum of 70 families, 167 subfamilies, 361 tribes, 1,022 genera, and 2,606 species are recorded; from this 24 species are new records for Morelos. The State of Morelos ranks fourth in Coleoptera species richness for Mexico, following Veracruz (3,176 spp.), Oaxaca (2,148 spp.) and Chiapas (1,734 spp.). The checklist presented here provides a summary that can serve as a basis for future progress in the knowledge of Mexican Coleoptera.

Checklist of the family Megalopodidae Latreille (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea); a synthesis of its diversity and distribution.

A checklist of the Megalopodidae of the world is presented. A total of 582 species in 29 genera and 11 subgenera are recognized belonging to the three subfamilies. The subfamilies, genera, and species are listed in alphabetical order. For each species, synonymous names and the geographical distribution by country is provided. The most diversified subfamily is Megalopodinae with 480 species and 24 genera. The Neotropical biogeographic region has the highest diversity of Megalopodidae, followed by the Ethiopian region. The knowledge of Megalopodidae is limited, and is remarkably biased by country. A significant increase in geographic and taxonomic information is needed in order to fill these knowledge gaps. The following taxonomic and nomenclatural changes are proposed: 1) type species are designated for the genera Macrolopha Weise and Falsomegalopus Pic. 2) Zeugophora novobicolor Rodríguez-Mirón is proposed as new replacement name of Zeugophora bicolor. 3) The following taxa are reinstated in the genera Temnaspis: T. speciosus Baly, T. arida Westwood, and T. nigriceps Baly. 4) Falsotemnaspis luteimembris Pic is proposed as new synonym (= F. lacordairei (Westwood)). 5) The next new combinations are proposed: Macrolopha bicolor (Jacoby), M. carinata (Bryant), M. centromaculata (Jacoby), M. costatipennis (Pic), M. dollmani (Bryant), M. hargreavesi (Bryan), M. mashuana (Jacoby), M. murrayi (Baly), M. neavei (Bryant), M. nyassae (Bryant), M. suturalis (Clavareau), M. variabilis (Westwood), M. aeneipennis (Weise), M. notaticollis (Pic), M. parvula (Weswood), M. theresae (Pic), M. tricoloripes (Pic) and Falsotemnaspis lacordairei (Westwood).

Comparative morphology of the spermatheca in Megalopodidae (Coleoptera, Chrysomeloidea).

The spermatheca is an organ that stores and maintains viability of sperm until fertilization. It has an important role in copulation and oviposition, and it is highly informative in species delimitation. Here, we present a comparative study of the spermathecal morphology in the coleopteran family Megalopodidae. The spermathecae of 34 species, representing 13 genera and all three subfamilies, were studied. Illustrations are newly provided for all species, except in 14 cases in which illustrations were reproduced from previously published literature. Our results show that each subfamily of Megalopodidae can be effectively differentiated based on the particular spermathecal anatomy. In addition, the spermathecal anatomy presents a range of variation within each subfamily, useful for diagnosing species and, in some cases, identifying groups of genera. For instance, the "American group" is thus recognized in this study.