Morphogenia: a new genus of the Neotropical tribe Jubini (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae) from the Brazilian Amazon.
A new genus and species of the large Neotropical pselaphine tribe Jubini is described from Manaus, Brazil, based on material preserved in the Natural History Museum, London. Morphogenia struhli gen. et sp. n. represents the possible sister taxon of the abundant and speciose genus Barrojuba Park, sharing with it the putatively derived condition of anterolaterally shifted vertexal foveae, producing a smoothly convex vertex devoid of fovea or sulci. However, unlike Barrojuba, Morphogenia retains a plesiomorphic antebasal sulcus on the pronotum in both sexes, and additionally lacks elaborate abdominal fovea-like pockets and teeth on the lateral margins of the pronotum that are typical of Barrojuba. The genus is also unusual among jubine genera in lacking the characteristic V- or Y-shaped gular carina. In contrast to the commonly-collected Barrojuba, specimens of Morphogenia are absent in extensive jubine collections housed in museums in the United States, indicating that the new taxon may be relatively scarce or localised.
Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University, 701 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA ; Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.
Joseph
J
Parker
Brazil; Jubini; Neotropical; Pselaphinae; new genus; new species