Phylogenetic reassessment and biogeography of the E ctateus generic group ( C oleoptera: T enebrionidae: P latynotina)

Owing to the reinterpretation of its morphological synapomorphies, the taxonomic composition of the E ctateus generic group had been ambiguous. The present study scrutinized all existing taxonomic concepts of the group based on a cladistic analysis of the adult morphology of all of the A frotropical platynotoid P latynotina genera. The phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed using parsimony and B ayesian inference. The results show that all previous taxonomic concepts of the E ctateus generic group concerned paraphyletic entities. The cladistic analysis revealed the following synapomorphies for the taxon: (1) presence of basal indentations of the pronotal disc, (2) ratio of prothorax width to its maximal height > 6.0, and (3) ratio of maximal height of the prothorax to total height < 0.3. Moreover, phylogenetic studies revealed the existence of the U pembarus generic group, a sister‐taxon group to the E ctateus generic group, within the A frotropical platynotoid P latynotina. Autapomorphic and synapomorphic character mapping show that several taxonomic and nomenclatural changes are needed to consider the particular generic‐level entities traditionally assigned to A frotropical platynotoid P latynotina as monophyletic lineages. The following taxonomic and nomenclatural adjustments are made in this paper: Pteroselinus gen. nov. is erected to accommodate a single species that was previously assigned to Z idalus : P teroselinus insularis comb. nov. Additionally, the following synonymies are proposed: A nchophthalmops (=  P latykochius syn. nov. ), A ngolositus (=  A berlencus syn. nov. , =  P latymedvedevia syn. nov. ), G lyptopteryx (=  M icroselinus syn. nov. , =  Q uadrideres syn. nov. , =  S ynquadrideres syn. nov. ). In addition, K ochogaster is lowered in rank and is treated as one of the subgenera of A nchophthalmus . Moreover, P seudoselinus is treated as a subgenus of U pembarus . An identification key to all A frotropical platynotoid P latynotina genera and subgenera is presented. Zoogeographical analyses revealed the following dispersal barriers for the E ctateus generic group: (1) the Sahara (northern barrier); (2) the dry ecosystems of B otswana, N amibia, and S outh A frica (southern barrier); and (3) the Congolian rainforests (internal distributional gap). The ancestor of the taxon probably originated in East African ecoregions that predominantly contained wattletrees (acacias) and C ommiphora   J acq. Moreover, past climate changes seem to have had a great impact on the observed generic distribution. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London