Caenocrypticoides triplehorni new species, the first record of Caenocrypticini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in Argentina, with cladistic analysis of the genus

Abstract

The South American genus Caenocrypticoides (Pimeliinae: Caenocrypticini) comprises five species distributed in western South America. A new species from western Argentina, the first record of the tribe east of the high Andes mountains, Caenocrypticoides triplehorni n. sp., is described and included in the most recent key for the genus. Distributional and habitat records, SEM, and habitus photographs for this new species are included. A phylogeny of the five species of the genus is proposed, based on 19 morphological characters. The cladistic analysis provides one most parsimonious cladogram showing that four unambiguous synapomorphic characters of external morphology support the monophyly of Caenocrypticoides. Sexual dimorphism is for the first time reported for the genus and is present in all five species of the genus. A discussion on the biogeographic implications of the discovery of this new species east of the Andean mountains is presented, which also includes adding accurate data records and habitat associations for the Chilean species of the genus.