Lineage discovery in the mega-diverse tribe Staphylinini continues: Alesiella gen. nov. and other relicts (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

With over 5,400 species, the rove beetle tribe Staphylinini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) is a mega-diverse and globally distributed monophylum that is at least as old as the early Cretaceous. Evolution over such a long period has resulted in several species-rich lineages with broad distributions and many species-poor lineages with narrow, often disjunct distributions as a result of extinction. Many of these relict lineages have retained a plesiomorphic configuration of the thorax and thus, unfortunately, have been placed incorrectly in the large, polyphyletic genus Quedius. This has obscured major phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history across the entire Staphylinini. Examination of one these ‘Quedius‘ species from Myanmar prompted a new phylogenetic analysis of the entire tribe. Based on the results of this analysis, a new genus is erected for this species, belonging to a newly discovered and relict lineage of Staphylinini.