Morphological and molecular phylogeny of the genus Phlaeopterus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Anthophagini)

The omaliine rove beetle genus Phlaeopterus Motschulsky 1853 contains 15 valid species, which are known from the northwestern United States, western provinces of Canada, Alaska, and eastern Siberia. These beetles are largely confined to the edges of alpine snowfields and streams, habitats that are particularly sensitive to the impacts of climate change. Here, I present preliminary Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses of the genus Phlaeopterus using morphology and molecular data. Species hypothesis of Shavrin and Mullen (2015), Campbell (unpublished), Hatch (1957), Fauvel (1878), and Motschulsky (1853) are tested for the first time with modern phylogenetic methods. My analyses support the addition of multiple undescribed species to the genus Phlaeopterus, as well as the synonymizations of several current species.