Descriptions of larvae of Australian Omorgus Erichson, with implications for the phylogeny of the Trogidae (Insecta : Coleoptera)

Abstract

Larvae of six species of Omorgus (Omorgus) Erichson are described from Australia, the first members of the family to be described from the continent. Although the species belong to the same subgenus as the New World species, they differ from the latter in the following phylogenetically important aspects: number of mandibular teeth, presence or absence of a sclerotised sensory cone on the epipharyngeal haptolachus, setation of the apical margin of the glossa, arrangement of stridulatory teeth on maxillary stipes, and the number and arrangement of tibio-tarsal setae.