Revision of the Australian Psephenidae (Coleoptera): Systematics, phylogeny and historical biogeography

Abstract

The Psephenidae are represented in Australia by only one subfamily, the Eubriinae, and one genus, Sclerocyphon. Additions to the description of the genus and four of the seven previously described species are given. Five new species are described: S. aquilonius, S. lacustris, S. minimus, S. nitidus and S. zwicki; S. irregularis Carter, 1935 is synonymized with S. maculatus Blackburn, 1892. The aquatic larva is the dominant life-history phase: the last-instar larvae of 12 species are described, although five of these are designated as larval types because they have not yet been associated with adults. Keys are given for both adults (12 species) and larvae (14 species). Sclerocyphon appears to be only distantly related to all other eubriine genera except for a species from Chile which may prove to be congeneric. A Gondwanaland origin of the genus is proposed. Cladistic and phenetic analyses were conducted on a larval data set (14 species) and a vicariance model is used to explain distribution patterns of the 14 species in Australia.