SYSTEMATIC OF THE GENUS Metadorcinus KRIESCHE, 1922 (COLEOPTERA, LUCANIDAE, SCLEROSTOMINI)
New taxa, phylogeny, stag beetle, South America, taxonomy
Metadorcinus Kriesche, 1922, is a genus of Sclerostomini (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) exclusively from South America. Its relationship with other genera is still doubtful, due to the few studies carried out with lucanids in South America. The taxonomic history is quite complex due to the lack of precision in the classification of Lucanidae, potentially being a paraphyletic genus. This work then sought to understand the taxonomic situation of the group based on a review using cladistic analysis through morphological characters. The analysis revealed that the genus is polyphyletic, with species that would be better allocated to already described genera and new genera. Metadorcinus was redefined to seven species, one of which was new, five species were transferred, and four new genera were described from the remaining species. Information such as identification key and distribution map are also provided here.