Elytral surface structures as indicators of relationships in stag beetles, with special reference to the New Zealand species (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

Abstract

The elytral vestiture, pits, and surrounding integument in representatives of four lucanid subfamilies have been studied. The vestiture was examined in 35 species and ranged from simple to divided setae and from smooth to ribbed scales. The pits, examined with SEM in 19 species, varied from small dimple‐like indentations to large, sharply demarcated depressions with raised floors and an ornately sculptured surface. The elytral ultrastructure is distinctive for genera and for at least one subfamily. Both the vestiture and pits are simplest in the Lampriminae and most complex in the Aesalinae. Differences in the elytral surface structures suggest that the New Zealand aesalines belong in two genera, neither of which is the Australian genus Ceratognathus, where they are currently placed. © The Royal Society of New Zealand 1997.