A critical examination of the status of the families Cephaloidae and Melandryidae based on larval and imaginal similarities and differences including comments on Stenocephaloon metallicum Pic. (Coleoptera)

Abstract

Dr. Nodoka Hayashi has been kind enough to send me some reprints of bis papers on the larvae of Japanese Coleopterct, and in one of them he describes the larva of a monotypic genus, Stenocephaloon Pic and S. metallicuni Pic, and .states, "... this genus has been confused in its systematic position, being placed in the Cephaloidae or in the Melandryidae. Having examined the larvae of both genera Cephaloon and Stenocephaloon I am inclined to the opinion that Stenocephaloon might as well be placed in the Melandryidae" ,(1--Iayashi, 1963, pág. 110). This is not, however, the view held by Crowson (1966) or myself. In this paper, I shall review the distinctions between the two families —Cephaloidae Le Conte, 1862 and Melandryidae Leach-, 1815 including Serropcdpidac Latreille, 1825— and their distinguishing characters in both the adult and larval stages with a view to help solving or settling the problem, besides calling attention to the existing gaps in our knowledge on the subject.