The taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of the neotropical genus, Verres Kaup (Coleoptera: Passalidae, Proculini).

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

A taxonomic revision of <italic>Verres</italic> Kaup was conducted. Nine of the 26 species-level names published under <italic>Verres </italic> (including: <italic>Neoverres</italic> Hincks and <italic>Platyverres </italic> Bates), are considered valid. The invalid names consist of 2 <italic> nomina nuda</italic>, 1 unnecessary replacement name, and 14 junior synonyms (5 of which are newly proposed). Three new species are described, raising the complement of valid species to 12: <italic>cavicollis</italic> Bates, <italic> corticicola</italic> Truqui, <italic>deficiens</italic> Kuwert, <italic>furcilabris </italic> (Eschscholtz), <italic>hageni</italic> Kaup, <italic>intermedius </italic> Kaup, <italic>longicornis</italic> (Luederwaldt), <italic>onorei </italic> Boucher and Pardo Locarno, <italic>sternbergianus</italic> Zang, <italic> achoros</italic> Marshall, n. sp., <italic>arion</italic> Marshall, n. sp., and <italic>gilloglyi</italic> Marshall, n. sp.
A comprehensive review of passalid beetle morphology, including detailed illustrations of adult and larval external anatomy, was accomplished. The morphological findings are compared to past anatomical work of Passalidae, other scarabaeoid taxa, and Coleoptera in general.
A cladistic analysis was conducted of the 12 valid species of <italic> Verres</italic> based on 27 morphological characters of adults and larvae. Exemplar species from <italic>Veturius</italic> Kaup, <italic>Publius</italic> Kaup and <italic>Proculus</italic> Kaup, three closely related proculine genera, were used as outgroups. The analysis produced a single most parsimonious cladogram (length 59, CI 58 and RI 77) that supports the monophyly of <italic>Verres </italic>. The results also support the conclusion that brachyptery (reduced flight wings) has evolved twice in the genus: once in the Mexican species, <italic> V. intermedius</italic> Kaup and once in a clade of species from southern Central America, related to <italic>V. longicornis</italic> (Luederwaldt).
Areas of endemism were defined using multiple criteria, including geography, elevation and forest type. Cladistic biogeographic methods were employed to infer the most parsimonious area relationships. The results support the notion that <italic>Verres</italic> has both older Central American components, as well as more recent radiations. Additionally, the results indicate that the Talamancan cordillera is a complex zone with affinities to northwestern South America as well as to nuclear Central America. A biogeographic prediction is made that the newly described species, <italic>V. achoros</italic> Marshall, n. sp., for which no locality information is known, is natively distributed in the eastern Talamancan Cordillera.