TAXONOMIC REVISION OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE CHECKERED BEETLE GENUS ABABA CASEY (COLEOPTERA: CLERIDAE: ISOCLERINAE)

Abstract— The checkered beetle genus Ababa is revised for the first time. Morphological evidence suggests that Thaneroclerinae and Isoclerinae comprise a monophyletic group. Based on the positional relationships between the pronotal projection and the prothoracic intercoxal process the isoclerine genus Ababa Casey is taken out of synonymy with Isoclerus Lewis. Cleridopsis Champion is considered to be a junior synonym of Ababa Casey. On the basis of the tarsal formula, the genus Allothaneroclerus Corporaal, with a tarsal formula of 5-5-5, is removed from Isoclerinae, whose genera show a 5-4-4 tarsal formula, and placed into the subfamily Thaneroclerinae. Ababa specimens were collected in fungi niches and it is postulated that the elongated stomodaeum found in adults serve as a crop to process soft food such as the eggs, larvae, and pupae of fungivorous prey. Ababa comprises A. adona Opitz, new species, A. epiiska Opitz, new species, A. granaria Opitz, new species, A. latimana (Champion), and A. tantilla (LeConte). A lectotype was designated for Ababa latimana (Champion). It is hypothesized that the ancestral stock of Ababa and Parateneroclerus evolved in the mid-Tertiary forests of South America. Included in this work are: A brief discussion about Ababa natural history, a discussion of Ababa phylogeny based on a phylogenetic tree generated by WINCLADA in conjunction with NONA, a Bootstrap consensus tree, a key to Ababa species, 10 scanning electron micrographs, one distribution map, four photographs of the aedeagus, and six color habitus photographs.