Larval morphology of Ochthephilum-the first comprehensive immature stage description for the Cryptobiina subtribe (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Paederinae)

This is the first complete detailed description of the immature stage in the Ochthephilum genus (Cryptobiina subtribe), with a special focus on the chaetotaxic characters and illustration of its structural features. Based on earlier published and new data, twenty-seven diagnostic characters for Ochthephilum that distinguish mature O. fracticorne larvae from previously known larvae of closely related Paederinae representatives are defined.

The larva of O. fracticorne is unique among Paederinae in having: an antennal sensory appendage located on the outer surface, blunt paramedian teeth on the nasale, olfactory organs with a bunch of very long sensory appendages on the ventral side of each paramedian tooth, and two symmetrical setae located subdorsally on the tarsungulus. In the light of the modern tribal system established for the subfamily Paederinae and based on the current knowledge of the larval morphology of these staphylinids, a comparative analysis was performed at the intersubtribal Paederini level, i.e. between Paederina, Dolicaonina, and Cryptobiina.