# Testing conflicting taxonomic hypotheses in myrmecophilous Oochrotus Lucas, 1852 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae)

## TL;DR

This study uses DNA to resolve taxonomic confusion in beetles living in ant nests, revealing three distinct species.

## Contribution

The study provides a molecular-based resolution to conflicting taxonomic classifications of Oochrotus beetles.

## Key findings

- Molecular analysis identified three distinct species within Oochrotus, including two new status revisions.
- Specimens from North Africa, Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula form separate lineages.
- The findings suggest that morphological traits alone may misidentify pseudocryptic species in this genus.

## Abstract

Cryptic and pseudocryptic species are common in myrmecophilous insects, making their taxonomic classification complex when based solely on morphology. This is the case for the beetles of the genus Oochrotus Lucas, 1852, a group of small tenebrionids inhabiting ant nests. In 1961, Canzoneri described one new species and eight subspecies based on the morphology of the aedeagus and ovipositor. However, in 2000, Soldati and Soldati synonymised most of these taxa, arguing that the differences found by Canzoneri were not significant. The aim of our study was to test these two competing hypotheses using a molecular approach. For this purpose, partial sequences of the nuclear gene ITS2 and the mitochondrial gene cytb were obtained from individuals from North Africa, Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula, followed by phylogenetic analyses based on Bayesian inference. The results show that specimens from these three territories are in separate lineages corresponding to three different species: 1) O.
unicolor Lucas, 1852; 2) O.
laurae Canzoneri, 1961, stat. rev., and 3) O.
lusitanicus Canzoneri, 1961, stat. nov. (= O.
u.
espagnoli Canzoneri, 1961, syn. nov.; = O.
u.
hispanus Canzoneri, 1961, syn. nov.; = O.
u.
meridionalis Canzoneri, 1961, syn. nov.). This new proposal diverges from both preceding hypotheses, showing an intermediate level of diversity between the two. This reflects that species of the genus Oochrotus are probably pseudocryptic, whose morphological examination may lead to misidentification in the absence of molecular data.