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-21- where
the larvae prey on crustaceans, etc. (James et al., 1971). Twelve species are
described from Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, 4 from Europe and 4 from
Japan. The genus was partially revised by Koch (1936). Phucobius
Sharp. The 7 species which have been described in this genus are similar to Cafius
but lack spines on the anterior tibiae. They are confined to the Oriental
Region except for one species from East Africa. They are all found on the
seashore. Orthidus
Mulsant and Rey. Two species, O. cribratus
Erichson from Europe and O. curtipennis
Cameron from Singapore, both from the seashore, are the only species known in
this genus. They are similar to Philonthus
but have a single puncture on the disc of the pronotum whereas in Philonthus there may be either a row of
punctures on each side of the disc or confused punctures throughout. Philonthus
Stephens contains several hundred moderate-sized-to-large (8-20 mm) insects,
variously colored, very active and found in a large variety of habitats. A single species, P. nudus Sharp, is known from the seashore
of Japan and the Pacific Northwest of North America. Several other species are found on the
sandy beaches of Australia. ECOLOGY AND DISTRIBUTION Several distinctly different
ecological zones are occupied by insects on the Pacific coast of North
America which can be differentiated by the type of shore and the reach of the
tide. The seashore staphylinid fauna falls into three main zones or
ecological habitats with almost no overlapping of species between them. The three zones are determined by the type
of shore: (1) mud flats which may
be associated with large open bays or lagoons at the mouths of streams and
rivers that are usually closed at least part of the year by sand bars, (2) sandy beaches which support the most
varied insect fauna in Southern California, and (3)
rocky headlands which support a fauna of insects capable of .living submerged
in sea-water for long periods. Each of the major ecological zones which supports insects
can be readily divided into sub zones based on the reach of the tide. The sub
zones fall into three categories: (1)
the area which is wet by daily tides, (2)
the area which is wet by only one or two high tides a month and (3) the berm of the beach which is reached by
only the highest tides of the year. This sub zonation is most apparent on the
sandy beaches where sub zone (1)
contains fresh seaweed and such nocturnal staphylinids as Thinopinus, Pontamalota
and Thinusa; sub zone (2) contains decaying seaweed and species of Cafius, Tarphiota
and Aleochara and sub zone (3) has dry seaweed and no staphylinids but
other Coleoptera (see Table 1). Among the
marine Staphylinidae it is convenient to make
a distinction between submarine and littoral species. Submarine species are
those which not only tolerate submergence in seawater but actually |