PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 
Vol. 92 Washington : 1942 No. 3140 
NOTES ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE STAPHYLINID 
BEETLES OF THE GROUPS LISPINI AND OSORITNAE 
By Ricuarp E. BLAcKWELDER 
Two groups of Staphylinidae that have not seemed entirely satis- 
factory in our classification of the family Staphylinidae are the Lispini 
and the Osoriini. In each case there has been uncertainty as to the 
relationships, as shown by rather veiled suggestions that each is not 
entirely satisfactory where it has been placed. 
The group Lispini has been placed as a subtribe of the tribe Piestini 
or as a tribe (Lispinini) of the subfamily Piestinae. The Piestinae 
has not been found to be a homogeneous group and has been very 
difficult to define. In recent works this has led to the inclusion of the 
Piestinae in the Oxytelinae as the tribe Piestini, but in this position 
it merely adds to the heterogeneity of the Oxytelinae. The group 
Osoriinae has nearly always been placed in the Oxytelinae, usually as 
a tribe. It agrees with typical oxytelines in relatively few characters 
and adds to the difficulty of defining that group. 
During recent studies in the Piestinae it was found that the Pies- 
tinae can be separated into two groups by use of the character of the 
presence or absence of paratergites on the abdomen (abdomen margined 
or not). This appears to be a fundamental character. When it was 
recalled that the Osoriini may also be separated from the other 
Oxytelinae by the same character, it was obvious that a comparison 
of the two groups might lead to further discoveries. 
Examination of the Osoriinae and Piestinae shows that five groups 
are extremely similar in most respects of their morphology as well as 
in a certain constant appearance. These are the Lispimini, Lepto- 
chirini, Thoracophorini, Osoriini, and Eleusii. These form a relatively 
homogeneous group immediately recognizable by the complete absence 
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