62 
Psyche 
[March 
suggests, at least, that Glypholoma is a relatively primitive member 
of the subfamily and branched off early in the evolution of the 
Omaliinae. The close relationship of Glypholoma to the Holarctic 
Anthobium-group (viz., Anthobium, Camioleum, Deliphrum, Ma- 
thrilaeum, Olophrum ) suggested by Scheerpeltz (1972) and Newton 
(1975) mainly on the basis of general habitus does not seem to be 
supported by more detailed evidence gathered to date. There are 
several characters for which the members of the Anthobium-group 
share what we believe are derived character states within the Oma- 
liinae, and Glypholoma shows what we believe to be primitive char- 
acter states. These characters appear in the Anthobium-group as 
follows: presence of a sharp post-ocular ridge, absence of the episto- 
mal suture, gular sutures very close together or partly fused, presence 
of lateral foveae on the pronotum with internal pillars connecting 
dorsal and ventral surfaces of pronotum, and female genitalia with 
the proximal gonocoxites fused. We feel that this assemblage of dif- 
ferences constitutes strong evidence against a close relationship be- 
tween Glypholoma and the Anthobium- group. Unfortunately any 
more precise statement concerning the placement and relationships 
of Glypholoma must await future clarification of the evolution and 
higher classification of the Omaliinae as a whole. In the meantime, 
tarsal, palpal, and mandibular characters dictate placement of 
Glypholoma in the heterogeneous tribe Anthophagini. If a family- 
group name is eventually needed for Glypholoma, the name Gly- 
pholomini Jeannel 1962 is available. 
The presence of two of the species of Glypholoma (pustuliferum 
and rotundulum) is strongly correlated with cool moist temperate 
forests dominated by Nothofagus; the other three species have been 
collected only within the Nothofagus zone of southern South 
America. The fact that each of the latter species is known only from 
a single small collection suggests that they may differ significantly 
from rotundulum and pustuliferum in their biology or ecological 
preferences. The disjunct southern temperate distribution of the 
genus is similar to those of some other isolated and apparently 
archaic groups of staphylinoids, some of whose ranges include New 
Zealand as well as southern South America and Australia. The 
occurrence of Glypholoma in New Zealand Nothofagus forests 
would not be wholly unexpected. 
