The phylogenetic position of Artematopodidae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea), with description of the first two Eurypogon species from China

The Artematopodidae is a species-poor beetle family with contentious relationships to byrrhoid and elateroid families. Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses brought ambiguous results based on a single sequenced species. We investigated the taxonomic placement of Artematopodidae within Elateriformia using ribosomal (18S, 28S) and mitochondrial (rrnL, cox1) molecular markers and three artematopodid species. Our analyses placed Artematopodidae close to Omethidae+Telegeusidae in a basal position of broadly defined Elateroidea. Additionally, we described the first artematopodid species from China – Eurypogon jaechi sp. nov. and E. heishuiensis sp. nov. These species are reported from mountains of Yunnan and can be easily distinguished from their Palaearctic congeners by their large bodies and metallic green elytra. They differ from each other by the shape of the pronotum, puncturation of the head and pronotum, the relative lengths of the antennomeres 3-5, and the morphology of the female genitalia. With respect to our findings, we discussed the phylogeny, diversity and distribution of the family Artematopodidae.