| dc.description.abstract | The literature on staphylinid beetles of the tribe Amblyopinini, all of which are parasitic on Neotropical or Australian mammals, has provided few specifics on the natural history and host relationships of these beetles. We provide the first comprehensive data on host relationships and elevational range for a community of amblyopinines and their potential hosts. Mammals collected from eight separate localities along an elevational transect ranging from 900 to 1,856 m were examined for parasitic beetles of the genus Amblyopinus. At these localities, mammals collected include a diverse array of marsupials, edentates, insectivores, bats, rodents, and lagomorphs. Among these potential hosts, parasitic beetles were limited to a subset of the cricetine rodents. Amblyopinines were collected from only two species of rodents at two localities with elevations of 1,425–1,525 m and 1,800–1,825 m. Amblyopinus emarginatus Seevers was collected at both localities, where it was found on a single species of host, Oryzomys albigularis [= Nephelomys devius]. In contrast, A. tiptoni Barrera was collected only at the higher elevation on Reithrodontomys creper. These data, as well as reanalysis of literature records, are consistent with the interpretation that these beetles are much more host restricted than has been previously recognized. Additionally, while these beetles appear to be tracking specific species of hosts, they are restricted to that subset of the hosts' range above 1,000 m. This implies that factors other than host range are of considerable importance to the distribution and ecology of these beetles. | |
