PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH. 93(2), 1991, pp. 317-321 PHYLOGENETIC PLACEMENT OF PHAENOCEPHALUS WOLL ASTON (COLEOPTERA: PHAENOCEPHALIDAE & PHALACRIDAE) James Pakaluk Snow Entomological Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045. Abstract.— T\it taxonomic history of the family Phaenocephalidae is reviewed. This family currently consists of two species, Phaenocephalus castaneus Wollaston and P. coomani Paulian, described from Japan and Viet Nam respectively. The genus is rede-scribed and selected structures are illustrated. The relationship of this enigmatic family to other beetles has been disputed for years. The uncertainty of its phylogenetic position has been due, in part, to the fact that type material has been unavailable for study for forty years or more. After examining types in collections in London and Paris it seems that these two species, previously attributed to a separate family, should be placed in the Phalacridae. Key Words: Coleoptera, Cucuioidea, Phaenocephalidae, Phalacridae The Phaenocephalidae is one of the smallest families of Coleoptera, with only two species described, as well as one of the most enigmatic. Ever since this family was described nearly 100 years ago there have been few published reports for these beetles. While studying types and other material of Cucujoidea recently in London and Paris, I was able to locate specimens of Phaenoce-phalidae that have likely been unavailable for study for forty years or more. Phaeno-cephalus was not listed in the generic list of Coleoptera at The Natural History Muse-um, London, and the material at the Mu-seum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris was among Paulian's dissections of Cory-lophidae which were until recently consid-ered lost or destroyed. It seems appropriate to now review the taxonomic history of these beetles, redescribe the genus, illustrate im-portant structural features, and discuss the phylogenetic position of this family. Wollaston (1873) described Phaenoceph-alus castaneus as a corylophid based upon a single specimen from Japan. He thought it was most similar to Corylophus Stephens but grouped Phaenocephalus with Sacium LeConte and Microstagetus Wollaston based upon their 1 1 -segmented antennae. Mat-thews (1899) established a new family, Phaenocephalidae, for Wollaston's species and provided a more detailed description and some illustrations. Both authors em-phasized the large, deflexed head and an-teriorly emarginate edge of the pronotum in Phaenocephalus. Matthews, however, thought these features, as well as others, were sufficient to exclude this species from Cor-ylophidae. He speculated that Phaenoce-phalidae was a link between Corylophidae and Silphidae. Paulian (1950) described another species oi Phaenocephalus, P. coomani, from Viet Nam and illustrated a few structures. In a footnote he indicated that he had seen ad-ditional material of an undetermined spe-cies o{ Phaenocephalus from Sumatra; I was unable to locate this material. I did find, however, a specimen labelled as Phaeno-cephalus sp. from Viet Nam, but this is re-
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