Revision of the Xantholinini from Madagascar, Mascarenes, Comoros and Seychelles, with description of four new genera and one hundred forty-nine new species (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae)

A revision of the staphylinids Xantholinini (Coleoptera) of the Madagascar and the neighboring islands is presented including a historical review, a discussion of diagnostic characters, morphology and some conclusive remarks mostly on the zoogeography of this group in Madagascar. The number of genera known from Madagascar amounts to 16 (4 of which new to science: Elea gen.n., Edrisia gen.n., Qumuria gen.n. and Malgalinus gen.n.) and the number of the species to 204 of which 149 are new for the science. Platydromus is placed in synonymy with Gauropterus. Lectotypes and - sometimes - paralectotypes are designed for Elea magniceps, Paulianella innocua, P. obsoleta, P. insularis, Thyreocephalus silvaticus, T. goudoti, T. madagascarensis, Gauropterus umbilicatus, and G. claviger. New combination are designed for Elea scalabrei, E. ganglbaueri, E. puncticollis, E. magniceps, E. vinsoni, E. quadriceps, E. mauritiana, E. jarrigei, E. infima, Edrisia angustata,, Paulianella innocua, P. insularis, P. obsoleta, Chaetocinus jarrigei, Thyreocephalus nossibeanus, T. mirabilis, T. silvaticus, T. goudoti, T. sexpunctatus, T. madagascarensis, T. heterocephalus, Qumuria bordonii, Microleptus microphthalmus, Gauropetrus nigripennis, G. erosus, Malgalinus politus, and Heterocinus dieganus. A key of the Xantholinini and a key of the species of all genera of this tribe of the Madagascar are also provided. Each species is described and originally illustrated, all distributional and available bionomic data are presented and presence records of some species are mapped