Diario de eleodesthermopolis

In the below paper, M. Andrew Johnston has proposed major changes within the genus Eleodes, with that one genus becoming eleven. Commonly observed species such as Eleodes longicollis and Eleodes osculans, will become Steneleodes longicollis and Cratidus osculans. This is only the beginning in changes to Eleodes, after the new genera and species compositions there is still the internal structure of Eleodes that needs to be changed. Personally I’m quite excited for this, I believe that it can help clear up the partial mess that this genus currently is. Part of the reason I became a curator was so that I could help carry out these changes on iNaturalist when the time came. In anticipation I’ve created a sort of “checklist” in order to aid me to not miss any taxon changes while I’m changing Eleodes in the future.

This is the updated list from this post: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/eleodesthermopolis/86423-a-checklist-of-changes-that-must-be-made-to-eleodes-on-inaturalist-in-the-near-future

I decided to change my beetle enclosure once more, this time I was inspired by the landscape of northeastern Arizona. Associated observation is of an Eleodes armata in its new enclosure.

I decided to try and make a key to all of the Eleodes species found in the U.S. (or that can likely be found in the U.S.), It probably isn’t perfect, and if the result doesn’t look right, let me know! I did sometimes use the help of keys shown in papers about Eleodes, and I did even quote one small section relating to E. carbonaria. While this key does bring them down to subspecies level, I did not include a key to the subspecies of E. carbonaria. Thomas 2012 has one though. Finally I should mention that I did not even attempt to deal with Blapylis, as that subgenus is does not have much information for identification of its species, for my key, I only bring it to subgenus level when it comes to Blapylis.

1 Mesofemora and or metafemora dentate...2
1’ Mesofemora and metafemora never dentate...4
2 Elytral punctures strongly muricate...E. moesta
2’ Elytral punctures simple or slightly muricate...3
3 Pronotum widest anterior of middle, femoral spines large...E. armata
3’ Pronotum widest at middle, femoral spines small to medium sized...E. femorata
4 Body small pronotum generally cordate, elytra apex not attenuate or caudate, roughly sculptured, distributed across beaches, forests, and mountains...subgenus Blapylis
4’ Body small or large, pronotum usually not cordate, elytral apex attenuate, caudate or neither, roughly sculptured or not, widespread across all environments...5
5 Legs long with unproportionately small body, robust or not...6
5’ Legs long or short but with body fairly proportionate...22
6 Body generally slender, pronotal and elytral sculpturing simple (except in E. nigrina)...7
6’ Body, generally robust, pronotal and elytral sculpturing complex...18
7 Elytral sculpturing muricate or scabrous...E. nigrina
7’ Elytral sculpturing simple...8
8 Range only in Inyo White Mountains...9
8’ Range widespread...10
9 Profemora with large tooth, anterolateral angles blunt but projected...E. aalbui
9’ Profemora only sinuate, anterolateral angles slightly projected...E. microps
10 Range near Big Bend National Park and the Guadalupe Mountains...11
10’ Range in the Southwest United States excluding Texas...13
11 Range in Big Bend National Park...12
11’ Range in the Guadalupe Mountains...E. guadalupensis
12 Mentum with finger-like process, pronotum subquadrate, widest at middle...E. labialis
12’ Mentum without finger-like process, pronotum widest anterior to middle...E. easterlai
13 Range in the Mohave Desert of California, pronotum evenly arcuate...E. californica
13’ Range in Arizona, Utah, and Sonora...14
14 Range in the Sonoran desert...15
14’ Range in the Sky Islands and the Colorado Plateau...16
15 Short, red setae arising from elytral punctures...E. nevadensis
15’ No setae arising from elytral punctures...E. delicata
16 Body elongate, northern Arizona and southern Utah...17
16’ Body not elongate, Sky Islands in southeast Arizona...E. dissimilis
17 Strial punctures larger than punctures of intervals, restricted to the Grand Canyon...E. leptoscelis
17’ Strial punctures subequal to punctures of intervals, northern Arizona and southern Utah...E. wheeleri
18 Large tubercles present on Elytra...19
18’ Elytra without large tubercules...20
19 Range in Sierra Nevada region...E. granosa
19’ Range near the Four Corners...E. leechi
20 Pronotum evenly tuberculate, range in Oregon...E. spoliata
20’ Pronotum punctate, range widespread...21
21 Antennas robust, body generally more robust...E. hirsuta
21’ Antennas thin, body generally more slender...E. pilosa
22 Size small, covered in long setae, restricted to coastal California and the Baja peninsula, and the Sonoran desert...23
22’ Size small or large, usually glabrous, if with conspicuous setae then not found in coastal California, nor in the Baja peninsula or the Sonoran desert...28
23 Males with dentate profemora and elytra caudate, Sonoran desert...E. tribulus
23’ Males nor females ever caudate or attenuate, coastal California and the Baja peninsula...24
24 Third antennomere shortened...E. littoralis
24’ Third antennomere not shorted...25
25 Setae yellow or orange...26
25’ Setae grey or black...27
26 Setae yellow, body smaller, Baja peninsula...E. subdeplanata
26’ Setae orange, body larger, California and northern Baja peninsula...E. osculans
27 Body larger, Baja peninsula...E. ursus
27’ Body smaller, California and northern Baja peninsula...E. nigropilosa
28 Elytra caudate at least in males and extremely muricate, size large...29
28’ Elytra caudate or not but if muricate only slightly, size large or small...31
29 Only males caudate with profemora dentate, Tamaulipas...E. fiski
29’ Both males and females caudate with profemora never dentate, Four Corners and Sierra Nevada region...30
30 Elytra usually glabrous, rarely with long setae, Four Corners...E. caudifera
30’ Elytra always with long setae, Sierra Nevada region...E. longipilosa
31 Elytral sculpture very rough, elytra always attenuate but never caudate, restricted to California...32
31’ Elytral sculpture variable but if rough then elytra never attenuate, widespread...33
32 Luster shiny and elytral apex acutely attenuate...E. marginata
32’ Luster dull and elytral apex blunt yet still attenuate...E. scabricula (E. acutangula)
33 Body oval shaped, coated in minute setae, coastal Texas and Louisiana...E. veterator
33’ Body shape variable, if small and shaped slightly oval then not found in coastal Texas or Louisiana...34
34 Body small and fusiform...35
34’ Body small or large, shape variable...37
35 Body nearly oval, clothed with minute setae, Great Plains above Texas...E. opaca
35’ Elytra highly punctured and glabrous...36
36 Body more fusiform, central and southern Great Plains...E. fusiformis
36’ Body less fusiform, the Sierra Nevadas to the Rocky Mountains, and the Arizona Sky islands to British Colombia, northern Great Plains...E. extricata (in part)
37 Size medium to large, elytra usually inflated, wide, large, and rotund or occasionally flattened in E. striolata and some E. subnitens and E. madrensis, elytra only attenuate if also flattened, elytra never caudate...38
37’ Size variable but abdomen rarely inflated, if so, then size is usually small or the elytra are attenuate or caudate...41
38 Elytral striae composed of large conspicuous punctures...E. goryi
38’ Elytral striae without large punctures...39
39 Elytra flattened, always attenuate, south and central Texas...E. striolata
39’ Elytra sometimes flattened, if so then also attenuate, Arizona, New Mexico, and Sonora...40
40 Pronotum more or less parallel sided...E. subnitens
40’ Pronotum evenly arcuate...E. madrensis
41 Size large sometimes medium or small in rare occasions, but always with legs long, sometimes caudate...42
41’ Size usually small, sometimes medium, if so then legs short, never caudate...70
42 Body elongate, sometimes robust, profemora never dentate and never with caudate elytra, punctures always simple except in E. inornata where they are muricate...43
42’ Body fairly variable sometimes elongate, often robust, males almost always with dentate profemora, elytra sometimes caudate...47
43 Elytral punctures muricate, tiny inconspicuous setae arising from each one, western Nevada...E. inornata
43’ Elytral punctures simple, glabrous, widespread...44
44 Tarsi with grey spicules in the plantar groove, often with red line running down the length of the elytra, this line never diffuses into black...E. ornatipennis
44’ Tarsi without grey spicules in the plantar groove, if a red line is present along the elytra it diffuses into black...45
45 Profemora strongly sinuate, pronotum widest anterior of middle...E. hepburni
45’ Profemora simple, pronotum widest at middle...46
46 Pronotun wider than long, restricted to California...E. gigantea
46’ Pronotum as wide as long or longer than wide, widespread...E. longicollis
47 Probasitarsus widened ventrally at its apex...48
47’ Probasitarsus unmodified...53
48 Pronotum concave...E. suturalis
48’ Pronotum convex...49
49 Elytra with carina...E. acuta
49’ Elytra without carina...50 (E. obscura)
50 Elytra with striae...51
50’ Elytra without striae...52
51 Elytra deeply sulcate...E. obscura sulcipennis
51’ Elytra slightly sulcate...E. obscura obscura
52 Elytra with simple punctures...E. obscura glabrisulca
52’ Elytra with muricate punctures...E. obscura dispersa
53 Elytra with minutely hirsute intervals often coated with white debris and large glabrous costae, males are strongly caudate, legs long...E. mirabilis
53’ Elytra variable but without costae, caudate or not...54
54 Pronotum very wide, humeral angles of elytra obsolete, never attenuate...E. grandicollis
54 Pronotum variable, if wide, then elytral apex attenuate at least, humeral angles of elytra not obsolete...55
55 Restricted to California and the Baja peninsula, never having deep sulci...56
55’ Widespread, sometimes sulcate...62
56 Pronotum two times wider than the head...E. acuticauda
56’ Pronotum less then two times wider than the head...57
57 Pronotum more or less parallel sided, Mohave desert...58
57’ Pronotum not parallel sided, coastal and inland California…59
58 Tibia strongly curved, profemoral spines blunt, never caudate...E. subcylindrica
58’ Tibia not strongly curved, profemoral spines acute, males caudate...E. mexicana
59 Elytra with separation at its apex…E. discincta
59’ Elytra without separation at its apex…60
60 Pronotum larger, elytral striae less prominent…E. dentipes
60’ Pronotum smaller, elytral striae more prominent…61
61 Pronotum widest anterior of middle, luster more shiny, elytra with simple punctures, glabrous, southern California…E. gracilis distans
61’ Pronotum widest at middle, luster more dull, elytra with muricate punctures and conspicuous setae, Channel Islands…E. adumbrata
62 Elytra strongly sulcate…63
62’ Elytra not strongly sulcate…64
63 Pronotum widest anterior to middle…E. hispilabris
63’ Pronotum widest at middle…E. composita
64 Body flat, pronotum widest at middle or anterior of middle, if the former, elytral apex attenuate, if instead the latter, elytral apex not attenuate…E. knullorum
64’ Body usually not flat, pronotum widest anterior of middle, elytral apex more or less attenuate, caudate in some species…65
65 Elytra with muricate punctures…66
65’ Elytra with simple punctures…67
66 Punctures of elytra arranged in rows, elytral apex attenuate or caudate…E. tenuipes
66’ Punctures of elytra irregular, elytral apex only slightly attenuate…E. sponsa
67 Elytra inflated and strongly convex…68 (E. spinipes)
67’ Elytra not inflated…69
68 Elytra more or less parallel sided, western Texas to Arizona…E. spinipes macrura
68’ Elytra ventricose, southern Texas…E. spinipes ventricosa
69 Male metatibia sinuate, males caudate, females strongly attenuate, strial punctures not abnormally large…E. eschscholtzii eschscholtzii
69’ Metatibia not sinuate, elytral apex only slightly attenuate, striae composed of rows of large punctures…E. gracilis gracilis
70 Elytra with conspicuous setae…71
70’ Elytra glabrous, or only with short inconspicuous setae…74
71 Size larger, northern Arizona and southern Utah…E. halli
71’ Size smaller, generally around the Great Basin and the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado…72
72 Distributed only in the Great Sand Dunes National Park…E. hirtipennis
72’ Distributed around the Great Basin…73
73 Setae brownish…E. letcheri
73’ Setae yellowish…E. aspera
74 Elytra flat and widened, about the same width as pronotum, sides sometimes slightly rounded or with carina…75
74’ Sides of elytra rounded evenly, generally elongate or circular…79
75 Body covered with minute setae…E. tricostata
75’ Body glabrous…76
76 Elytral sculpturing rough, luster generally dull, striae vague to absent…E. neomexicana
76’ Elytra with clear striae, luster shiny…77
77 Elytra with deeply impressed striae…E. pedinoides
77’ Elytra with slightly impressed striae…78 (E. wenzeli)
78 Punctures of elytra fine but easily noticeable…E. wenzeli speculicollis
78’ Punctures of elytra extremely fine and minute…E. wenzeli wenzeli
79 Both elytra with at least three large smooth costae…E. parowana
79’ Either elytra without large costae…80
80 Body smaller, elytra with tubercules, papillae, or numerous, irregular, simple punctures, elytral sculpturing never with only muricate or scabrous punctures…81
80’ Body slightly larger, sometimes small, but without tubercules, papillae or numerous, irregular, simple punctures, elytral sculpturing can consist of only muricate or scabrous punctures…85
81 Elytra covered in irregular simple punctures, body usually robust, sometimes slender, vaguely fusiform, the Sierra Nevadas to the Rocky Mountains, and the Arizona Sky islands to British Colombia, northern Great Plains...E. extricata (continuation)
81’ Elytra with complex sculpturing, body robust or slender, Pacific coast…82
82 Thorax and abdomen fairly proportionate, elytra with papillae or with tubercules forming rugae, California…83
82’ Abdomen disproportionately large, elytra tuberculate at least laterally, Pacific coast…84
83 Elytra papillose…E. papillosa
83’ Elytra tuberculate with transverse rugae…E. corvina
84 Pronotum wider than long, arcuate…E. granulata
84’ Pronotum subquadrate and near parallel sided…E. subtuberculata
85 Outer protibial spur enlarged…E. debilis
85’ Outer protibial spur unmodified…86
86 Body small, robust, and without complex sculpturing, punctures minute, Pronotum evenly arcuate and only slightly smaller than abdomen…E. arcuata
86’ Body larger, robust or not, sculpturing variable, pronotum significantly smaller than abdomen…87
87 Longer protibial spur extending to almost to the third tarsomere…88
87’ Longer protibial spur extending only to apex of the first tarsomere…90
88 Elytral sculpturing very complex, abdomen large, and pronotum strongly arcuate, Pacific Northwest…E. humeralis
88’ Elytral sculpturing variable, punctures muricate, usually elongate, sometimes robust, pronotum evenly arcuate, Sierra Nevadas to the Rocky Mountains, and the Grand Canyon to Idaho…89 (E. rileyi)
89 Elytra shiny with prominent striae…E. rileyi reducta
89’ Elytra dull without very prominent striae…E. rileyi rileyi
90 “…longer protibial spur tapering from base to apex”…E. carbonaria (see Thomas 2012 for subspecies key)
90’ “…longer protibial spur parallel sided in basal half then tapering to a point at apex”…91
91 Elytral punctures irregular, San Francisco region…E. quadricollis
91’ Elytral punctures in organized in rows, southeast Arizona…E. anthracina

Improved version with the inclusion of forgotten species E. wynnei, more info for this key in V1.0: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/eleodesthermopolis/87075-v1-0-a-key-to-the-eleodes-species-of-the-united-states-and-canada

1 Mesofemora and metafemora dentate or subdentate...2
1’ Mesofemora and metafemora never dentate...4
2 Elytral punctures strongly muricate...E. moesta
2’ Elytral punctures simple or slightly muricate...3
3 Pronotum widest anterior of middle, femoral spines large...E. armata
3’ Pronotum widest at middle, femoral spines small to medium sized...E. femorata
4 Body small pronotum generally cordate and constricted at base, elytra apex not attenuate or caudate, roughly sculptured, distributed across beaches, forests, and mountains...subgenus Blapylis
4’ Body small or large, pronotum usually not cordate although often slightly constricted at base, elytral apex attenuate, caudate or neither, roughly sculptured or not, widespread across all environments...5
5 Legs long with unproportionately small body, robust or not, body often flattened if not robust...6
5’ Legs long or short but with body fairly proportionate, only rarely flattened...23
6 Body generally slender and flattened, pronotal and elytral sculpturing simple (except in E. nigrina)...7
6’ Body, generally robust, never flattened, pronotal and elytral sculpturing complex...19
7 Elytral sculpturing muricate or scabrous...E. nigrina
7’ Elytral sculpturing simple...8
8 Range only in Inyo White Mountains...9
8’ Range widespread...10
9 Profemora with large tooth, anterolateral angles blunt but projected...E. aalbui
9’ Profemora only sinuate, anterolateral angles slightly projected...E. microps
10 Range near Big Bend National Park and the Guadalupe Mountains...11
10’ Range in the Southwest United States excluding Texas and the Guadalupe Mountains...13
11 Range in the Guadalupe Mountains...E. guadalupensis
11’ Range in Big Bend National Park...12
12 Mentum with finger-like process, pronotum subquadrate, widest at middle...E. labialis
12’ Mentum without finger-like process, pronotum widest anterior to middle...E. easterlai
13 Range in the Mohave Desert of California, pronotum evenly arcuate...E. californica
13’ Range in Arizona, Utah, and Sonora, pronotum rarely evenly arcuate...14
14 Range in the Sonoran desert or the most western portion of the Arizona-Utah border...15
14’ Range in the Sky Islands and the Colorado Plateau...17
15 Anterolateral angles strongly projected, caves by the most western point of the Arizona-Utah border…E. wynnei
15’ Anterolateral angles not strongly projected, the Sonoran desert…16
16 Short, red setae arising from elytral punctures...E. nevadensis
16’ No setae arising from elytral punctures...E. delicata
17 Body elongate, northern Arizona and southern Utah...18
17’ Body not elongate, Sky Islands in southeast Arizona...E. dissimilis
18 Strial punctures larger than punctures of intervals, restricted to the Grand Canyon...E. leptoscelis
18’ Strial punctures subequal to punctures of intervals, northern Arizona and southern Utah...E. wheeleri
19 Large tubercles present on Elytra...20
19’ Elytra without large tubercules...21
20 Range in Sierra Nevada region...E. granosa
20’ Range near the Four Corners...E. leechi
21 Pronotum evenly tuberculate, range in Oregon...E. spoliata
21’ Pronotum punctate, range widespread...22
22 Antennas robust, body generally more robust...E. hirsuta
22’ Antennas thin, body generally more slender...E. pilosa
23 Size small, covered in long setae, restricted to coastal California and the Baja peninsula, and the Sonoran desert...24
23’ Size small or large, usually glabrous, if with conspicuous setae then not found in coastal California, nor in the Baja peninsula or the Sonoran desert...29
24 Males with dentate profemora and elytra caudate, Sonoran desert...E. tribulus
24’ Males nor females ever caudate or attenuate, coastal California and the Baja peninsula...25
25 Third antennomere shortened...E. littoralis
25’ Third antennomere not shorted...26
26 Body larger...27
26’ Body smaller...28
27 Setae orange, California and northern Baja peninsula...E. osculans
27’ Setae black or grey, California and northern Baja peninsula...E. osculans
28 Setae black, California and northern Baja peninsula...E. nigropilosa
28’ Setae yellow, Baja peninsula...E. subdeplanata
29 Elytra caudate at least in males and extremely muricate, size large...30
29’ Elytra caudate or not but if muricate only slightly, size large or small...32
30 Only males caudate with profemora dentate, Tamaulipas...E. fiski
30’ Both males and females caudate with mutic profemora, Four Corners and Sierra Nevada region...31
31 Elytra usually glabrous, rarely with long setae, Four Corners...E. caudifera
31’ Elytra always with long setae, Sierra Nevada region...E. longipilosa
32 Elytral sculpture very rough, elytra always attenuate but never caudate, restricted to California...33
32’ Elytral sculpture variable but if rough then elytra never attenuate, widespread...34
33 Luster shiny and elytral apex acutely attenuate...E. marginata
33’ Luster dull and elytral apex blunt yet still attenuate...E. scabricula (E. acutangula)
34 Body oval shaped, coated in minute setae, coastal Texas and Louisiana...E. veterator
34’ Body shape variable, if small and shaped slightly oval then not found in coastal Texas or Louisiana...35
35 Body small and fusiform...36
35’ Body small or large, shape variable...38
36 Body nearly oval, clothed with minute setae, Great Plains above Texas...E. opaca
36’ Elytra highly punctured and glabrous...37
37 Body more fusiform, central and southern Great Plains...E. fusiformis
37’ Body less fusiform, the Sierra Nevadas to the Rocky Mountains, and the Arizona Sky islands to British Colombia, northern Great Plains...E. extricata (in part)
38 Size medium to large, elytra usually inflated, wide, large, and rotund or occasionally flattened in E. striolata and some E. subnitens and E. madrensis, elytra only attenuate if also flattened, elytra never caudate...39
38’ Size variable but abdomen rarely inflated, if so, then size is usually small or the elytra are attenuate or caudate...42
39 Elytral striae composed of large conspicuous punctures...E. goryi
39’ Elytral striae without large punctures...40
40 Elytra flattened, always attenuate, south and central Texas...E. striolata
40’ Elytra sometimes flattened, if so then also attenuate, Arizona, New Mexico, and Sonora...41
41 Pronotum more or less parallel sided...E. subnitens
41’ Pronotum evenly arcuate...E. madrensis
42 Size large sometimes medium or small in rare occasions, but always with legs long, sometimes caudate...43
42’ Size usually small, sometimes medium, if so then legs short, never caudate...71
43 Body elongate, sometimes robust, pronotum not all that distinct from elytra, profemora never dentate and never with caudate elytra, punctures always simple except in E. inornata where they are muricate...44
43’ Body fairly variable, sometimes elongate, often robust, pronotum usually quite distinct from elytra, males almost always with dentate profemora, elytra sometimes caudate...48
44 Elytral punctures muricate, tiny inconspicuous setae arising from each one, western Nevada...E. inornata
44’ Elytral punctures simple, glabrous, widespread...45
45 Tarsi with grey spicules in the plantar groove, often with red line running down the length of the elytra, this line never diffuses into black...E. ornatipennis
45’ Tarsi without grey spicules in the plantar groove, if a red line is present along the elytra it diffuses into black...46
46 Profemora strongly sinuate, pronotum widest slightly anterior of middle...E. hepburni
46’ Profemora simple, pronotum widest at middle...47
47 Pronotun wider than long, restricted to California...E. gigantea
47’ Pronotum as wide as long or longer than wide, widespread but not found in California...E. longicollis
48 Elytra never completely smooth (muricate, irregularly punctured, sulcate even if sulcipennis not deep), pronotum sometimes concave, body large, robust, and elytra with carina, if carina absent and body not very robust, then anterolateral angles of the pronotum rounded off, and the pronotum widest anterior of middle...49
48’ Elytra variable, often smooth, pronotum never concave, body variable, and elytra lacking carina, if elytra sulcate then pronotum widest at middle or with acute anterolateral angles...54
49 Pronotum concave...E. suturalis
49’ Pronotum convex...50
50 Elytra with carina...E. acuta
50’ Elytra without carina...51 (E. obscura)
51 Elytra with striae...52
51’ Elytra without striae...53
52 Elytra deeply sulcate...E. obscura sulcipennis
52’ Elytra slightly sulcate...E. obscura obscura
53 Elytra with simple punctures...E. obscura glabrisulca
53’ Elytra with muricate punctures...E. obscura dispersa
54 Elytra with large glabrous costae, intervals minutely hirsute, often coated with white debris, males are caudate, females are sometimes slightly caudate, legs long...E. mirabilis
54’ Elytra variable but without costae, caudate or not...55
55 Pronotum very wide, humeral angles of elytra obsolete, never attenuate...E. grandicollis
55 Pronotum variable, if wide, then elytral apex attenuate at least, humeral angles of elytra not obsolete...56
56 Restricted to California and the Baja peninsula, never having deep sulci...57
56’ Widespread not found in California or the northern Baja peninsula, if found in California then elytra sulcate...63
57 Pronotum two times wider than the head...E. acuticauda
57’ Pronotum less then two times wider than the head...58
58 Pronotum more or less parallel sided, Mohave desert...59
58’ Pronotum not parallel sided, coastal and inland California…60
59 Tibia strongly curved, profemoral spines blunt, never caudate...E. subcylindrica
59’ Tibia not strongly curved, profemoral spines acute, males caudate...E. mexicana
60 Elytra with separation at its apex…E. discincta
60’ Elytra without separation at its apex…61
61 Pronotum larger, elytral striae less prominent…E. dentipes
61’ Pronotum smaller, elytral striae more prominent…62
62 Pronotum widest anterior of middle, luster more shiny, elytra with simple punctures, glabrous, southern California…E. gracilis distans
62’ Pronotum widest at middle, luster more dull, elytra with muricate punctures and conspicuous setae, Channel Islands…E. adumbrata
63 Elytra strongly sulcate…64
63’ Elytra not strongly sulcate…65
64 Pronotum widest anterior to middle…E. hispilabris
64’ Pronotum widest at middle…E. composita
65 Body flattened, elytra and pronotum not too distinctly separated, or elytra remain wide up until their humeral angles…E. knullorum
65’ Body usually not flat, elytra and pronotum clearly separate, if elytra remain wide up until their humeral angles then elytra inflated…66
66 Elytra with muricate punctures…67
66’ Elytra with simple punctures…68
67 Punctures of elytra arranged in rows, elytral apex attenuate or caudate…E. tenuipes
67’ Punctures of elytra irregular, elytral apex only sometimes attenuate…E. sponsa
68 Elytra inflated and strongly convex…69 (E. spinipes)
68’ Elytra not inflated…70
69 Elytra more or less parallel sided, western Texas to Arizona…E. spinipes macrura
69’ Elytra ventricose, southern Texas…E. spinipes ventricosa
70 Male metatibia sinuate, males caudate, females strongly attenuate, strial punctures not abnormally large…E. eschscholtzii eschscholtzii
70’ Metatibia not sinuate, elytral apex only slightly attenuate, striae composed of rows of moderately sized punctures…E. gracilis gracilis
71 Elytra with conspicuous setae…72
71’ Elytra glabrous, or only with short inconspicuous setae…75
72 Size larger, northern Arizona and southern Utah…E. halli
72’ Size smaller, generally around the Great Basin and the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado…73
73 Distributed only in the Great Sand Dunes National Park…E. hirtipennis
73’ Distributed around the Great Basin…74
74 Setae brownish…E. letcheri
74’ Setae yellowish…E. aspera
75 Elytra flat and widened, about the same width as pronotum, sides sometimes slightly rounded or with carina…76
75’ Sides of elytra rounded evenly, generally elongate or circular…80
76 Body covered with minute setae…E. tricostata
76’ Body glabrous…77
77 Elytral sculpturing rough, luster generally dull, striae vague to absent…E. neomexicana
77’ Elytra with clear striae, luster shiny…78
78 Elytra with deeply impressed striae…E. pedinoides
78’ Elytra with slightly impressed striae…79 (E. wenzeli)
79 Punctures of elytra fine but easily noticeable…E. wenzeli speculicollis
70’ Punctures of elytra extremely fine and minute…E. wenzeli wenzeli
80 Both elytra with at least three large smooth costae…E. parowana
80’ Either elytra without large costae…81
81 Body smaller, elytra with tubercules, papillae, or numerous, irregular, simple punctures, elytral sculpturing never with only muricate or scabrous punctures…82
81’ Body slightly larger, sometimes small, but without tubercules, papillae or numerous, irregular, simple punctures, elytral sculpturing can consist of only muricate or scabrous punctures…86
82 Elytra covered in irregular simple punctures, body usually robust, sometimes slender, vaguely fusiform, the Sierra Nevadas to the Rocky Mountains, and the Arizona Sky islands to British Colombia, northern Great Plains...E. extricata (continuation)
82’ Elytra with complex sculpturing, body robust or slender, Pacific coast…83
83 Thorax and abdomen fairly proportionate, elytra with papillae or with tubercules forming rugae, California…84
83’ Abdomen disproportionately large, elytra tuberculate at least laterally, Pacific coast…85
84 Elytra papillose…E. papillosa
84’ Elytra tuberculate with transverse rugae…E. corvina
85 Pronotum wider than long, arcuate…E. granulata
85’ Pronotum subquadrate and near parallel sided…E. subtuberculata
86 Outer protibial spur enlarged…E. debilis
86’ Outer protibial spur unmodified…87
87 Body small, robust, and without complex sculpturing, punctures minute, Pronotum evenly arcuate and only slightly smaller than abdomen…E. arcuata
87’ Body larger, robust or not, sculpturing variable, pronotum significantly smaller than abdomen…88
88 Longer protibial spur extending to almost to the third tarsomere…89
88’ Longer protibial spur extending only to apex of the first tarsomere…91
89 Elytral sculpturing very complex, abdomen large, and pronotum strongly arcuate, Pacific Northwest…E. humeralis
89’ Elytral sculpturing variable, punctures muricate, usually elongate, sometimes robust, pronotum evenly arcuate, Sierra Nevadas to the Rocky Mountains, and the Grand Canyon to Idaho…90 (E. rileyi)
90 Elytra shiny with prominent striae…E. rileyi reducta
90’ Elytra dull without very prominent striae…E. rileyi rileyi
91 “…longer protibial spur tapering from base to apex”…E. carbonaria (see Thomas 2012 for subspecies key)
91’ “…longer protibial spur parallel sided in basal half then tapering to a point at apex”…92
92 Elytral punctures irregular, San Francisco region…E. quadricollis
92’ Elytral punctures in organized in rows, southeast Arizona…E. anthracina

Contact me with any issues you came across while using this key, if an the result seems incorrect tag me in the observation and I’ll have a look.

Updated key: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/eleodesthermopolis/89877-a-key-to-the-amphidorini-species-of-southern-california

1 Mesofemora and metafemora dentate or subdentate...2
1’ Mesofemora and metafemora never dentate...4
2 Elytral punctures strongly muricate, rough...E. moesta
2’ Elytral punctures simple or slightly muricate, smooth...3
3 Pronotum widest anterior of middle, femoral spines large...E. armata
3’ Pronotum widest at middle, femoral spines small to medium sized...E. femorata
4 Pronotum cordate and constricted at base, elytra roughly sculptured and rounded at apex…subgenus Blapylis (soon to be genus Blapylis)
4’ Pronotum rarely cordate, and if pronotum constricted at base then elytra smooth or elytral apex attenuate or caudate…5
5 Body generally large, glabrous, and with profemur dentate (except potentially female E. adumbrata), if with setae then elytral apex attenuate…6
5’ Body generally small, though sometimes medium sized (or large in E. gigantea), elytra with setae or not, profemur mutic…14
6 Pronotum broad, humeral angles of elytra obsolete…E. grandicollis
6’ Pronotum broad or not, but if broad then elytral apex attenuate, humeral angles not obsolete…7
7 Elytra strongly sulcate…E. hispilabris
7’ Elytra not strongly sulcate…8
8 Pronotum more or less parallel sided…9
8’ Pronotum not parallel sided…11
9 Tibia notably curved, profemoral spine fairly blunt…E. subcylindrica
9’ Tibia curved only slightly, profemoral spine acute…10
10 Elytral apex with goove in between both elytra…E. discincta
10’ Elytral apex without goove in between both elytra…E. mexicana
11 Pronotum larger and wide…12
11’ Pronotum smaller and not wide…13
12 Pronotum two or more times wider than head…E. acuticauda
12’ Pronotum less than two times wider than head…E. dentipes
13 Pronotum widest anterior of middle, elytra glabrous…E. gracilis distans
13’ Pronotum widest at middle, elytra setose…E. adumbrata
14 Body covered in long, conspicuous setae…15
14’ Body glabrous or with inconspicuous setae…19
15 Third antennomere shortened…E. littoralis (soon to be Amphidora littoralis)
15’ Third antennomere not shortened…16
16 Size 13mm or more…17
16’ Size 12mm or less…18
17 Setae orange…E. osculans (soon to be Cratidus osculans)
17’ Setae black or grey…E. ursus (soon to be Cratidus rotundicollis)
18 Setae black…E. nigropilosa (soon to be Cratidus nigropilosus)
18’ Setae yellow…E. subdeplanata (soon to be Cratidus subdeplanatus)
19 Elytra with complex sculpturing…20
19’ Elytra smooth with simple punctures…22
20 Elytra with large tubercules, legs long, size larger…E. granosa
20’ Elytra with tubercules or not, but never large, legs not long, size smaller…21
21 Elytra tuberculate at least laterally…E. granulata
21’ Elytra papillose…E. papillosa
22 Size generally large, pronotum widest at middle…E. gigantea (soon to be Steneleodes gigantea)
22’ Size generally small, pronotum widest more or less anterior of middle…23
23 Body generally more robust, never very flattened, and legs never very long…E. carbonaria omissa
23’ Body nearly always slender, flattened, with long legs…24
24 Strial punctures larger than ones of intervals, pronotum more or less arcuate…E. californica (soon to be Metablapylis californica)
24’ Strial punctures subequal to ones of intervals, pronotum feebly arcuate…E. delicata (E. nevadensis) (soon to be Metablapylis nevadensis)