Quediina

Quediina View in CoL – Quedionuchus + Queskallion clade

This clade was first recovered by Brunke et al. (2016) using only molecular data (as part of clade B). Quedionuchus Sharp and Queskallion Smetana share the reduction of the infraorbital ridge and the presence of a genal puncture on the head. Most Quedionuchus lack this puncture, but it is present in the more morphologically generalized Q. ollin Smetana and its undescribed relatives from Mexico. In the present analysis, † Laevisaurus is unexpectedly recovered in this clade, despite the fully developed infraorbital ridge, doubled basal puncture (single in the other two genera) and an unobservable genal puncture (marked as ‘?’ for each species). Based on the complete infraorbital ridge and the unsupported internal node, † Laevisaurus is most likely to be sister to this clade, rather than inside it. With Quedionuchus , † Laevisaurus shares the glabrous elytra bearing only macrosetae, but lacks the distinct cellular microsculpture of the former.

Unfortunately, most of the above-mentioned characters are homoplastic in Quediiina, and new character systems are needed. A more focused study on the phylogeny of Quediina , including a greater taxon sampling and a wider range of morphological characters, is in preparation and might shed light on the phylogenetic position of † Laevisaurus in the subtribe.