TWO NEW SPECIES OF XIPHOCEPHALUS IN ELEODES TRICOSTATA AND ELEODES FUSIFORMIS (COLEOPTERA: TENEBRIONIDAE: ELEODINI) FROM THE SANDHILLS OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

Xiphocephalus triplogemmatus n. sp. and Xiphocephalus quadratogemmatus n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida) are described from Eleodes tricostata and Eleodes fusiformis (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), respectively, collected from Keith County in the sandhills of western Nebraska. Gamonts can be diagnosed with some confidence based on relative size and shape of the deutomerite, but these taxa are distinguished by differences in oocyst size, shape, and residuua number. Together with Xiphocephalus ellisi from Eleodes opacus in the same region, X. triplogemmatus and X. quadratogemmatus form a distinct Nearctic xiphocephalid group that is morphologically distinct from groups that occur in the Palearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental regions.