Review of the North American Tarphiota Casey, with a description of a new seashore-inhabiting Atheta species exhibiting convergent characteristics (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae)

A review of the North American species of the genus Tarphiota Casey is presented. Three species are recognized: T. densa (Moore), T. fucicola (Mäklin), and T. geniculata (Mäklin). They occur on the sandy beaches of the Pacific coast. A new coastal species of Atheta, found on the seashore and exhibiting certain convergent characteristics to Tarphiota, is described from the Atlantic coast: A. novaescotiae Klimaszewski and Majka, sp. nov. All Canadian species are provided with diagnoses, genitalic illustrations and digital photos of their habitus in dorsal and lateral view. A key is presented to distinguish the species. New data on the natural history of A. novaescotiae are presented and briefly discussed.