Remarkable cave-adapted ground beetles of the tribe Pterostichini from China: a new subgenus and three new species (Coleoptera: Carabidae) |
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| Authors: | Mingyi Tian Sunbin Huang Mengzhen Chen Kaijun Ding |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, No. 483, Wushan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, PR China;2. The Fifth Middle School, No. 4, Hongxing Road, Yichang, Hubei 443002, PR China |
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| Abstract: | A new subgenus, Huaius n. subgen. of the genus Pterostichus, is described to deal with the following three new species of ground beetles which were recently discovered from limestone caves in Central China: Pterostichus (Huaius) caoi n. sp. (Cave Lijia Dong in Yichang, Hubei Province), Pterostichus (Huaius) tiankeng n. sp. (Cave Xigou Dong in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province) and Pterostichus (Huaius) yuae n. sp. (Cave Didonghe Dong in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province). This new subgenus is not closely allied to any lineage of Chinese Pterostichus. The pronotal structure of Huaius has the most peculiar morphological characteristics, lacking lateromarginal borders and without grooves on the portion of basal foveae. All members of Huaius are de-pigmented, almost blind and extremely troglomorphic. This is the first report of cave-adapted pterostichine beetles from Asia. |
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| Keywords: | Pterostichus new subgenus new species taxonomy morphology troglobitic Hubei Shaanxi |
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