The first record of Propomacrusbimucronatus (Pallas, 1781) (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) from Iraq, with notes on its distribution and phenology in the Near East

Background

Propomacrusbimucronatus (Pallas, 1781), the Mediterranean long-armed scarab, is a large saproxylic beetle, occurring in the east Mediterranean and south-east Europe, sparse throughout its entire distributional range, often considered as rare, threatened or extinct species.

New information

Propomacrusbimucronatus is recorded for the first time from Kurdistan, Iraq. The new data on its distribution and phenology in Iraq and in Israel is published for the first time, compared with the previously-published data and analysed.

Strong genetic differentiation among populations of Cheirotonus gestroi (Coleoptera: Euchiridae) in its native area sheds lights on species conservation

The long-armed scarab (Cheirotonus gestroi) is an endangered large insect in southwestern China and neighboring countries; however, limited information is available regarding its population genetics, hindering conservation efforts. Therefore, we investigated the population genetic structure and evolutionary history of C. gestroi in southwestern China. Twenty-five haplotypes were obtained from 47 specimens across five populations. The Dawei Mountain (DWS) population differed from other populations by a high genetic distance. Population structure analysis generated three distinct clades, corresponding to Hengduan Mountains (HM), Ailao Mountains (AM), and Dawei Mountains (DM), and high-level genetic diversity was found in two HM populations. Collectively, the strong genetic differentiation among populations might be due to limited gene flow, geographical isolation, and habitat fragmentation. Therefore, while developing a conservation strategy, HM, AM, and DM groups should be defined as separate management units. Additionally, the DWS population should be given priority protection due to its uniqueness and low genetic diversity.

A molecular phylogeny of rose chafers (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) reveals a complex and concerted morphological evolution related to their flight mode

Rose chafers (Cetoniinae) are a large group of flower visitors within the pleurostict Scarabaeidae that are characterized by their distinctive flight mode with nearly closed forewings. Despite their popularity, this is the first study to use molecular data to infer their phylogenetic relationships. We used partial gene sequences for 28S rRNA, cytochrome oxidase I (cox1) and 16S rRNA (rrnL) for 299 species, representing most recognized subfamilies of Scarabaeidae, including 125 species of Cetoniinae. Combined analyses using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inferences recovered Cetoniinae as monophyletic in all analyses, with the sister clade composed of Rutelinae and Dynastinae. Rutelinae was always recovered as paraphyletic with respect to Dynastinae. Trichiini sensu lato (s.l.) was recovered as a polyphyletic clade, while Cetoniini s.l. was recovered as paraphyletic. The inferred topologies were also supported by site bootstrapping of the ML trees. With the exception of Cremastochelini, most tribes of Cetoniinae were poly- or paraphyletic, indicating the critical need for a careful revision of rose chafer classification. Analysis of elytral base structure (including 11 scored characters) in the context of phylogeny, revealed a complex, concerted and rapid transformation of the single trait elements linked to a modified flight mode with closed elytra. This appears to be unlinked to the lateral sinuation of the elytra, which originated independently several times at later stages in the evolution of the group.