New records of rove beetles from the Province of Quebec, and additional provincial records in Canada (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae)

We newly report 25 provincial records of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from the province of Quebec from the following subfamilies: Steninae (1), Euaesthetinae (1), Omaliinae (2), Oxyporinae (1), Paederinae (1), Proteininae (1), Pselaphinae (2), Scaphidiinae (2), Scydmaeninae (2), Staphylininae (11) and Tachyporinae (1). Among these, two species are also reported for the first time from Ontario, two from Nova Scotia, and five are new Canadian records. We also report the first supporting data for Suniusmelanocephalus (Fabricius, 1792) and Scopaeusminutus Erichson, 1840 for Quebec, and of Arpediumschwarzi Fauvel, 1878, Phyllodrepapunctiventris (Fauvel, 1878), and Sepedophilusbasalis (Erichson, 1839) for Ontario. Specimen data and diagnoses are provided for each species, as well as references for identification where available.

Annotated checklist of the beetles (Coleoptera) of the California Channel Islands

The beetle fauna of the California Channel Islands is here enumerated for the first time in over 120 years. We provide an annotated checklist documenting species-by-island diversity from an exhaustive literature review and analysis of a compiled dataset of 26,609 digitized specimen records to which were added over 3,000 individual specimen determinations. We report 825 unique species from 514 genera and 71 families (including 17 new family records) comprising 1,829 species-by-island records. Species totals for each island are as follows: Anacapa (74); San Clemente (197); San Miguel (138); San Nicolas (146); Santa Barbara (64); Santa Catalina (370); Santa Cruz (503); and Santa Rosa (337). This represents the largest list of species published to date for any taxonomic group of animals on the Channel Islands; despite this, we consider the checklist to be preliminary. We present evidence that both inventory and taxonomic efforts on Channel Islands beetles are far from complete. Rarefaction estimates indicate there are at least several hundred more species of beetles yet to be recorded from the islands. Despite the incomplete nature of existing records, we found that species diversity is highly correlated with island area. We report 56 species which are putatively geographically restricted (endemic) to the Channel Islands, with two additional species of questionable endemic status. We also report 52 species from the islands which do not natively occur in the southern California region.

Tachyporinae Revisited: Phylogeny, Evolution, and Higher Classification Based on Morphology, with Recognition of a New Rove Beetle Subfamily (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

Simple Summary

The rove beetle subfamily Tachyporinae has been suggested to be polyphyletic for the last half century but there are no previous studies conducting phylogenetic analysis on this group specifically. Here, the most comprehensive tachyporine phylogeny is shown, which again rejects the monophyly of Tachyporinae and its largest tribe Tachyporini. A revised classification of Tachyporinae is proposed here based on observation of morphological characters and their phylogenetic analyses. This backbone phylogeny will be a framework for further evolutionary and ecological studies.

Abstract

Tachyporinae are one of the most phylogenetically problematic subfamilies in the mega-diverse rove beetle family Staphylinidae. Despite its high diversity and abundance in forest micro-environments, with over 1600 species worldwide, several previous studies had refuted the monophyly of this subfamily and its largest tribe, Tachyporini. Based on the results of morphology-based phylogenetic analyses and direct examination of specimens encompassing two extinct and all forty extant genera, a new suprageneric classification of Tachyporinae is proposed here, with the removal of the tribe Mycetoporini into a newly recognized subfamily Mycetoporinae stat. nov. Four tribes with two subtribes are arranged within Tachyporinae sensu nov.: Tachyporini sensu nov. (Tachyporina stat. nov., sensu nov. and Euconosomatina stat. rev., sensu nov.), Vatesini sensu nov., Deropini, and Tachinusini stat. rev., sensu nov. (= Megarthropsini syn. nov.). Urolitus syn. nov. is placed as a junior synonym of Sepedophilus. Additionally, Palporus stat. nov. is raised to a distinct genus from a subgenus of Tachyporus sensu. nov., and †Mesotachyporus syn. nov. is synonymized with the latter. Mycetoporine Bobitobus stat. rev. is resurrected from synonymy with Lordithon sensu nov., and considered as a valid genus. My revised classification provides a novel framework for taxonomic inventories and ecological studies of these groups.

New Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) records with new collection data from New Brunswick and eastern Canada: Tachyporinae

Twenty-three species of Tachyporinae are newly recorded from New Brunswick. This brings the total number of Tachyporinae known from the province to 70. Lordithon campbelli Schülke is newly recorded for Canada and we provide the first documented records of Tachinus addendus Horn and Tachinus frigidus Erichson for New Brunswick. Collection and habitat data are presented and discussed for each species. A list of Tachyporinae species currently known from the province of New Brunswick is presented.

Contributions to the faunistics and bionomics of Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) in northeastern North America: discoveries made through study of the University of Guelph Insect Collection, Ontario, Canada

Staphylinidae (Rove Beetles) from northeastern North America deposited in the University of Guelph Insect Collection (Ontario, Canada) were curated from 2008–2010 by the first author. The identification of this material has resulted in the recognition of thirty-five new provincial or state records, six new Canadian records, one new record for the United States and two new records for eastern Canada. All records are for subfamilies other than Aleocharinae and Pselaphinae, which will be treated in future publications as collaborative projects. Range expansions of ten exotic species to additional provinces and states are reported. The known distributions of each species in northeastern North America are summarized and presented as maps, and those species with a distinctive habitus are illustrated with color photographs. Genitalia and/or secondary sexual characters are illustrated for those species currently only identifiable on the basis of dissected males. The majority of the new records are in groups that have been recently revised, demonstrating the importance of curation and local insect surveys to the understanding of biodiversity, even for taxa and areas considered ‘relatively well-known’.

TOWARD A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE "TRANSVERSE RANGE BREAK": LINEAGE DIVERSIFICATION IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Transverse Ranges in southern California have been identified as having a prominent phylogeographic role. Numerous studies have identified distinct north-south and/or east-west lineage breaks involving the Transverse Ranges. However, in evaluating their findings, most authors have regarded this complex system somewhat simplistically. In this study we more deeply investigate these breaks using two approaches: first we examine the phylogeographic history of Sepedophilus castaneus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and then implement a comparative phylogeography approach applying Brooks parsimony analysis to the topologies of nine additional taxa. Phylogenetic analysis, nested clade analysis, and AMOVAs for S. castaneus agree that there is a major lineage break between the eastern and western Transverse Ranges, localized between the Sierra Pelona and the San Gabriel Mountains. The comparative phylogeographic analysis supports a generally strong concordance of area relationships with geographic proximity. It is notable, however, that the Transverse Ranges as a group do not show phylogenetic cohesion, but rather they are split into three main regions: an eastern region (San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains), a central region (central Transverse Ranges and Sierra Pelona) that is often grouped with the Tehachapi and Sierra Nevada populations, and a western region (northwestern Transverse Ranges and Santa Ynez Mountains) that is consistently grouped with coast range areas to the north. The lineage break between east and west Transverse Ranges is attributable to the presence of a marine embayment in what is now the Santa Clara River valley 5-2.5 million years ago.