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Discovery of a most remarkable cave-specialized trechine beetle from southern China (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechinae)

2017; Pensoft Publishers; Volume: 725; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3897/zookeys.725.21040

1313-2989

Mingyi Tian, Sunbin Huang, Dianmei Wang,

Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy

Xuedytes bellus Tian & Huang, gen. et sp. n. is described from a limestone cave in Du'an Karst of Guangxi, a kingdom of cavernicolous trechine beetles in southern China. From a morphological point of view, Xuedytes Tian & Huang, gen. n. seems to be the most extremely cave-adapted trechines in the world. Superficially, it looks much like Giraffaphaenops Deuve, 2002 in general body shape, in particular the structure of the prothorax, but simultaneously it is similar to Dongodytes (s. str.) Deuve, 1993, based on elytral characters, including chaetotaxy. Hence the new genus seems to represent a lineage intermediate between Giraffaphaenops and Dongodytes (s. str.).