Hypogean Quedius of Taiwan and their biogeographic significance (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae)

Fang Shuo Hu,Alexey Solodovnikov,Aslak Kappel Hansen,Amalia Bogri

doi:10.5852/ejt.2020.664

Fang Shuo Hu, Alexey Solodovnikov + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2020.664

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Abstract

As a result of the integrative (morphology and DNA barcodes) revision of the Taiwanese species of the rove beetle genus Quedius belonging to the abnormalis group, in the subgenus Microsaurus, three valid hypogean species are reported for the fauna of this island: Quedius masuzoi Watanabe, 1989, Q. nishikawai Watanabe, 1991 and Q. adilus sp. nov. A new synonymy, Quedius masuzoi = Quedius chiangi Smetana, 1995 syn. nov., is established along with providing additional records, a larval description and bionomic information for this species. Finally, the biogeographic origin of the abnormalis group in Taiwan is discussed.

Highlights

Quedius Stephens, 1829 is one of the largest rove beetle genera, with more than 700 species globally
As a result of the integrative revision of the Taiwanese species of the rove beetle genus Quedius belonging to the abnormalis group, in the subgenus Microsaurus, three valid hypogean species are reported for the fauna of this island: Quedius masuzoi Watanabe, 1989, Q. nishikawai Watanabe, 1991 and Q. adilus sp. nov
From Q. adilus sp. nov. it can be distinguished by the shorter and wider median lobe of the aedeagus, which is only slightly protruding over the apical margin of the bilobed paramere

Summary

Introduction

Quedius Stephens, 1829 is one of the largest rove beetle genera, with more than 700 species globally. Thirty-eight species of this genus occur in Taiwan, of which 35 are endemic to the island. In Taiwan, only three such hypogean species have been known, namely Q. chiangi Smetana, 1995, Q. masuzoi Watanabe, 1989 and Q. nishikawai Watanabe, 1991. All of them belong to the abnormalis group as defined by Uéno & Watanabe (1966) and all are endemic to this island (Watanabe 1989, 1991; Smetana 1995). Smetana (1995) hypothesized that the entire abnormalis group is sister to the monotypic yun group from Taiwan. As is true for all hypogean Quedius, the three Taiwanese species of the abnormalis group are known from very limited material, mostly of female specimens. The identity of Q. chiangi and Q. nishikawai remains ambiguous, as only two females are available for the former and one female for the latter species

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