Abstract
The Leiodidae (the round fungus beetles, the small carrion beetles, and the mammal nest beetles) of Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) are surveyed. Twenty five species, including Colon (Colon) politum Peck and Stephan, Colon (Myloechus) forceps Hatch, Colon (Myloechus) incisum Peck and Stephan, Colon (Myloechus) schwarzi Hatch, Hydnobius arizonensis Horn, Anogdus dissimilis Blatchley, Anogdus potens (Brown), Cyrtusa subtestacea (Gyllenhal), Leiodes puncticollis (Thompson), Leiodes rufipes (Gebler), Agathidium atronitens Fall, Agathidium depressum Fall, Agathidium difforme (LeConte), Agathidium mollinum Fall, Agathidium oniscoides Palisot de Beauvois, Agathidium pulchrum LeConte, Agathidium repentinum Horn, Agathidium rusticum Fall, Gelae parile (Fall), Anisotoma blanchardi (Horn), Anisotoma discolor (Melsheimer), Anisotoma geminata (Horn), Anisotoma globososa Hatch, and Prionochaeta opaca (Say) are newly recorded in Atlantic Canada. One of these, Hydnobius arizonensis, is newly recorded in Canada. Colon (Myloechus) hubbardi Horn is newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces. Eight species are newly recorded in New Brunswick, 29 in Nova Scotia, two on Prince Edward Island, 12 on insular Newfoundland, and five in Labrador for a total of 56 new jurisdictional records. Catops paramericanus Peck and Cook and Catops simplex Say are newly recorded from mainland Nova Scotia, and records are provided to verify the occurrence of Leiodes impersonata Brown and Leiodes punctostriata Kirby in Nova Scotia, and Leptinillus validus (Horn) in insular Newfoundland. Three species, Agathidium hatchi Wheeler, Catops americanus Hatch, and Sciodrepoides watsoni (Spence), are removed from the faunal list of New Brunswick. As a result, 66 species of Leiodidae have now been recorded from Atlantic Canada. The name Anisotoma obsoleta (Horn) is revalidated while the name Anisotoma horni Wheeler is newly designated a synonym of A. obsoleta. The regional composition and zoogeography of the Leiodidae in Atlantic Canada are examined and species are grouped in six main categories, reflecting their distribution in the region. Island faunas are examined, particularly in regard to the similarities and differences of the faunas of Cape Breton Island, insular Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island. Lone Shieling, in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, is highlighted as an apparent biodiversity 'hot spot' for this family within the region. Finally, the saproxylic component of the fauna (19 species in the Agathiidini) is briefly discussed, particularly in regard to potentially rare species, and the importance of monitoring populations of saproxylic beetles.
Highlights
The Leiodidae is a diverse family of beetles that includes species at one time placed in as many as eight separate families
In Atlantic Canada it includes Agathidium Panzer 1797, Anisotoma Panzer 1797, and Gelae Miller and Wheeler, 2004 that feed on the plasmodia and fruiting bodies of slime molds; Colon Herbst 1797, Hydnobius Schmidt 1847, Leiodes Latreille 1796, and Liocyrtusa Daffner 1982 that are known or believed to be associated with subterranean fungi; Colenis Erichson 1845 which is associated with decaying soft fungi; Catops Paykull 1798, Prionochaeta Hatch Anisotoma inops Brown Anisotoma obsoleta (Horn) 1880, and Sciodrepoides Hatch 1933 that are scavengers found in various kinds of moist decaying matter, carrion; Leptinus Müller 1817 and Platypsyllus Ritsema 1869 that are scavengers and ectoparasites associated with aquatic mammals; and Nemadus Thompson 1867 which is a scavenger associated with the nests of harvester ants
Sixty-six species of Leiodidae have been recorded as occurring in Atlantic Canada (Table 1); 51 in Nova Scotia, 33 in New Brunswick, 25 in insular Newfoundland, 14 in Labrador, and 2 on Prince Edward Island
Summary
The Leiodidae (the round fungus beetles, the small carrion beetles, and the mammal nest beetles) is a diverse family of beetles that includes species at one time placed in as many as eight separate families. Miller and Wheeler (2004, 2005), Peck and Cook (2002, 2007), and Wheeler and Miller (2005) described 32 additional North American species, increasing the total to 356. Since Baranowski (1993), Miller and Wheeler (2005), Peck and Cook (2002, 2007), and Peck and Stephan (1996) have added additional records, increasing the known fauna of Atlantic Canada to 42 species. Twenty-five species are added to the fauna overall, one of which is newly recorded in Canada
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