The aim of this work was to demonstrate that the Leistus (Leistus) constrictus Schaufuss 1862 populations from Sierra de Ayllón belong to a new sibling species of the true L. (L.) constrictus from Sierra de Guadarrama. We describe Leistus (Leistus) elpis sp. nov. The species were separated by the study of external morphology of qualitative characters, especially male genitalia, and quantitative characters (morphometric analysis). In L. (L.) constrictus the apical lamina of the aedeagus appears to be a long gutter flanked by lateral ridges with an open truncation in its anterior part; in L. (L.) elpis sp. nov. the apical lamina is completely ridged, even in the anterior part, forming a kind of labial thickening, enclosing the median lobe, and giving the apex a clearly closed and pointed outline. It is not possible, or very difficult, to distinguish between females of L. (L.) constrictus and females of L. (L.) elpis sp. nov., based on their external anatomy as they are practically identical. The female genitalia do not offer taxonomic information for discriminating between the species using the genital armour or the structure of the spermathecal complex. However, subtle differences were found through morphometric analysis, as well as for males of both species. Field surveys suggest that the pass Puerto de Somosierra is the geographical barrier that has led to this allopatric speciation.

In the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, Pogonini (Coleoptera, Carabidae) is the least species-rich tribe of Trechinae. Nevertheless, the taxon is relatively poorly studied in this territory, and the available records are mostly published in old and/or faunistic works. The present study provides a taxonomic revision of the 3 genera and 11 species of Pogonini occurring in the Ibero-Balearic region, with an identification key, diagnoses and illustrations of their external morphology and aedeagus. The chorology of the species was also studied, and was assessed by obtaining precise records from published papers and the collection localities of the examined material. These data were used to make updated distribution maps (with several new occurrence points) that reveal a strong regionalization of the tribe in the Ibero-Balearic territory. The species occur in humid and saline environments, especially along the meridional and Mediterranean coasts of the Iberian Peninsula and in inner arid localities of eastern Spain. This result agrees with the widely accepted halobiont condition of the group. However, sampling bias must be considered, and new records are expected to be provided from future revisions of collections and new samplings.

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In this article we present a comparative study between the three subspecies of Laemostenus (Antisphodrus) cazorlensis (Mateu, 1953) (Coleoptera, Carabidae), a representative carabid of the cave fauna of Jaén and Albacete (southern Spain). The aim of this work was to examine the validity of the characters typically used to distinguish the subspecies L. (A.) c. cazorlensis (Mateu, 1953), L. (A.) c. divergens (Mateu, 1953) and L. (A.) c. seguranus (Vives & Vives, 1982) and check if they support the actual subspecific classification. For this purpose, a morphometric study of the pronotum and a morphological study of the male and female genitalia were carried out on 161 individuals of the three subspecies from the different geographic territories within the known distribution range of the species. An ANOVA analysis was run to support the results of the morphometric study developed with the total of studied samples. The results suggest that none of the studied characters can be used to characterize any of the subspecific taxa. Besides, the karstic profile of the ground in where this species inhabits could facilitate the genetic flow between its populations, so it is possible that they are not completely isolated. We conclude that the observable differences between individuals of Laemostenus (Antisphodrus) cazorlensis for the studied characters reflect intraspecific variability, and do not support a subspecific classification of the species. We propose the synonymization of the two non-typical subspecies of Laemostenus (Antisphodrus) cazorlensis with the typical one and, therefore, with the specific taxa.

Ocys tachysoides (Antoine, 1933) y Ocys harpaloides (Audinet-Serville, 1821) son dos especies próximas cuya distinción era difícil antes de la publicación de ciertos trabajos recientes. Mientras que O. harpaloides es bien conocido en la península ibérica, los datos disponibles sobre O. tachysoides son escasos (tan solo cuatro citas han sido publicadas). Se planteó la hipótesis de que O. tachysoides ha sido frecuentemente confundido con O. harpaloides en dicho territorio. Para evaluarla, se estudió material ibérico, de colección, de O. harpaloides y Ocys sp. y se (re)identificó a nivel de especie basándose en los caracteres diagnósticos actualmente conocidos (genitalia y rasgos externos). Un total de 9 ejemplares de O. tachysoides fueron localizados entre el material estudiado, lo que apoya la hipótesis inicial. Así, y junto con tres capturas recientes en España central, se aportan 11 citas nuevas de O. tachysoides. Los resultados sugieren que, al menos en las poblaciones ibéricas, la morfología de la genitalia y el patrón de la microescultura son caracteres diagnósticos consistentes. Por el contrario, ambas especies pueden presentar expresiones poco comunes de la coloración y forma de los élitros y de la forma de los ángulos posteriores del pronoto. La corología actualizada de O. tachysoides muestra que la especie está presente en el centro y noroeste de España y en el centro y norte de Portugal, en regiones templadas y húmedas que, frecuentemente, cuentan con hábitats montañosos y forestales. Son necesarios futuros estudios para esclarecer la distribución real y la autoecología de O. tachysoides.