The diving beetles Liodessus altoperuensissp. nov. and Liodessus caxamarcasp. nov. (Dytiscidae, Hydroporinae, Bidessini) are described from the high altitudes of the Puna regions of north western Peru. They occur in shallow and exposed mossy peatland puddles. We delineate the two species using structures such as male genitalia, beetle size, shape and colour pattern. Mitochondrial Cox1 data were also generated, and revealed clusters congruent with morphological evidence. Altogether fourteen Liodessus species are now known from the Andean region.
We describe four new species of the diving beetle genus Liodessus Guignot from the high Andean regions of Peru: Liodessus alpinus sp. nov. from Junín, L. hauthi sp. nov. from Huánuco and Churubamba, L. rhigos sp. nov. from Junín, and L. thespesios sp. nov. from Cusco. We delineate the species using morphological structures and provide a 5’ mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 database on the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD). We also provide taxonomic notes on Liodessus acollensis Guignot, 1955 and L. andinus Guignot, 1957, described from the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia. These species occur at higher altitudes above 3,400 m and up to 4,900 m, and were collected in shallow, exposed peatland pools and puddles, mostly in steppes and high Andean Puna. The known distribution and habitat preferences of each species are outlined briefly.
The diving beetle Rhantus blancasi Guignot, 1955 (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Colymbetinae) was until now only known from older reports from Pasco region, Peru. Here, we provide new distributional data from Cuzco and Junin regions, habitat information, and illustrations of diagnostic characters for the easy identification of the species.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.