A review of the Himalayan genus Trypheridium Brancucci (Coleoptera: Cantharidae: Chauliognathinae) with description of a new species

Abstract

The genus Trypheridium Brancucci, 1985 is endemic to the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region, and is currently known from a single species, T. nuristanicum (Wittmer, 1956). Here, the genus is reviewed, T. nuristanicum nom. emend. is re-described and T. kashmiricum sp. nov. is described from Kashmir Himalayan Region of India. Descriptions, diagnoses, high quality images, distribution maps and identification keys are presented. The morphology and distribution of Trypheridium are discussed and compared with those of the closely related genus Trypherus LeConte, 1851.

A review of the genus Stratiomys Geoffroy (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) from India with description of a new species

“…The species of Stratiomys are not often found in the tropics or subtropics. The two presently recorded species in the India are distributed in the Kashmir Himalayas characterized with a mixture of Palaearctic and Indomalayan insect faunal elements (Das 1966;Shah et al 2014;Zubair et al 2021). Therefore, the distribution of Stratiomys in India is not surprising, and the known habitats of the Indian species accord well with previous accounts of species' ecology within the genus from temperate regions.…”

First record of the genus Ampulicomorpha Ashmead, 1893 (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea: Embolemidae) from India

“…The species is now known to occur in four countries in the Oriental and the Palaearctic regions. The composition of the insect fauna of the Kashmir Himalayas is a mixture of Palaearctic and Oriental faunal elements ( Das 1966; Shah et al 2014; Zubair et al 2021; Maqbool et al 2023). Although the finding of the genus Ampulicomorpha in India is not surprising, our new record of A. nepalensis is important because it fills previous sampling gaps.…”

“…Study of the specimen was conducted using a G2Mark stereomicroscope (G2Mark, India). Species-level identification was confirmed using the identification keys of Images of the specimen were captured with a mirrorless digital camera (Nikon Z50) and proper light exposure was obtained a light box (waChkOO et al 2021). Multiple images were focus-stacked to create one final image using the CombineZP software.…”

When a key innovation becomes redundant: Patterns, drivers and consequences of elytral reduction inColeoptera

“…Different degrees of elytral shortening also occur in most genera of Malthininae (Figure 2c), and all Ichthyurini (e.g., Ichthyurus Westwood; Chauliognathinae) have considerably shortened elytra. In Chauliognathini, some genera originally included in Ichthyurini are characterised by their short elytra (e.g., Maronius Gorham, Belotus Gorham, Lobetus Kiesenwetter and Macromalthinus Pic), whereas some others, like Chauliognathus Hentz and Malthesis Motschulsky, contain mostly species with long elytra although some of them are brachelytrous (Biffi, 2020; Zubair et al, 2021). We can possibly attribute morphological modifications connected with the evolution of a soft body to paedomorphic developmental patterns in Cantharidae.…”