The beetle fauna of Dominica, Lesser Antilles (Insecta: Coleoptera) : diversity and distribution

The beetle fauna of the island of Dominica is summarized. It is presently known to contain 269 genera, and 361 species (in 42 families), of which 347 are named at a species level. Of these, 62 species are endemic to the island. The other naturally occurring species number 262, and another 23 species are of such wide distribution that they have probably been accidentally introduced and distributed, at least in part, by human activities. Undoubtedly, the actual numbers of species on Dominica are many times higher than now reported. This highlights the poor level of knowledge of the beetles of Dominica and the Lesser Antilles in general. Of the species known to occur elsewhere, the largest numbers are shared with neighboring Guadeloupe (201), and then with South America (126), Puerto Rico (113), Cuba (107), and Mexico-Central America (108). The Antillean island chain probably represents the main avenue of natural overwater dispersal via intermediate stepping-stone islands. The distributional patterns of the species shared with Dominica and elsewhere in the Caribbean suggest stages in a dynamic taxon cycle of species origin, range expansion, distribution contraction, and re-speciation

Distribution and biology of the ectoparasitic beaver beetle Platypsyllus castoris Ritsema in North America (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Platypsyllinae)

The distribution and biology of the beaver beetle, Platypsyllus castoris Ritsema, are summarized for North America. In light of the fact that the beetle uses two beaver species as hosts which have seemingly been separated for some five million years on two continents, it is asked if the Nearctic and Palearctic beetle populations are really the same species

New distributional records of the flightless primitive carrion beetle Necrophilus pettitii Horn in eastern North America (Coleoptera: Agyrtidae)

New distribution records significantly expand the known range of flightless Necrophilus pettitii Horn in the eastern United States

The beetles of St. Lucia, Lesser Antilles (Insecta: Coleoptera): diversity and distributions

The published beetle fauna of the island of St. Lucia is summarized. It contains 135 genera, and 175 species in 25 families. Four species are accidentally introduced by human activities. Twenty three species are endemic (restricted) to the island. Twenty seven species on St. Lucia are shared only with other islands of the Lesser Antilles, and 22 species are widespread Antilles endemics. The remaining 56.6% of the fauna is otherwise mostly one which is widely distributed in the Antilles and the Neotropics. This suggests that it is mostly an immigrant fauna originating in the continental Neotropics. Undoubtedly, the actual numbers of species on St. Lucia are many times higher than now reported and may originally have been as high as around 1400 species. Of the St. Lucia species known to occur on other islands, the largest numbers are shared with Guadeloupe (102), St. Vincent (79), and Martinique (55)

The beetles of Martinique, Lesser Antilles (Insecta: Coleoptera); diversity and distributions

This paper summarizes the published information on the beetle fauna of the island of Martinique, in the Lesser Antilles. The fauna is known to contain 42 families, with 201 genera, and 270 species. The families with the largest numbers of species are Cerambycidae (57), Curculionidae (43), Scarabaeidae (42), Tenebrionidae (18), and Staphylinidae (17). At least 15species (5.5%) were probably accidentally introduced to the island by human activities. Forty six species (17.0%) are endemic (restricted) to the island and likely speciated on the island. Sixty seven species (24.8%) are shared only with other islands of the Lesser Antilles (Lesser Antillean endemics), and 26 species (9.6%) are more widespread Antilles endemics. The remaining 116 species (42.8%) in the fauna are otherwise mostly widely distributed in the Antilles and the Neotropical Region. The Martinique beetle fauna has mostly originated elsewhere than on Martinique and is largely an immigrant fauna from other islands of the West Indies or the continental Neotropics. The numbers of Martinique species shared with other larger islands of the Lesser Antilles are (north to south) Montserrat (73), Guadeloupe (175), Dominica (98), St. Lucia (68), St. Vincent (93), and Grenada (88). Undoubtedly, the real number of species on Martinique is much higher than now reported and may actually be around 1600 or more species

Distribution and biology of the ectoparasitic beetles Leptinillus validus (Horn) and L. aplodontiae Ferris of North America (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Platypsyllinae)

The distribution and biology of the beetles Leptinillus validus (Horn) and L. aplodontiae Ferris are summarized for North America. The beetles are ectoparasitic on rodents; L. validus on the beaver, Castor canadensis Linnaeus (Castoridae) throughout the northern part of its range, and L. aplodontiae on the mountain beaver, Aplodontia rufa (Rafinesque) (Aplodontidae) in the Pacific Northwest

The diversity and distributions of the beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) of the northern Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles (Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Nevis, Saba, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, and St. Martin-St. Maarten

This paper summarizes the published information on the beetle fauna of the northern Leeward Islands (Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Nevis, Saba, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Martin-St. Maarten, and smaller associated islands, excluding Montserrat). These islands are generally smaller, lower, and drier than the remaining Leeward and Windward islands of the Lesser Antilles island arc. The fauna contains 26 families, with 155 genera, and 218 species. The families with the largest number of recorded species are Staphylinidae (36), Cerambycidae (28), Scarabaeidae (25), Tenebrionidae (23), Curculionidae (18), and Carabidae (15). At least 7 species (3.2% of the fauna) were probably introduced to the island by human activities. Sixteen species (7.3%) are endemic (restricted) to a single paleo-island bank and likely speciated there. Twenty nine species (13.3%) are shared only with other islands of the Lesser Antilles (Lesser Antillean endemics), and 43 species (19.7%) are more widespread Antilles endemics. The remaining 123 species (56.4%) in the fauna are otherwise mostly widely distributed in the Antilles and the Neotropical Region. The local beetle fauna is largely an immigrant fauna and has mostly originated elsewhere than on the islands of the northern Leewards. Summary data on total species endemicity of the entire Lesser Antilles indicate the presence of at least 1278 endemic beetle species, which is a density of about 20.7 species per 100 km2. This is now equivalent to that of the endemic vascular plants of the Caribbean islands. This truly makes the Caribbean islands a biodiversity hotspot for beetles. For the northern Leewards, it is evident that the beetle diversity is markedly understudied, and that the actual number of species is many times higher than now known

Invertebrate Fauna of Devils Den, a Sandstone Cave in Northwestern Arkansas

The same invertebrate fauna of 17 species was found in Devils Den Cave, Washington County, Arkansas, in 1969 and 1979. The fauna consists of 1 trogloxene, 14 troglophiles, and 2 troglobites, a spider, Porrhomma cavernicolum, and a collembolan, Pseudosinella dubia. Devils Den Cave has a well developed cavernicolous fauna, although it is in sandstone which generally supports a poor cave adapted fauna. The troglobites probably evolved in the vicinity of northwestern Arkansas in limestone caves or in deep forest soils of the Ozark region. They then dispersed overland, perhaps as recently as the late Wisconsinan, to occupy this sandstone cave

Systematics and distributions of the genera Cyrtusa Erichson, Ecarinosphaerula Hatch, Isoplastus Horn, Liocyrtusa Daffner, Lionothus Brown, and Zeadolopus Broun of the United States and Canada (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Leiodinae: Leiodini)

The following genera of Leiodini (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Leiodinae) of the continental United States and Canada are reviewed: Cyrtusa Erichson, with two species; Isoplastus Horn, with two species (one new); Liocyrtusa Daffner, with three species; Lionothus Brown, with five species (three new), and Zeadolopus Broun, with four species (all genera are in the “Cyrtusa genus group”) and Ecarinosphaerula Hatch, with one named species (in the “Leiodes genus group”). The new species are Isoplastus floridanus Peck and Cook of Florida; Lionothus bidentatus Peck and Cook of Texas and Oklahoma, Lionothus exiguus Peck and Cook of Florida and Texas, and Lionothus parvoculus Peck and Cook of Arizona and New Mexico. Bionomic data on the species are given, and complete known distributions are mapped