Caccothryptus

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Caccothryptus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Limnichidae
Subfamily: Limnichinae
Genus: Caccothryptus
Sharp, 1902
Type species
C. compactus
Diversity
35 species

Caccothryptus is a genus of minute marsh-loving beetle in the subfamily Limnichinae. The genus was first described by entomologist David Sharp in 1902, with C. compactus as the type species.

Contents

Taxonomy

Caccothryptus is a genus of Limnichinae, a subfamily of the minute marsh-loving beetles (Limnichidae). Within Limnichinae it belongs to the "Mandersia group" of genera, alongside the much smaller Euthryptus, Mandersia, Pseudothryptus , Resachus, and Simplocarina . These genera share a number of physical features, such as a non-articulated aedeagus (male reproductive organ) without an articulated internal piece ("spiculum") within the median lobe; this distinguishes the genera from the Byrrhinus . [1] The Afrotropical genera Tricholimnichus and Cyclolimnichus are close relatives of the Mandersia group, but lack some distinguishing characteristics in the pronotum. [2]

Taxonomic history

In 1902, entomologist David Sharp described Caccothryptus compactus (found in Martapura, Borneo) in an article in the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. He described the species as the "largest and most remarkable of the Limnichini" and noted their close resemblance to the Central American genus Euthryptus. Caccothryptus was the first described Limnichinae genus native to Asia. [3] [4]

In 1922 and 1923, Maurice Pic described a new genus he termed Macrobyrrhinus, and placed in it four species of Limnichinae. Harry George Champion considered this genus a synonym of Caccothryptus, in a paper describing three additional species. Pic disregarded Champion's synonymy and placed more species in Macrobyrrhinus in 1928; however, it is now accepted as a synonym. In 2005, Carles Hernando and Ignacio Ribera reclassified one species described by Champion, C. multiseriatus, into a new genus dubbed Pseudothryptus. [4]

Nine years later, Hernando and Ribera published a major redescription and organization of the genus. Previously grouped as seven species, it was reorganized into twenty species in five species groups, classified by similarities in genital shape and some external features. This 2014 revision also classified one of Champion's species, C. laosensis, as a synonym of C. maculosus. [5]

Species and species groups

As of 2021, fourteen new species of Caccothryptus have been identified since the 2014 redescription, all within the compactus and testudo subgroups. The current number of 35 species is likely to increase further, due to a relative lack of studies and material on Asian Limnichidae. Many species are only known from a tiny number of specimens within a small area. [6] [7]

Species and species groups of Caccothryptus
Group nameAnterior claws

(male)

Sternite

pores (male)

Median lobe of aedeagusParameresSpeciesRef
compactusDissimilarOn 4th sterniteFull longitudinal sulcusSeparated C. abboti , C. chayuensis , C. compactus , C. larryi , C. maculosus , C. schillhammeri, C. schuhi , C. sulawesianus , C. thai [8] [9] [10]
rouyeriSimilarOn 4th sterniteLateral expansions,

partial longitudinal sulcus

Fused C. rouyeri [8]
testudoSimilarOn 4th sterniteNo lateral expansions,

denticle, or longitudinal sulcus

Separated C. arakawae, C. auratus, C. brendelli, C. championi, C. chayuensis, C. fujianensis, C. jendeki, C. malickyi, C. nepalensis, C. occidentalis, C. orion, C. punctatus, C. ripicola, C. sinensis, C. taiwanus, C. tardarsauceae, C. testudo, C. tibetanus, C. yunnanensis [8] [6] [9] [10] [11]
jaechiSimilarOn 4th and 5th sternitesDenticle on underside,

partial longitudinal sulcus

(varies) C. jaechi , C. nanus , C. ticaoensis , C. wooldridgei [8]
zetteliSimilarOn 4th and 5th sternitespartial longitudinal sulcus(varies) C. luzonensis , C. zetteli [8]

Description

Caccothryptus beetles range from 2.5–5.5 mm in total length. They have ovloid bodies, ranging from brown to black in color, covered in both long and short layers of setae. The head is slightly retracted into the pronotum, with long and narrow eleven-segment antennae covered in short setae. The underside of the abdomens (ventrum) has deep depressions where the long, slender legs connect with the body. Sexual dimorphism is relatively minimal; males of the compactus species have dissimilar anterior claws. Under a microscope, males of all Caccothryptus species have microscopic glandular pores along the central portion of their 4th sternite, while the jaechi and zetteli groups also have these on the 5th. [12]

They generally live in forests, inside piles of water-logged dead wood adjacent to small streams. They are most often collected using light traps. [12]

Range

Caccothryptus species have been found across Southeast Asia, and portions of East Asia and the Indian subcontinent, including the Andaman Islands. Many species are known from a single location, although some (most notably C. maculosus) have been found across a wide swath of territory. The jaechi, zetelli, and rouyeri species groups are only found in Maritime Southeast Asia, while the testudo group is limited to the mainland. Only the compactus group stretches across both. [13] [7]

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<i>Caccothryptus larryi</i> Species of beetle

Caccothryptus larryi is a species of minute marsh-loving beetle in the subfamily Limnichinae. The species was described alongside five other Caccothryptus species by Natural History Museum entomologist Keita Matsumoto in 2021, using specimens gathered in 1953 by Harry George Champion in Haldwani, India. Both of the c. larryi specimens featured genital structures distinct from Champion's initial classification of C. ripicola. The species was named for Larry, the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at the British Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street.

<i>Caccothryptus tardarsauceae</i> Species of beetle

Caccothryptus tardarsauceae is a species of minute marsh-loving beetle in the subfamily Limnichinae. The species was described alongside five other Caccothryptus species by Natural History Museum entomologist Keita Matsumoto in 2021, using a male specimen gathered in 1953 by Harry George Champion in Haldwani, India. One of Champion's specimens was distinguished from its initial classification of C. ripicola due to distinct genital structures. The species was named for Tardar Sauce, also known as Grumpy Cat, a pet cat which had become an internet celebrity prior to her death in 2019.

<i>Caccothryptus arakawae</i> Species of beetle

Caccothryptus arakawae is a species of minute marsh-loving beetle in the subfamily Limnichinae. The species was described alongside five other Caccothryptus species by Natural History Museum entomologist Keita Matsumoto in 2021, using specimens gathered by Martin J. D. Brendell at Kathmandu, Nepal in 1983. Six of Brendell's specimens were distinguished from its initial classification of Caccothryptus testudo due to distinct genital structures. The species was named for Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of manga series Fullmetal Alchemist.

<i>Caccothryptus brendelli</i> Species of beetle

Caccothryptus brendelli is a species of minute marsh-loving beetle in the subfamily Limnichinae. The species was described alongside five other Caccothryptus species by Natural History Museum entomologist Keita Matsumoto in 2021, using specimens gathered by Martin J. D. Brendell at Kathmandu, Nepal in 1983. One of Brendell's specimens were distinguished from Caccothryptus testudo due to distinct genital structures and labeled C. brendelli after Brendell.

<i>Caccothryptus championi</i> Species of beetle

Caccothryptus championi is a species of minute marsh-loving beetle in the subfamily Limnichinae. The species was described alongside five other Caccothryptus species by Natural History Museum entomologist Keita Matsumoto in 2021, using specimens gathered in 1953 by Harry George Champion in Haldwani, India alongside an earlier 1925 specimen collected nearby. Like the other Caccothryptus species described by Matsumoto, it was distinguished from its original classification of C. ripicola due to differences in the shape of its genitalia. Twenty-seven specimens from the British Natural History Museum collection were identified with C. championi, named after Champion.

<i>Caccothryptus abboti</i> Species of beetle

Caccothryptus abboti is a species of minute marsh-loving beetle in the subfamily Limnichinae. The species was described alongside five other Caccothryptus species by Natural History Museum entomologist Keita Matsumoto in 2021, using specimens gathered in 1953 by Harry George Champion in Haldwani, India alongside an earlier 1925 specimen collected nearby. Like the other Caccothryptus species described by Matsumoto, it was distinguished from its original classification of C. testudo due to differences in the shape of its genitalia. One specimen collected by Champion was identified as the holotype for C. abboti and named for English radio presenter Nick Abbot.

Caccothryptus yunnanensis is a species of minute marsh-loving beetle in the subfamily Limnichinae. The species was described in 2018 by enomologist Hiroyuki Yoshitomi. Although part of the species group C. testudo, it is related to the C. compactus species C. chayuensis) and C. thai due to serrae due to their shared small notches along the median lobe. It is distinguished from these due to its straight parameres, which are curved in C. chayuensis and C. thai. C. yunnanensis specimens were collected by Yu-Tang Wang across the Chinese provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan, the latter of which gave the species its name. It is almost entirely black in coloration, except for dark and light brown in its antennae and legs. It has an average length of around 5 mm. The holotype of C. yunnanensis is a male collected in Xima, Yunnan in 2014.

References

  1. Hernando & Ribera 2005, p. 135.
  2. Hernando & Ribera 2014, pp. 284–285.
  3. Sharp 1902, pp. 61–63.
  4. 1 2 Hernando & Ribera 2005, p. 131.
  5. Hernando & Ribera 2014, pp. 281, 303–304.
  6. 1 2 Yoshitomi 2015, p. 1.
  7. 1 2 Hernando & Ribera 2017, p. 370.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Hernando & Ribera 2014, pp. 281–304.
  9. 1 2 Matsumoto 2021, pp. 168–184.
  10. 1 2 Hernando & Ribera 2017, pp. 366–370.
  11. Yoshitomi 2018, pp. 138–140.
  12. 1 2 Hernando & Ribera 2014, p. 283.
  13. Hernando & Ribera 2014, pp. 303–304.

Bibliography

  • Hernando, Carles; Ribera, Ignacio (2005). "Pseudothryptus, a new genus of Limnichidae (Coleoptera) for Caccothryptus multiseriatus". Entomological Problems. 35 (2): 131–135. ISSN   1335-5899.
  • Hernando, Carles; Ribera, Ignacio (2014). "Taxonomic Revision of the Genus Caccothryptus Sharp (Coleoptera: Limnichidae)". Koleopterologische Rundschau. 84. ISSN   0075-6547.
  • Hernando, Carles; Ribera, Ignacio (2017). "Three New Species of the Genus Caccothryptus Sharp, 1902 from Asia (Coleoptera: Limnichidae)". Zootaxa . 4243 (2): 366–370. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4243.2.5. ISSN   1175-5326. PMID   28610152.
  • Matsumoto, Keita (2021). "Six new species of the genus Caccothryptus from the Himalayas (Coleoptera: Limnichidae)". European Journal of Taxonomy (739): 168–184. doi:10.5852/ejt.2021.739.1275. ISSN   2118-9773.
  • Sharp, David (1902). "Descriptions of Oriental Limnichini (Coleoptera, Fam. Byrrhidae)". Entomologist's Monthly Magazine . 38: 61–64. ISSN   0013-8908.
  • Yoshitomi, Hiroyuki (2015). "Four new species of the genus Caccothryptus (Coleoptera, Limnichidae)". European Journal of Taxonomy (147): 1–17. doi:10.5852/ejt.2015.147. ISSN   2118-9773.
  • Yoshitomi, Hiroyuki (2018). "A New Species of the Genus Caccothryptus (Coleoptera: Limnichidae) from China" (PDF). Japanese Journal of Systematic Entomology. 24 (1): 138–140. ISSN   1341-1160.