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Pelecium

Pelecium is a genus in the beetle family Carabidae. There are more than 40 described species in the genus, which is found in Central and South America.[1][2] The center of diversity for the genus is Brazil, with over thirty species endemic to that country. The beetles are flightless.

Pelecium
Pelecium violaceum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Adephaga
Family: Carabidae
Subfamily: Panagaeinae
Tribe: Peleciini
Subtribe: Peleciina
Genus: Pelecium
Kirby, 1819
Subgenera
  • Pelecidium Straneo & Ball, 1989
  • Pelecium Kirby, 1819

Description

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The dorsum is bright. The head usually has a pair of frontal foveae and one pair of supraorbital setae. The labium and maxilla are well-developed, with the fourth maxillary palpomere twice as long as the third. The terminal maxillary and labial palpomeres usually triangular to axe-shaped, but can sometimes be oval. The mandible groove is large and devoid of hairs. The glossa bisetose and the labrum has three pairs of setae dorsally. The mentum has a median tooth. The antennae are prepubescent and filiform, with a scape that is two to three times larger than the pedicel. The pronotum has a variable shape, usually with a median line and pair of posterior impressions. The scutellar shield is triangular.[3]

The legs have a short trochanter one-fourth to one-ftifth as long as the metafemur. The tibiae have yellow setae throughout the inner margin and an inner spur is present. The long spur is inserted on the anterior border of the antennal cleaner. Protarsomeres 1–4 are enlarged and ventrally covered by adhesive setae, with protarsomere 4 having two lobes. Mesotarsomeres and metatarsomeres 1–4 are ventrally covered with yellow setae. The metendosternite stalk twice as long as it is wide, with well-developed laminae and moderately long lateral arms. There are no ventrolateral or anterior processes.[3]

The elytra is oval, usually with deeply impressed striae. The hind-wings are undeveloped. Males have asymmetrical terminalia and a cylindrical aedeagus. The parameres are drastically asymmetrical. Females have ensiform setae on each side at the basal lobe of the gonocoxite.[3]

Distribution and biology

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Pelecium is widely distributed in Central and South America, being found from Panama to central Argentina. The center of diversity for the genus is Brazil, with nearly 40 species found in the country, of which over thirty are only found there. Most species of Pelecium occur in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes, mainly in the states of Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, São Paulo, Paraná, and Santa Catarina.[3]

Little is known of their biology, but the larvae of peleciine beetles have been observed acting as parasitoids of beetle pupae and young millipedes, while adults prey on millipedes. All species of Pelecium are flightless and are presumed to have a low dispersal ability, so that habitat destruction and loss may be a serious threat to them.[3]

Taxonomy

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Pelecium was first circumscribed by the English entomologist William Kirby in 1817 based on specimens from Brazil.[4] During the 20th century, the genus was most thoroughly worked on by the prolific Italian entomologist Stefano Ludovico Straneo, who published four taxonomic papers on the genus between 1953 and 1970, before publishing a complete generic revision in 1989 alongside the American entomologist George Ball.[5] The genus was thenceforth largely ignored for over 25 years, before the description of a new species in 2016. In 2024, nine new species were described from Brazil.[3]

Pelecium is the most diverse genus of the tribe Peleciini, with over 40 recognized species. They are organized into two subgenera, Pelecidium and Pelecium.[3]

References

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  1. ↑ "Pelecium Kirby, 1819". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  2. ↑ Lorenz, Wolfgang (2021). "Carabcat Database". doi:10.48580/dfqf-3dk. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Orsetti, Artur; Lopes-Andrade, Cristiano (2024-02-26). "A contribution to the taxonomy of the genus Pelecium Kirby (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Peleciini)". European Journal of Taxonomy. 922: 1–61. doi:10.5852/ejt.2024.922.2443. ISSN 2118-9773. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ↑ Kirby, William (1819). "XXVII. A Century of Insects, including several new Genera described from his Cabinet". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 12 (2): 375–453. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1817.tb00239.x.
  5. ↑ Straneo, S. L.; Ball, G. B. (1989). "Synopsis of the Genera and Subgenera of the Tribe Peleciini, and Revision of the Neotropical and Oriental Species (Coleoptera: Carabidae)". Insecta Mundi. 3 (2): 73−178.
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