The Blind Pterostichini of Southeastern Europe and Anatolia Synopsis of the Speluncaris + Tapinopterus Complex with Emphasis on Greek Taxa (Coleoptera Carabidae Pterostichinae)

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Language: English

After the volumes dedicated to the insect fauna of South America and the curculionid fauna of the Himalayas, the Tuscan Archipelago and Monte Grappa, the WBA dedicates this sixth volume of the Memoirs on Biodiversity series to the biodiversity of an area of ​​great naturalistic interest in the Mediterranean basin: Greece and Anatolia.

After over 30 years of entomological research on the hypogean (i.e. underground) fauna of Greece, the authors have condensed part of the results obtained in this monograph, addressing taxonomy and systematics of the Speluncarius + Tapinopterus complex, one of the most intricate groups of Pterostichian Carabid beetles that is in need of revision.

The validity of existing genera and subgenera has been verified and 16 genera new to science have been described. The subgenera Tapinopterus and Speluncarius have been confirmed as genera. The next taxonomic part includes the description of 107 new species of blind Pterostichini. The subsequent analysis of the ecology of blind Pterostichini shows that these species seem to prefer shallow underground environments (the Milieu Souterrain Superficiel or MSS), rather than cave environments. In fact, they are present in all types of MSS, from sea level to high-altitude perinival (i.e. near to or on the fringe of snow cover) MSS.

The final part of the volume is dedicated to the current distribution and historical zoogeography; their origin dates back at least to the lower Miocene, about 20 million years ago. Another feature that makes this volume unique is the fact that 81 of the newly described species have been dedicated to famous musicians of the 20th century.

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