Ground Beetles, Carabidae, are large, usually carnivorous Beetles, abundant across much of the globe. They are able to defend themselves by secreting noxious or caustic chemicals from glands on their abdomens (Bombardier Beetles are Carabids). Larger species are often unable to fly. Ground Beetles have a fossil record dating back to the Triassic; there are around 40 000 described extant species.
In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 27 December 2012, Borislav Guéorguiev of the National Museum of Natural History in Sofia, Bulgaria, describes a new species of blind, cave dwelling Ground Beetle from northern Anatolia.
The new species is given the name Beronaphaenops paphlagonicus, where 'Beronaphaenops' means 'Beron's without eyes', in honour of Petar Beron, a Bulgarian biologist noted for his studies of cave-dwelling invertebrates, and 'paphlagonicus' refers to Paphlagonia, an ancient name for the central Black Sea coast of Anatolia.
Beronaphaenops paphlagonicus. Scale bar is 1 mm. Guéorguiev (2012).
Beronaphaenops paphlagonicus is a 5-6 mm brown Beetle with elongate legs and lacking eyes. It is known only from a single location, Eşek Çukuru Mağarası cave in the Kure Mountains National Park in northern Anatolian Turkey.
The location of the Kure Mountains National Park. Google Maps.
See also Three new species of Palm Weevil from Columbia, A new species of Bumble Bee Scarab Beetle from the Early Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, A new species of Corythoderine Scarab Beetle from Cambodia, Two new species of Ground Beetle from the Pyrenees and Six new species of Jewel Beetle from Southeast Asia.
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