Rove Beetles (Staphylinidae) are an unusual-looking group of Beetles, distinguished by their short wing cases, which makes them look rather unbeetle-like. They are a successful group, with over 46 000 described species and a fossil record that dates back to the Triassic. Marsh Rove Beetles, Deinopsini, are a specialized group within the Staphylinidae adapted to marshes, bogs, pond and stream edges and similar habitats. They are distributed more-or-less globally, and have a fossil record dating back to the Eocene.
In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 5 June 2013, Munetoshi Maruyama of the Kyushu University Museum and Hiromu Kamezawa of Tsukiyoshi-chô describe a new species of Marsh Rove Beetle from the Tone and Edo Rivers at Takahamai in Ibaraki Prefecture on Honshû Island.
The new species is placed in the genus Adinopsis, which is known from Africa, Australia, North and South America and from Baltic Amber, as well as from tropical Asia, but which has not previously been recorded from temperate Asia. It is given the specific name nippon, which is both the Japanese name for Japan, and the specific name of the Crested Ibis, Nipponia nippon, considered symbolic of Marshes in Japan.
Adinopsis nippon is a 3 mm blackish brown Rove Beetle found living on riverbed dominated by Reeds (Phragmites australis) and Sedges (Carex sp.), with the Sedges apparently being the preferred habitat.
Adinopsis nippon. Maruyama & Kamezawa (2013).
Reedbed on the Edo River inhabited by Adinopsis nippon. Maruyama & Kamezawa (2013).
Map showing the approximate area where Adinopsis nippon was discovered. Google Maps.
See also A Rove Beetle from the Late Triassic of Virginia, Two new species of Semiaquatic Rove Beetle from China and Two new species of Rove Beetle from Zhejiang Province, China.
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