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). Members of the genus Guiaphaenops specialist cave-dwellers known only from the limestone caves of Lingyun County in northwestern Guangxi Province, China. They show specialisations to cave life found in many animal groups, including the loss of their eyes and pigment.
In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 20 April 2017, Bin Feng of the Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Department of Entomology at South China Agricultural University, Guofu Wei of the Administrative Bureau of Huangjiang World Natural Heritage and Mingyi Tian, also of the Department of Entomology at South China Agricultural University, describe a new species of Guiaphaenops from a limestone cave near Yangli in Lingyun County.
The new species is named Guiaphaenops deuvei, in hnour of French entomologist Thierry Deuve of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris (who first described the genus Guiaphaenops) for his work on the Ground Beetles of China. The species is described from a single male specimen found on the floor of the cave. It is 7 mm in length, and yellowish in colour.
Guiaphaenops deuvei, male specimen. Feng et al. (2017).
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