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 26 November 2012, Dmitri Fedorenko of the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences describes six new species of Carabid Beetles from Vietnam. All the new species are placed in the genus Taridius, which is widespread in South and Southeast Asia.
The first new species is named Taridius ornatus, which means ‘ornate’, though no explanation of any of the species names used in the paper is provided. Taridius ornatus is an elongate, slightly flattened 7.4-8.4 mm brown Beetle with mottled black markings on its dorsal (upper) surface. The species is described from seven male and four female specimens collected on the Dalat Plateau in Lam Dong and Dak Lak Provinces in South Vietnam, at altitudes of between 1400 and 1900 m.
Specimen of Taridius ornatus in dorsal view. Fedorenko (2012).
The second new species is named Taridius piceus. It is an 8.5-9.6 mm flattened, elongate, wingless, light brown Beetle with black markings on its dorsal surface. The species is described from four male and four female specimens collected from a single location in the Nui Ba Nature Reserve in Lam Dong Province in South Vietnam, at an altitude of 1700-1900 m on the north slope of Bi Doup Mountain.
Specimen of Taridius piceus in dorsal view. Fedorenko (2012).
The third new species is named Taridius fasciatus. This is an elongate, subconvex, light brown Beetle with a black pattern on its dorsal surface. The species is described from 20 male and 20 female specimens collected in the Bu Gia Map National Park in Binh Phuoc Province at an altitude of 540 m, plus one female collected in Dak Lak Province about 75 km north of Phan Tiet at an altitude of 1100 m and one male specimen collected in the Kiwlomm Pass in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand, at an altitude of about 1400 m.
Specimen of Taridius fasciatus in dorsal view. Fedorenko (2012).
The fourth new species described is named Taridius abdominalis. This is an elongate 7.2-7.4 mm pale brown beetle with black patterning on its dorsal surface. The species was described from two male and three female specimens collected in the Bu Gia Map National Park in Binh Phuoc Province, South Vietnam at an altitude of 540 m, and a single female specimen collected from leaf litter in a Dipterocarpus forest in the Nam Cat Tien National Park in Dongnai Province, also South Vietnam.
Specimen of Taridius abdominalis in dorsal view. Fedorenko (2012).
The fifth new species described is named Taridius coriaceus. This is an 8.6 mm yellowish, elongate, subconvex Beetle with black markings on its dorsal surface. The species is described from a single female specimen collected from Bi Doup Mountain in the Nui Ba Nature Reserve in Lam Dong Province in South Vietnam at an altitude of between 1400 and 1600 m.
Specimen of Taridius coriaceus in dorsal view. Fedorenko (2012).
The final new species described is named Taridius disjunctus. This is an elongate, subconvex brown Beetle with a bronze lustre and black markings on its dorsal surface, 8.2-8.9 mm in length. The species is described from one male and one female specimen collected from the north face of Bi Doup Mountain in the Nui Ba Nature Reserve in Lam Dong Province, South Vietnam at an altitude of between 1700 and 1900 m, plus one female specimen collected from the upper Krong Kmar River Basin in the Chu Yang Sin National Park, in Dak Lak Province, also South Vietnam, at an altitude of about 1000 m.
Specimen of Taridius disjunctus in dorsal view. Fedorenko (2012).
See also…
Ground Beetles (Carabidae) are large carnivorous Beetles with destictive black or metalic elytra (wing-cases) that are sometimes fused, preventing flying. They have paired glands on their lower abdomens which produce noxious chemicals, used to defend the Beetles against predators (in one group of Carabids, the Bombadier Beetles,these secretions have evolved to react violently, even explosively, to one-another). The group has a fossil record dating back to the Triassic.
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.
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.
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