A systematic review of the genus Dila Fischer von Waldheim, 1844 (= Caenoblaps König, 1906, syn.n.) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from the Caucasus, Turkey and boundary territories of Iran

Abstract

The taxonomic history, composition, morphology, distribution, and bionomics of the genus Dila Fischer von Waldheim, 1844 are discussed. The following new generic synonymy is established: Dila Fischer von Waldheim, 1844 = Caenoblaps König, 1906, syn.n. As a result, four species are transferred from Caenoblaps to the genus Dila: Dila difformis (König, 1906), comb.n., Dila nitida (Schuster, 1920), comb.n., Dila baeckmanni (Schuster, 1928), comb.n., Dila kulzeri (Schuster, 1928), comb.n. A new synonymy is established: Blaps kulzeri Pierre, 1964 = Caenoblaps kulzeriana Pierre, 1964, syn.n. A taxonomic review of the eight known Caucasian, Turkish and Iranian species is given. Lectotypes of Caenoblaps nitida and Caenoblaps difformis are designated. Three new species are described: Dila hakkarica sp.n. and Dila svetlanae sp.n. from the Hakkary Province of Turkey and Dila crenatopunctata sp.n. from West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. The position of the genus Dila within the tribe Blaptini and subtribal classification are discussed.

The Adult and Larva of a New Species of the Genus Dila (Coleoptera, Blaptinae, Blaptini) from Himalayas, with Molecular Phylogenetic Inferences of Related Genera of the Blaptini

“…The position of Dila within Blaptini and the classification of Dilina are debatable because of the presence or absence of apical and ventral teeth on the inner side of the profemora, the structure of the male genitalia, and the close similarity of the larvae of Dila with some Blaps and Nalepa of Blaptina [ 2 , 12 , 30 ]. Nearly all past contributions focusing on the Blaptini have been based on morphological characters, which did not strongly support the monophyly of the subtribe Dilina [ 2 ]. The present work is the first molecular phylogenetic analysis within the Blaptini.…”

“…The type species Dila laevicollis Gebler, found in 1841, is broadly distributed in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkmenistan and Xinjiang, China [ 1 ]. Chigray (2019) revised the genus, considered Caenoblaps as a junior synonym of Dila , transferred four species from Caenoblaps to Dila , and described three new species from Turkey and Iran [ 2 ]. To date, the genus Dila comprises 22 species distributed in the mountain regions of Southeastern Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia (Tien-Shan, Pamir-Alay, Western Himalaya, and Tibet) [ 2 , 3 , 4 ].…”

“…Chigray (2019) revised the genus, considered Caenoblaps as a junior synonym of Dila , transferred four species from Caenoblaps to Dila , and described three new species from Turkey and Iran [ 2 ]. To date, the genus Dila comprises 22 species distributed in the mountain regions of Southeastern Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia (Tien-Shan, Pamir-Alay, Western Himalaya, and Tibet) [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. These species were described by Baudi di Selve (one species), Blair (one species), Chigray (three species), Gebler (one species), Kaszab (three species), König (one species), Reitter (five species), Ren (two species), Schuster (four species), and Semenov and Bogatshev (one species) in 1841–2019 [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

“…These species were described by Baudi di Selve (one species), Blair (one species), Chigray (three species), Gebler (one species), Kaszab (three species), König (one species), Reitter (five species), Ren (two species), Schuster (four species), and Semenov and Bogatshev (one species) in 1841–2019 [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. In addition, Chigray proposed that the Iranian species Blaps platythorax Gemminger, found in 1870 (described from Shiraz), probably belongs to the genus Dila [ 2 ]. Although Dila exhibits species richness, only three species are currently known from China ( D. laevicollis Gebler, 1841, D. bomina Ren and Li, 2001, and D. rugelytra Ren, 2016).…”

A revision of the Palaearctic Pimeliini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae): a comparative analysis and systematic position of Eastern European and Asian taxa with dorso-lateral eyes

“…This gland is well expressed among darkling beetles of the tribe Blaptini (Medvedev 2001;I. Chigray et al 2018I. Chigray et al , 2019I.…”