Coastal Staphylinidae (Coleoptera): A worldwide checklist, biogeography and natural history

Abstract

We provide a list of the 392 described species of Staphylinidae confined to coastal habitats worldwide. The list is in taxonomic sequence by subfamily, tribe, and genus and includes 91 genera. We provide the page reference of the original description of every species and genus listed and of many synonyms. We note the existence of recent reviews, phylogenies and keys of each of the tribes and genera included. Coastal Staphylinidae contain eight subfamilies: Microsilphinae, Omaliinae, Pselaphinae, Aleocharinae, Oxytelinae, Scydmaeninae, Paederinae, and Staphylininae.By ‘coastal habitats’ we mean habitats existing on the sea coast and subject to inundation or at least splashing by the very highest tides. This includes rocky, boulder, coral, sandy, and muddy seashores, and at least portions of salt-marshes, estuaries, and mangrove swamps. We exclude the sand dune habitat and higher parts of sea-cliffs.The list notes distribution of all the species, first according to the ocean or sea on whose shores it has been recorded, and second by country (and for the larger countries by province or state). Although this distribution is undoubtedly incomplete, it provides a basis for future development of a dedicated database.The ‘Habitats, Habits, and Classificatory Notes’ section is designed to provide ecologists with further taxonomic and ecological information. It includes references to descriptions of the immature stages, behavior of adults and immatures, their food, natural enemies, and habitat. We would have preferred to separate these entities, but current knowledge of ecology is developed in few instances beyond natural history.The Pacific Ocean basin was the origin and contributed to the dispersal of the majority of specialist coastal Staphylinidae at the level of genus. However, at the level of species, species belonging to non-coastal-specialist genera are about as likely to occur on the shores of other oceans as on the shores of the Pacific. This difference is a reflection of the antiquity of coastal genera and species.A complete bibliography, and habitat and habitus photographs of some representative coastal Staphylinidae species are provided.

Independent origins of coastal colonization in the tribe Athetini (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae)

“…Nevertheless, some insect species have successfully colonized into coastal habitats. Specifically, coastal rove beetles (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) contain over 392 species in 91 genera, only about 0.7% of all Staphylinidae (Frank & Ahn, 2011). They are exclusively confined to coastal habitats, such as decaying seaweeds, under stones, rock crevices, etc.…”

“…They are exclusively confined to coastal habitats, such as decaying seaweeds, under stones, rock crevices, etc. (see Frank & Ahn, 2011 for detailed habitat information).…”

“…Athetini species exploit a great variety of inland habitats, but some colonize coastal areas (Frank & Ahn, 2011). To date, 31 athetine species in 10 genera are known to occur along coasts worldwide (Figure 1), and it is the largest number of genera among the aleocharine beetle tribes that include coastal specialists (Frank & Ahn, 2011;Lee & Ahn, 2015;Lee, Osborn, & Ahn, 2016;Lee, Yoo, & Ahn, 2013). Two European species of Brundinia Tottenham, B. marina (Mulsant and Rey) and B. meridionalis (Mulsant and Rey), were previously regarded as coastal since they have been found in plant debris in a salt marsh and estuary (Frank & Ahn, 2011).…”

“…To date, 31 athetine species in 10 genera are known to occur along coasts worldwide (Figure 1), and it is the largest number of genera among the aleocharine beetle tribes that include coastal specialists (Frank & Ahn, 2011;Lee & Ahn, 2015;Lee, Osborn, & Ahn, 2016;Lee, Yoo, & Ahn, 2013). Two European species of Brundinia Tottenham, B. marina (Mulsant and Rey) and B. meridionalis (Mulsant and Rey), were previously regarded as coastal since they have been found in plant debris in a salt marsh and estuary (Frank & Ahn, 2011). Recently, however, these two species were also found in the inland salt marshes far from the coasts (Assing, 2010;Flügel & Brenner, 2013;Fülöp, 2005), and so we exclude these species from the list of coastal species.…”

Laboulbenia slackensisandL. littoralissp. nov. (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales), two sibling species as a result of ecological speciation

“…The order consists of 140 genera (Rossi and Santamaría 2012) and about 2050 species, 80% of them reported from Coleoptera (Weir and Blackwell 2005). Among these, the Carabidae (ground beetles) and Staphylinidae (rove beetles) are the most common hosts, accounting for 17 and 47 genera of Laboulbeniales respectively (Frank 1982, Tavares 1985, Rossi and Santamaría 2008. With more than 600 species (Kirk et al 2008, Rossi 2011) the genus Laboulbenia Mont.…”