New genera and species of subterranean Anilline Bembidiini from the Pilbara, northwestern Australia (Insecta: Coleoptera: Carabidae: Bembidiini: Anillina)

Abstract

A. striatipennis sp. nov. The new species were detected in the course of surveys for the subterranean fauna in mining areas and were collected using two techniques: scraping and trapping. All species are blind and depigmented, character states which usually are connected with subterranean or cavicolous habits. Keys are provided for the genera of the Australian Anillina and for the species of Macranillus, Gracilanillus, and Hesperanillus. Some considerations about relationships of the new genera and species are presented.

Riddles in the dark: Assessing diversity patterns for cryptic subterranean fauna of the Pilbara

“…Our analyses estimating species richness across taxonomic levels indicates that up to 890–1450 troglofauna species inhabit the Pilbara, and up to 740–960 stygofauna species occur in the region. Ongoing taxonomic discovery and refinements (Baehr & Main, ; Brown, Finston, Humphreys, Eberhard, & Pinder, ; McRae, Karanovic, & Halse, ; Page et al., ; Trotter et al., ) are likely to result in even greater estimates of diversity for these groups (Halse, ). The data we have collated and analysed also demonstrate the inherent challenges in understanding and modelling spatial patterns in diversity for these groups: the survey data are spatially and environmentally biased (Figure ), there is high variability in the composition detected within any location (Supporting Information ) and a substantial proportion of records are taxonomically coarser than the species level for troglofauna (42%) and stygofauna (28%).…”

A rich fauna of subterranean short-range endemic Anillini (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechinae) from semi-arid regions of Western Australia

“…Aedeagus with right paramere bearing two apical setae; left bearing only one seta. This genus can be distinguished from Externanilus Baehr & Main, 2016 by the presence of grooves on elytral disc.…”

“…We provide an updated key to the genera of Australian Anillini, modified from Giachino (2005) and Baehr and Main (2016), and including the genus Parillaphanus described by Baehr (2018) and the new genera described in this paper.…”

“…A few cave-dwelling and less specialised humicolous species of Anillini are also known. The extremely low vagility of these beetles gives rise to numerous short-range endemic species (Moore 1980;Giachino 2005Giachino , 2008Giachino , 2015Giachino and Vailati 2011;Baehr and Main 2016;Andújar et al 2017;Pérez-González et al 2018). Anillini have a scattered worldwide distribution (Jeannel 1937(Jeannel , 1963 and form a monophyletic group (Andújar et al 2016) with Gondwanan affinities (Jeannel 1937(Jeannel , 1963Giachino 2005).…”

“…Regarding shallow subterranean habitats, it is relevant to note that Moore (1980) described a species that he regarded as subterranean, Hygranillus kuscheli, which was collected from a dry well slotted at 4.2 m depth in Brightwater, New Zealand. The first troglobitic Anillini recorded in Australia were collected from mineral exploration drill holes in iron-ore bearing rocks of the semi-arid Pilbara region in Western Australia (WA), representing the first collections of Anillini in WA, and the first finding of the tribe deep underground in a semi-arid region, thus also significantly extending knowledge about the groups' ecology (Baehr and Main 2016). Six new genera and 17 new species, all blind and depigmented, were described by Baehr and Main, and three of the genera had decidedly larger body size, a characteristic often associated with adaptative shift from an interstitial to a cavicolous existence.…”