Unexpected Species Identities and Interspecific Relationships in a Subterranean Beetle Lineage, the Pterostichus macrogenys Species Group (Coleoptera, Carabidae), Revealed by Fine-Scale Field Sampling and Detailed Morphological Comparisons

Abstract

An endemic subterranean Japanese carabid beetle lineage, the Pterostichus macrogenys species group, was recently revealed to have marked regional differentiation. Studies of such features reveal insect species diversity and provide insight into the mechanisms driving species diversity. We examined specimens of this species group collected from the southern Tohoku District of Honshu, Japan, where its diversity has not yet been fully elucidated, using fine-scale field sampling and detailed comparative morphological analysis of male genitalia. In total, 103 specimens from 13 localities were classified into one new (P. monolineatus sp. n.) and eight known species. In four of the known species, we observed disjunct distributions, which have not previously been reported in this species group and may be more common than previously recognized. Species coexistence was observed at four sites, with two species of different body sizes coexisting at three sites and three species coexisting at the remaining site. The three coexisting species included one large and two small species, the latter of which have male genitalia of a different size. This newly discovered coexistence pattern implies separate effects of differential body and genital size in species coexistence, which has rarely been reported in insects.