X-ray microscopy reveals endophallic structures in a new species of the ground beetle genus Trechus Clairville, 1806 from Baltic amber (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechini)

Schmidt, Joachim; Belousov, Igor A.; Michalik, Peter

doi:10.3897/zookeys.614.9283

Cited by 14 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…from other genera, with an offset of 15 and reverse log normal distribution. This was consistent with the dates obtained in the recent trechine literature [50,51]. The six genes were partitioned with unique rates and a single tree.…”

Section: Tree Buildingsupporting

confidence: 87%

Trechus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of Appalachia: A Phylogenetic Insight into the History of High Elevation Leaf Litter Communities

Wooden,

Caterino

2024

Diversity

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Elevation gradients provide a wealth of habitats for a wide variety of organisms. The southern Appalachian Mountains in eastern United States are known for their high biodiversity and rates of endemism in arthropods, including in high-elevation leaf-litter taxa that are often found nowhere else on earth. Trechus Clairville (Coleoptera: Carabidae) is a genus of litter inhabitants with a near-global distribution and over 50 Appalachian species. These span two subgenera, Trechus s. str. and Microtrechus Jeannel, largely restricted to north and south of the Asheville basin, respectively. Understanding the diversification of these 3–5 mm flightless beetles through geological time can provide insights into how the litter-arthropod community has responded to historical environments, and how they may react to current and future climate change. We identified beetles morphologically and sequenced six genes to reconstruct a phylogeny of the Appalachian Trechus. We confirmed the Asheville Basin as a biogeographical barrier with a split between the north and south occurring towards the end of the Pliocene. Finer scale biogeography, including mountain-range occupancy, was not a reliable indication of relatedness, with group ranges overlapping and many instances of species-, species group-, and subgeneric sympatry. This may be because of the recent divergence between modern species and species groups. Extensive taxonomic revision of the group is required for Trechus to be useful as a bioindicator, but their high population density and speciose nature make them worth additional time and resources.

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Section: Tree Buildingsupporting

confidence: 87%

Trechus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of Appalachia: A Phylogenetic Insight into the History of High Elevation Leaf Litter Communities

Wooden,

Caterino

2024

Diversity

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“…Taxonomy is no exception. X-ray microscopy [119], phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray microtomography [120], micro-CT scans [121], or genomic and other molecular technologies [122,123], often combined with morphological studies [124], provide great examples of technologically advanced taxonomic approaches. Bioacoustical characters also provided an important data source for entomo-taxonomy, e.g., the drumming signals of stone flies, the mating calls of cicadas, or the sounds of grasshoppers.…”

Section: Focusing On Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Silent Extinction of Species and Taxonomists—An Appeal to Science Policymakers and Legislators

Löbl,

Klausnitzer,

Hartmann

et al. 2023

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The science of taxonomy, albeit being fundamental for all organismic research, has been underfunded and undervalued for about two generations. We analyze how this could happen, particularly in times of a biodiversity crisis, when we have increased awareness amongst the population and decision makers that knowledge about species we share the planet with is indispensable for finding solutions. We identify five major issues: the habit of holding taxonomy in low esteem; the focus on inappropriate publication metrics in evaluating scientific output; the excessive focus on innovative technology in evaluating scientific relevance; shifting priorities in natural history museums away from their traditional strengths; and changing attitudes towards specimen collecting and increasing legislation regulating collecting and international exchange of specimens. To transform taxonomy into a thriving science again, we urgently suggest significantly increasing baseline funding for permanent positions in taxonomy, particularly in natural history museums; reviving taxonomic research and teaching in universities at the tenured professor level; strongly increasing soft money for integrative taxonomy projects; refraining using journal-based metrics for evaluating individual researchers and scientific output and instead focusing on quality; installing governmental support for open access publishing; focusing digitizing efforts to the most useful parts of collections, freeing resources for improving data quality by improving identifications; requiring natural history museums to focus on collection-based research; and ending the trend of prohibitive legislation towards scientific collecting and international exchange of taxonomic specimens, and instead building legal frameworks supportive of biodiversity research.

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“…This became possible due to the availability of numerous well-preserved fossil species in Baltic and Burmese Amber on the one hand, and due to the application of non-invasive high-resolution investigation techniques to amber inclusions such as X-ray microscopy on the other (Schmidt et al 2019;Beutel et al 2020). Based on previously described fossils from Eocene Baltic amber (50-44 Ma; Wolfe et al 2009) it appears evi dent that the carabid fauna of the mid Paleogene period had a modern appearance with occurrence of several species belonging to recent genera, e.g., Bembidion Latreille (Schmidt and Michalik 2017), Calathus Bonelli (Ortuño and Arillo 2009), Coptodera Dejean (Gamboa and Ortuño 2015), Limodromus Motschulsky (Schmidt 2015), and Trechus Clairville (Schmidt et al 2016). However, the fossil treasures of amber deposits are far from being comprehensively investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Balticeler kerneggeri gen. nov., sp. nov., an enigmatic Baltic amber fossil of the ground beetle subfamily Trechinae (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

Schmidt¹,

Scholz²,

Maddison³

2021

DEZ

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Balticeler kerneggerigen. nov., sp. nov., is described based on six fossil specimens preserved in Eocene Baltic amber and imaged using light microscopy and X-ray micro-computed tomography. Based on certain characters observed in the fossil species it is considered a “middle grade” Carabidae, outside of the large family Harpalinae (as it possesses a scrobal seta, the lack of which is a synapomorphy of that subfamily), but possessing four synapomorphies that indicate Balticeler belongs to a large clade of carabids including Harpalinae (anisochaetous Grade B antennal cleaner, conjunct mesocoxae, closed procoxal cavities, and a well-developed external lobe of the metepimeron). This remarkable beetle has several striking features, including lack of externally-visible sexually dimorphic characters, lack of lateral borders on the pronotum, and very long and thin mandibles and maxillae. In combination, these states are unique within Carabidae. We consider the presence of a dorsally completely open aedeagal median lobe as a synapomorphy of the fossil species with the subfamily Trechinae, a pubescent and relatively long second antennomere and a 4+2+2 pattern of umbilicate setae as synapomorphies of the supertribe Trechitae, and a quadrisetose clypeus as a synapomorphy with the Trechitae clade Bembidarenini + Trechini sensu Maddison et al. (2019). As it lacks a synapomorphy of Bembidarenini + Trechini, we propose that it is a member of the stem group of that clade.

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X-ray microscopy reveals endophallic structures in a new species of the ground beetle genus Trechus Clairville, 1806 from Baltic amber (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechini)

Cited by 14 publications

References 9 publications

Trechus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of Appalachia: A Phylogenetic Insight into the History of High Elevation Leaf Litter Communities

Trechus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of Appalachia: A Phylogenetic Insight into the History of High Elevation Leaf Litter Communities

The Silent Extinction of Species and Taxonomists—An Appeal to Science Policymakers and Legislators

Balticeler kerneggeri gen. nov., sp. nov., an enigmatic Baltic amber fossil of the ground beetle subfamily Trechinae (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

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