Revision of the elongatus and pecki species groups of Anillinus Casey, 1918 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae: Anillini), with four new species and notes on Anillinus turneri Jeannel, 1963

Abstract

The small, eyeless beetles of the genus Anillinus Casey (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae: Anillini) comprise a diverse, ubiquitous, but poorly known component of insect biodiversity in the southeastern United States. Their limited dispersal capabilities make them ideal subjects for biogeography, but taxonomic problems and undescribed species diversity hamper such studies. In this paper, we redescribe four enigmatic species, Anillinus docwatsoni Sokolov and Carlton, Anillinus elongatus Jeannel, Anillinus pecki Giachino, and Anillinus turneri Jeannel, and consider their relationships. The elongatus species group is revised, with descriptions of four newly discovered species, Anillinus arenicollis Harden and Caterino, new species, Anillinus montrex Harden and Caterino, new species, Anillinus pittsylvanicus Harden and Caterino, new species, and Anillinus uwharrie Harden and Caterino, new species. Two species previously considered part of the elongatus group are determined to not belong here, Anillinus cavicola Sokolov and Anillinus turneri Jeannel. The exact placement of A. turneri remains uncertain, but it shares some character states with the sinuaticollis group. We erect the pecki group for A. docwatsoni and A. pecki, which are likely sister species. We provide a key to the eastern species groups of Anillinus and the species of the elongatus and pecki species groups. Anillinus pecki is broadly distributed in the southern Appalachian Mountains northeast of the French Broad River basin, while A. docwatsoni is apparently endemic to the Hickory Nut Gorge in western North Carolina. Anillinus pecki is reported for the first time from Tennessee and Virginia. All members of the elongatus group have small geographic ranges and are difficult to sample without special techniques, hinting that many more species await discovery in the densely populated Piedmont region of North Carolina, where natural habitats are rapidly being lost. Our sampling was not dense enough to test biogeographic hypotheses, but distributions of the elongatus group species suggest that hydrochory might have played an important role in passive dispersal and reproductive isolation. These taxonomic contributions will facilitate future studies on the genus and serve to highlight the rich insect biodiversity that remains to be discovered in the southeastern United States.

References (37)

• Andujar C, Perez‐Gonzalez S, Arribas P, Zaballos JP, Vogler AP, Ribera I. 2017. Speciation below ground: Tempo and mode of diversification in a radiation of endogean ground beetles. Molecular Ecology 26: 6053–6070. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14358
• Barr TC Jr. 1995. Notes on some anillines (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Bembidiinae) from Southeastern United States, with descriptions of a new genus and two new species. Special Bulletin of the Japanese Society of Coleopterology 4: 239–248.
• Bousquet Y. 2012. Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera: Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico. ZooKeys 245: 1–1722. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.245.3416
• Casey TL. 1918. Memoirs on the Coleoptera. VIII. The New Era Printing Company; Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 427 p
• Ciegler JC. 2000. Ground beetles and wrinkled bark beetles of South Carolina (Coleoptera: Geadephaga: Carabidae and Rhysodidae). Clemson University; Clemson, South Carolina. 149 p
• Cornell JF. 1972. The eyeless beetles of North Carolina with notes on their ecology and evolution (Insecta: Coleoptera). Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 88: 260–264.
• Cornell JF. 1977a. Freshwater and terrestrial arthropods: Species of special concern: Insecta; Coleoptera; Carabidae (Ground Beetles). p. 221–222. In: Cooper JE, Robinson SS, Funderburg JB (eds.). Endangered and threatened plants and animals of North Carolina : Proceedings of the symposium on endangered and threatened biota of North Carolina. 1. Biological concerns. Meredith College, Raleigh, November 7-8, 1975. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History. 444 p
• Cornell JF. 1977b. Freshwater and terrestrial arthropods: Threatened species: Insecta; Coleoptera; Carabidae (Ground Beetles). p. 207–208. In: Cooper JE, Robinson SS, Funderburg JB (eds.). Endangered and threatened plants and animals of North Carolina : proceedings of the Symposium on Endangered and Threatened Biota of North Carolina. 1. Biological Concerns. Meredith College, Raleigh, November 7-8, 1975. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History. 444 p
• Dury C. 1902. A revised list of the Coleoptera observed near Cincinnati, Ohio, with notes on localities, bibliographical references and description of six new species. The Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History 20: 107–196.
• Garrick RC, Newton KE, Worthington RJ. 2018. Cryptic diversity in the southern Appalachian Mountains: genetic data reveal that the red centipede, Scolopocryptops sexspinosus, is a species complex. Journal of Insect Conservation 22: 799–805. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-018-0107-3
• Giachino PM. 2011. A description of two new species of Anillina from North Carolina with notes about the geographical distribution of the genus Anillinus Casey, 1918 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Bembidiini). Studies and Reports, Taxonomical Series 7: 109–116.
• Giachino PM, Sciaky R. 2002. A new genus and two new species of Anillini from the Lesser Antilles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Bembidiini). Elytron 16: 31–40.
• Hedin M, McCormack M. 2017. Biogeographical evidence for common vicariance and rare dispersal in a southern Appalachian harvestman (Sabaconidae, Sabacon cavicolens). Journal of Biogeography 44: 1665–1678. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12973
• Hedin M, Thomas SM. 2010. Molecular systematics of eastern North American Phalangodidae (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores), demonstrating convergent morphological evolution in caves. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 54: 107–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2009.08.020
• ICZN [International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature]. 1999. International code of zoological nomenclature. Fourth edition. International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature; London. 306 p