Carabus galicianus

Carabus galicianus

Carabus ( Ctenocarabus ) galicianus is a beetle of the family of beetles. The numerous species of the genus Carabus in Europe alone are divided into 33 subgenera. Carabus galicianus belongs to the subgenus Ctenocarabus and is the only representative of this subgenus. The beetle is found mainly in northwestern Spain and is classified as endangered in Spain.

Comments on location, first description and naming

The beetle was found by entomologists Deyrolle masse in May and June in streams in Galicia and sent along with other types Gory. The emerging in the literature enigmatic local information on these discoveries (the Sierra de Perrache, Val Pemache, Río de Penache ) were elucidated lately. This is the area around a striking rock formation in the province of Ourense, near the border with Portugal, which now bears the name Pena de Gache. A detailed description of the beetle with drawing was submitted by Gory for publication. Of these, 1839 only the Latin short description that precedes the French description published as a kind of preprint. Chevrolat described the same beetle in the following issue of the same journal. He remarked, Mr. Gory reblogged this beetle ... described a year ago. He called him from Spain and ( fr.) Galicie arise. Since the author has meant that he comes from ( fr.) Galice, I have changed the name Galicianus in Gallaecianus. In the older literature also Carabus gallaecianus appears as a synonym of Carabus galicianus, and both names refer to Galicia. Here is the epithet gallaecianus function based on that of the Roman province of Gallaecia Write manner of galicianus. In addition Chevrolat criticized on the description by Gory that he incorrectly when describing the elytra punctured instead of the expression used granulated.

Description of the beetle

The beetle is about the form of the gold ground beetle. He is almost completely matte blue black, only a part of the legs is vivid orange-red. The length is at an early illustration (see Related links) indicated by 21.5 millimeters.

The slim head is stretched forward and not extended back. The upper jaw is long, its inner and outer edges bent uniformly to the tip. At the base sits a small tooth. The upper lip is front bulged in the middle. The penultimate section of the labial palpi carries only two standing in row bristles. The external loading of the mandible is transformed into another pine key. The throat bears laterally bristle points. The large eyes protrude beyond the outline of the head to the side. The eleven-membered, threadlike antennae are turned in shortly before their eyes.

The pronotum bears in the back corners and the middle of the page a bristle point. He is about the same as wide front slightly wider than the rear and granular. He has an unabridged longitudinal furrow.

The elytra are relatively flat. On the shoulders and on the sides they are easily perforated, the perforation does not expire until the end of the elytra ( Fig. 4). A perforation has Ctenocarabus except only the subgenus Hydrocarabus, but here it is only in the shoulder region is formed. At the back end of the wing-coverts are not rounded, but only a little cut. Each wing carries three ceiling keel -like raised ridges. This property separates Ctenocarabus of Hydrocarabus. The gaps carry small predominantly longitudinally aligned flat grains.

The legs are black, only the arm -orange except at the knees. The tarsi are all five-membered. At the Vordertarsen the male three limbs are extended and occupied at the bottom with a stiff hair brush. The first member of the Hintertarsen is flattened, rough and furrowed above.

Biology

The ecological requirements of the species are high ( stenotop ). The beetle is bound to fast flowing clean waters with stony riverbed and shady banks ( Fig. 1). Furthermore, the waters must have a semi-arid riparian zone. The beetle is found in partially lying in the water or rocks near the shore. It feeds mainly on aquatic snails (Video below links). He is nocturnal and is an indicator of good water quality. Under favorable climatic conditions, the type occurs in no or only a very short winter rest. In the case of hibernation this lies in Galicia from October to May Here, the beetles studied on slopes near water. The larvae live like the adult animals in the same habitat.

Systematics and evolution

The genus Carabus probably formed about 25 million years ago in the Miocene Oberoligozän or she has previously been partially considered significantly older ( up to 50 million years). Many types of groups, including the extended family of this type show a disjunct distribution of European and East Asian species groups that may have climatic causes: The strongly bound to forests genus with probably originally continuous Palaearctic distribution was split up with their habitats through the aridization Central Asia on two distribution areas. Closest relatives to Carabus galicianus is the Ibero- North African Carabus melancholicus that is recently often included in the subgenus Ctenocarabus, this view is not mitvollzogen in the Catalogue of the Iberian Carabus species. Next relatives of this group are for the molecular data, the species of the subgenus Tachypus ( which includes the Central European Carabus auratus and cancellatus belong ).

Dissemination

The Beetle comes from sea level to mountain regions of 1000 meters of water runs before that meet the ecological needs of the species. The distribution area is limited to the western northern Spain and Portugal.