DNA barcodes reveal 63 overlooked species of Canadian beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera)
Author
Pentinsaari, Mikko
Author
Anderson, Robert
Author
Borowiec, Lech
Author
Bouchard, Patrice
Author
Brunke, Adam
Author
Douglas, Hume
Author
Smith, Andrew B. T.
Author
Hebert, Paul D. N.
text
ZooKeys
2019
894
53
150
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.894.37862
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.894.37862
1313-2970-894-53
D11503CA5A574067817904E0C8C162C8
BAF8B2CC491254A3AC7E08368A2697B5
Medon ripicola (Kraatz, 1854)
Figure 18
Distribution.
Native to the western Palaearctic region, widespread in Europe and also reported from Algeria, Morocco, Turkey, and Madeira (
Schuelke
and Smetana 2015
). Adventive in the Nearctic region (Nova Scotia, Canada).
Canadian records.
Nova Scotia: Cape Breton Highlands National Park, 10-May-2013 to 21-May-2013 (1 ex, CBG).
Diagnostic information.
Body length: 3.7-4.2 mm. Habitus as in
Fig. 18A
. Male sternite VII as in
Fig. 18C
. Aedeagus as in
Fig. 18B
.
Bionomic notes.
This species is rarely collected in the Palaearctic, with its breeding microhabitat unknown (probably in deeper litter or mammal burrows). In Central Europe, specimens have been collected mostly in wetlands (floodplains, ponds), in flood debris, mole nests, and deeper deciduous leaf litter (
Assing 2012
).
Palm (1963)
wrote that this species was rarely collected in Scandinavia: once in Sweden under pebbles on the seashore and in Denmark under seaweed. Its occasional but typical appearance near water suggests that heavy rains may flood out the breeding microhabitat and deposit the beetles elsewhere (e.g., flood debris). The collection of
M. ripicola
on northern European seashores suggests a potential mechanism for introduction to the Canadian Maritimes through ocean commerce. The Canadian specimen was collected with a Malaise trap in a riverside forest.
Comments.
A single female voucher from Canada was available for study and, while males would normally be necessary to confirm a positive identification in
Medon
by morphology, its barcode sequence clustered within the European material of
M. ripicola
with only two nucleotide sites differing from the nearest European specimen. All similar Palaearctic species that could be confused with
M. ripicola
(
M. apicalis
(Kraatz, 1857),
M. brunneus
(Erichson, 1839),
M. fusculus
(Mannerheim, 1830)) are represented in BOLD in separate BIN clusters. The female voucher was also morphologically compared to representatives of all Palaearctic
Medon
species and was consistent with the body proportions, punctation and color of
M. ripicola
. As the Nearctic fauna of
Medon
is unrevised, useful comparisons with North American species are not yet possible. Recognizing this species in the Nearctic region is reliably accomplished, at present, using dissected males or DNA barcoding.